An analysis of Baz Luhrmanns film versions treatment of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essays

An analysis of Baz Luhrmanns film versions treatment of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essays An analysis of Baz Luhrmanns film versions treatment of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Paper An analysis of Baz Luhrmanns film versions treatment of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Paper Essay Topic: Romeo and Juliet Act 3 Scene 1 is one of the climaxes of Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare in the 16th Century. Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story and Act 3 Scene 1 highlights the problems faced by the characters during this play. In this scene Tybalt plans to kill Romeo but he is unwilling to fight. Mercutio includes himself in the quarrel resulting in his death. The tragic accident angers Romeo who then in response kills Tybalt. Shakespeares use of dramatic devices include the use of puns, irony and the setting of the scene on Veronas Streets. Baz Luhrmanns techniques in this scene to create tension are the use of sound, costume, camera angles and visual interpretation. During Act 3 Scene 1, Baz Luhrmanns Techniques make a big impact on the tension of the production. The location of Act 3 Scene 1 was originally on Veronas streets in Italy but Luhrmann changes the location the location to Verona Beach with some aspects of Mexico. This is a very useful and practical use of location because of the change of atmosphere synchronising with the characters moods. The use of the beach also includes contradiction which makes the angered action seem more powerful; a beach is a place where people go to have fun and enjoy themselves. But when the setting of the scene moves to behind the arch, you can see the poverty area of the town making the actions and the grudge between the two rich families unnecessary. There is a lot of tension at the beginning of the scene between Mercutio and Tybalt; the camera shots used to show this include close ups on their faces and spinning around them to show the audience the personal vies of the characters and the big picture. This means the audience has more knowledge about the actions and consequences than the characters. There is a good use of body language in this scene and that is shown by zooming onto parts of the body. For instance, when Romeo drops the gun after shooting Tybalt, you see a close up of the gun slip from his hands. This is used because silence and movement and create more tension than the words because of the close-up. Baz Luhrmann adds lines when Tybalt questions Romeo on why Romeo wont fight. In the script Mercutio say O calm, dishonourable, vile submission! Alla stoccata carries it away [Draws. ] Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk? This line is broken into bits in the movie while Tybalt urges Romeo to fight. Baz Luhrmann has done this because it gives Mercutio more of a good reason to fight Tybalt on Romeos behalf. To show the genre of the scene before The Capulets show up Luhrmann uses pastiche. He uses pastiche from other Shakespeare productions on Posters e. g. shoot forth Thunder. There is also use of a cowboy themes from the western movies when they show Mercutio and Tybalt are preparing for a fight. Baz Luhrmanns use of characters in Act 3 Scene1 is chosen so every character can be disguised by their costumes, speech and race. In this scene Shakespeare builds up tension by setting the scene on Verona streets on a hot afternoon. Luhrmann continues this idea by setting it at midday. The Montagues look prepared for the heat with their loose Hawaiian shirts. The Capulets are wearing tight, black, formal clothes. Mercutios costume is a mixture of both houses because he is wearing a formal shirt but the buttons are un-done so he is comfortable for the weather. Luhrmann uses this technique so it is easier for the audience to understand the association of the heat and anger. The grudge between Montagues and Capulets goes back many years ago and Shakespeare hints it to being on religious grounds. Luhrmann expands on this idea. The Montagues are shown as a Central American family while on the other hand the Capulets are shown as Mexican. Once again Mercutio doesnt come into any of these two categories; he is shown as an African American which is the same as the Prince, his uncle. Mercutio is shown different to both Montague and Capulets because he is not on any side and doesnt let the grudge change any of his plans. Luhrmann has taken into mind religion being one of the causes of the grudge which might be possible because in Shakespeares life there was a lot of controversy about religion. Some speeches are said in different ways so there is more tension built up by them, for instance Benvolio says to Mercutio I pray thee, good Mercutio, lets retire but then says to himself The day is hot, the Capulets are aboard, and if we meet we shall not escape a brawl, for now these hot days is the mad blood stirring. Benvolio says this because he knows the consequence of everybodys moods and this makes the audience fear for Romeo. The type of music and language adaptation makes a difference to Act 3 Scene 1. During this scene the tempo and style of the music changes very often to stay up with the fast pace of the scene. When Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, he did not aim for making it a movie so no music was ever intended. Baz Luhrmann added music to make the movie more modern and suitable for the 1996 audience. The Music enhances the mood and atmosphere by interpreting what is going to happen next. The genre of the Music is mostly is pop and would have been recognised by people easily. When the tension between Tybalt and Mercutio builds up so does the pace pf the music making your heart beat faster. When Romeo enters the scene there is calm music because he has just returned from his marriage and wants peace. There is a sudden change in music when Tybalt kicks Romeo through the arch and the violence starts to get worse. The music enhances the mood and atmosphere by interpreting what is going to happen next. Act 3 Scene 1 can get quiet confusing because it is fast paced so Luhrmann uses sound effects used to help distinguish the important action. These include the slicing of the glass into Mercutio and the echo of the gun dropping when Romeo shoots Tybalt. Baz Luhrmann does this so that the turning points of the scene are highlighted. Luhrmann also repeats important lines so the audience can completely understand them as shown when Romeo says Either thou or I must go with him. Baz Luhrmann has thought bout every aspect of his movie carefully and always kept Shakespeares script in mind and the audience of 1996 in mind. The audience would have enjoyed this movie very much and would have been able to think and understand Romeo and Juliet better than they would have if they read the script. Baz Luhrmann aimed the movie toward young adults. He did this very well as he used popular music, bright costumes for the Montagues so the audience sympathises for them. He has made Act 3 Scene 1 very fast moving and interesting but keeps the violence to a limit. Luhrmann has brought Shakespeares script into life by adding in his own ideas and sticking to crucial parts of the play which made it more interesting. I think that Baz Luhrmann has created a wonderful scene in this movie and helped me understand the scene much better. Overall, I think it was the best interpretation of Act 3 Scene 1 I have ever seen.