by Nicole Du Plessis

Created on: May 01, 2008

Shakespeare: A comparison of two film version's treatment of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

As with most of his works, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet can be interpreted in many different ways. Two of these interpretations are the 1968 film by Franco Zeffirelli, and the 1997 film by Baz Luhrmann. The two are very different in their approach to recreating Shakespeare's work of art. In this essay, I aim to compare the two without judging them.

My focus will be on Scene 1, Act 1, in which several youths from both families (i.e. the Montagues and the Capulets) start a fray in the city, which is eventually broken up by the prince, who threatens to punish Benvolio and Tybalt if they start another fight.

Where Zeffirelli's version follows the script and setting of the play very closely, Luhrmann has created a bizarre mixture of new and old, combining the script of the original play with modern day Los Angeles.

Zeffirelli's interpretation was filmed entirely in Italy. The scene in question was filmed in Pienza and Gubbio. He used mainly long shots, probably because at that time video cameras were ungainly and not ideal for shooting close-ups of fight scenes. The use of sounds and colours, and the typical setting of a market place, create a light mood in the beginning, which fast fades to serious when the fight begins.

In contrast to this, Luhrmann's interpretation, filmed in Mexico City and Miami, creates a light-hearted, comedic atmosphere with bright colours and over-exaggerated, out of place sound effects. His shots are mainly close-ups to show a lot of detail, but flash from one shot to the next very fast, so that the film is fast-paced and dramatic.

Zeffirelli tries to follow Shakespeare's instructions closely, using typical Shakespearean gesticulations, props and actors, however Luhrmann could not be further from what Shakespeare intended, with modernised accents and gesticulations, and normal, modern-day actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio (Romeo) and Claire Danes (Juliet).

Zeffirelli uses colours to differentiate between the two families. The Montagues wear dark shades of green and blue, and the Capulets wear reds and oranges. The actors have a traditional "old English" look, with their clothing, hairstyles and also accents matching the time period of 15th century England.

Gangsters with American accents dominate Luhrmann's screen, with crazy, bright colours, and very little differentiation between the two families. However, this does not necessarily create a

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