Romeo and Juliet Critical Analysis

No matter how in love two people are, there will always be death, sooner or later. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, two young teens fall in love just in one night, quickly ending in a deep tragedy. Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann are both directors that made two different Romeo and Juliet movies. The Romeo and Juliet movies have similarities and differences, but Zefirelli does a better job telling the story. In both versions of Romeo and Juliet there are many similarities.

For example, both directors follow the same script that Shakespeare wrote. This shows a huge similarity that both movies share. This is because both directors want to stay true to the original words. Secondly, both directors leave out Juliet’s soliloquy. This shows that both directors feel that the soliloquy is not important to the final product. In other words, they feel that the movies work without some of the original details. Lastly, the families do not make up in either of the movies.

This shows that Luhrmann and Zeffirelli do not consider the reconciliation to be as important as the deaths. To put it differently, the parents making peace with one another was not important. In conclusion, both movies share similarities. In both versions of Romeo and Juliet the directors change different things from the original play. For instance, the most obvious difference is that Zeffirelli decides to use the Renaissance period while Luhrmann uses the modern-day.

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This shows that Zeffirelli has the aspiration to stay true to the original time period while Luhrmann provides modern day for the setting. In other words, Zeffirelli feels that Shakespeare’s original time period was most appropriate and Luhrmann anticipated on bringing new outlooks that more people from the modern day can relate to. In Luhrmann’s version, as Romeo drinks deadly potion, Juliet awakes from being under a potion, being a witness as Romeo dies. Where in Zeffirelli’s, Romeo dies while Juliet is still asleep.

This shows, Luhrmann has an ambition for dramatic effect to draw the audience in, making it more intense while Zeffirelli follows the way it was originally written and concludes it is intense and dramatic enough in itself. This is because Luhrmann wants more emotion and empathy out of the audience and Zeffirelli believes the original version will receive enough emotion from the audience. As another example, Luhrmann changes the balcony scene into a pool scene where Zeffirelli has no changes, leaving it to a balcony scene. This shows hat Zeffirelli agrees with the original balcony scene being originally romantic while Luhrmann relates it to his own idea of a pool scene. This is because Zeffirelli wishes for the original feel of the balcony scene but Luhrmann feels there should be something different and new. There are many differences between the Zeffirelli’s version and Luhrmann’s version relating to originality, in Zeffirelli’s case, and new and different, in Luhrmann’s case. Luhrmann and Zeffirelli both have their differences but Zeffirelli’s originality made the play much more realistic and easier to watch.

For instance, in act two, when Romeo attends a Capulet party, the surroundings and setting of the party fits perfectly with the old language that was put to use in Shakespeare’s original play. This shows that Zeffirelli did not try to mix a modern setting with old language. This is because Zeffirelli feels that the language used in Shakespeare’s original play goes best with a 16th century setting. Because this movie plays out in a slow pace it makes the movie more dramatic. This shows that Zeffirelli wants a slower pace so there is more time for drama to build up.

This is because Zeffirelli wants his movie to have an affect on the audience and keep them watching. After reading the play and watching Zeffirelli’s film, it was very easy to follow with out any confusion. This shows that while watching the movie, Zeffirelli wants it to be comfortable to follow along. This is because of the way Zeffirelli stays true to Shakespeare’s play. All in all, the way Zeffirelli stays with Shakespeare’s originality makes the movie much more enjoyable to follow with, especially when the movie clears up misunderstandings from the play.

Even with all the differences and similarities of Baz Luhrmann’s version and Franco Zeffirelli’s version, the way Zeffirelli made his version more realistic, the slow pace, and the way it was very easy to follow along with, made Zeffirelli’s version better than Luhrmann’s. The story creates the feel and power of strong love between two young teens wondering where it will take them. Stories like this always leave with the desire of wanting more to see what happens after the movie comes to an end. It is important to remember to be careful with love because it is a lot more powerful than one thinks.

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