Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet

Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet

  • Submitted By: blackman1994
  • Date Submitted: 06/11/2011 6:09 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1209
  • Page: 5
  • Views: 1

In the 16th century, during the early years of William Shakespeare's career, the great bard wrote a play titled Romeo and Juliet, a timeless piece of literature about two, young "star-cross'd lovers" whose love cannot be openly acknowledged because of their feuding families. The play written for the Elizabethan audience was reinvigorated by Baz Luhrmann in his 1996 film rendition of the play to make it more accessible to the modern audience. Using film, sound and language techniques, as well as a reinterpretation of Shakespeare's settings and characters, Luhrmann has presented a film that is relevant to the 20th century audience but still maintains the core values and ideas of Shakespeare's original play.

Baz Luhrmann has effectively used filmed techniques and drastically cut and changed scenes from the original play to transform Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and make it more appealing to a modern audience. Luhrmann has accelerated the pace of the play to suit a more modern audience by cutting from shot to shot rapidly and blurring shot transitions. The frenzied shots as well as the hand held camera action create a tension and quicken the film. Shakespeare’s original play did not reflect such excitement in the text, and this produced a slower, more relaxed film without as much tension as Luhrmann’s, as was relevant to the Elizabethan audience. For example, in Scene 3 Act 1, in the exchange between Tybalt and Mercutio, the shot constantly changes between Mercutio and Tybalt and the two are rarely in the same shot, creating a tension and animosity between the two. The tension and animosity generated in Luhrmann’s film through Mercutio and Tybalt in this scene makes it more accessible to the modern audience who are suited to a busy and quick lifestyle.

Luhrmann also uses sound effects and music to increase the drama in his film and make it more accessible to a modern audience. Throughout the film, he plays pop music and classical music to suit the varying...

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