Romeo and Juliet - A Film 1996
Uploaded by x-aimee-kate-x on Mar 21, 2005
How does Baz Luhrman, the director, aim this film at a younger audience?
“Romeo and Juliet” was a play originally written by William Shakespeare in 1595. Baz Luhrman released a modern film of the timeless classic, but he directed it in a way for it to appeal to a younger audience. He cast Leonardo di Caprio and Clare Danes, as our two main characters: Romeo and Juliet. I wish to discuss the techniques used by Baz Luhrman in his successful attempt to make this story more intriguing to a young audience.
One way in which this film immediately captures my attention is in the opening sequence. A slow zoom takes us to a solitary t.v set where a news reporter takes us into the film. We are shown shots of the happenings in the film and “In Fair Verona” flashes on the screen three times in a daring white font against a black background. The font however seems quite modern, not a typical text you would expect in a Shakespearean film. Freeze frames, usually found in a drama series, then introduce us to some characters in the film but Romeo and Juliet are noticeably absent. Fast, almost flashing images of scenes in the film are then shown to us with continuous views of the religious statue. The one thing in the story, which unites the two families, is religion so this is an extremely symbolic image. White text is again shown telling of the warring of the Capulet and Montague families and a deep, dramatic voice reads, “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean and a pair of star cross’d lovers take their lives.” This quote, I found explained the basic storyline behind this film as it tells of the fighting families and of the tragic love between Romeo and Juliet. The repetition of the word ‘civil’ also adds to the tension of this. Loud choir music follows as once again in white font the words “Romeo and Juliet” appear on our screens. This in a sense is dramatic and draws our attention to the screen.
The first fight scene, shown early on in the film is made to such a modern extent that some of it may seem humorous to young people. The scene begins with relatives of the Montague family pulling up at a petrol station. The Capulet boys then arrive in a nicer car. When they are first seen,...