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    Romeo Film Analysis

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    loislau
    The document compares and contrasts scenes from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet and its 1996 film adaptation. In the play, Romeo and Juliet meet abruptly at a party with no context, while the film uses cinematography like close-ups and music to show their romantic first encounter. When they die, the play has more characters present in the churchyard scene, while the film focuses only on Romeo and Juliet. Character relationships are also portrayed differently, with the play emphasizing hierarchy and the film prioritizing the romance. Both versions convey the theme of tragic love between the Montagues and Capulets.

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    Romeo Film Analysis

    Uploaded by

    loislau
    60 views5 pages
    The document compares and contrasts scenes from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet and its 1996 film adaptation. In the play, Romeo and Juliet meet abruptly at a party with no context, while the film uses cinematography like close-ups and music to show their romantic first encounter. When they die, the play has more characters present in the churchyard scene, while the film focuses only on Romeo and Juliet. Character relationships are also portrayed differently, with the play emphasizing hierarchy and the film prioritizing the romance. Both versions convey the theme of tragic love between the Montagues and Capulets.

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    The document compares and contrasts scenes from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet and its 1996 film adaptation. In the play, Romeo and Juliet meet abruptly at a party with no context, while the film uses cinematography like close-ups and music to show their romantic first encounter. When they die, the play has more characters present in the churchyard scene, while the film focuses only on Romeo and Juliet. Character relationships are also portrayed differently, with the play emphasizing hierarchy and the film prioritizing the romance. Both versions convey the theme of tragic love between the Montagues and Capulets.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    60 views5 pages

    Romeo Film Analysis

    Uploaded by

    loislau
    The document compares and contrasts scenes from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet and its 1996 film adaptation. In the play, Romeo and Juliet meet abruptly at a party with no context, while the film uses cinematography like close-ups and music to show their romantic first encounter. When they die, the play has more characters present in the churchyard scene, while the film focuses only on Romeo and Juliet. Character relationships are also portrayed differently, with the play emphasizing hierarchy and the film prioritizing the romance. Both versions convey the theme of tragic love between the Montagues and Capulets.

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    53086530 Lau Cheuk Wai

    EN 2842
    Shakespeare: introduction to genius
    Film Review

    Love in feuding families

    In the 1996’s film version of Romeo and Juliet, it has adapted and modernized the story

    to a new setting, the Verona beach and the two families, Capulets and Montague as two

    large business enterprises. With the use of guns instead of daggers and swords, this film

    although differs from the original play written by William Shakespeare,at the same time

    it has retained the Shakespearean dialogues and can convey a similar theme though a new

    way.

    In the following, several scenes will be analyzed in depth to discuss the different

    techniques used in both the film and play version such as how different or similar the

    cinematography, props, dialogues and setting are used to convey the theme of the story in

    a new way as well as analyzing the difference and similarities of the characters’

    relationship in both the film and play.

    First, when Romeo first met Juliet, the film version displays a huge contrast to the play

    version, not by the content but how the scene is set with cinematography and setting is of

    much difference. In the play version of Romeo and Juliet, the lovers meet at Act I, scene

    V in which Romeo has entered Capulet’s house for his party. After Tybalt and Capulet

    having a heat discussion of whether Romeo is welcomed or not, the scene simply cuts to

    where Tybalt and Capulet both exit and suddenly, Romeo is with Juliet now and he starts

    to speak with her and kiss.


    Tybalt: Now seeming sweet convert to bitter gall. [Exit]

    Romeo [to Juliet]: If I profane with my worthiest hand…

    (Act I. scene V. line 91-92)

    Here, we can see the play version does not really show how the lovers meet but simply

    display they are standing next to each other and talking right after the conversations

    between Tybalt and Capulet. However, it is of huge difference in the film version about

    how the two meet.

    In the film version, Romeo is admiring the fish in the fish tank placed in a remote room

    from the party. Some slow romantic music is playing as background music to prepare the

    mood. Here, the scene is often cross-cut to the singer performing the music in the party

    and back to Romeo’s face in a close-up. The camera then pans to the other side of the

    tank, showing Juliet’s eye in a close up with fish swimming in front of her. The camera

    starts to switch quite often between the close up of Romeo and Juliet, showing how they

    look at each other and smile. Here, both the music and the use of fish tank show how

    romantic their first meet is yet distant. It is different from the play version as they took

    time to meet each other before they speak. In the film, they even part before they speak,

    Romeo starts to chase after her and Juliet later sneaks back to Romeo. It was not until

    they were in the elevator that they begin to speak. The only similarity in this scene is how

    Romeo and Juliet speak to each other, both versions adapt the 14 line sonnets to show

    how harmonious they are to create the sonnet together. Although the two versions have

    some differences, they both can tell the theme of how Romeo and Juliet are so in love

    with each other in an instant though the film version may have engaged the audience
    more about how they meet and fall in love while the play may have shown how crazy and

    fast the two has come together.

    Apart from the scene where they meet, the part when Romeo and Juliet die is also

    different in the two versions. In the play, Act V scene iii, not only has it mentioned Paris

    has gone to the tomb with Juliet, Romeo has drunk the poison and died long before Juliet

    wakes. For instance, after Romeo dies there is a conversation between Balthasar and Friar

    Laurence at the other end of the churchyard before Juliet wakes. However, in the film

    version, not only Paris is not in the scene, the setting is more detailed and grand in the

    film: candles are laid everywhere in the church and there is no one else but Juliet and

    Romeo there. Yet in the play version, the setting is only described as a churchyard and

    Romeo was not the only one who visited Juliet. The difference here can highlight the

    point in which the film version wants to focus on the relationship between Romeo and

    Juliet while the play wants to include the families in the scene as well. This difference

    can also been seen in the ending as well which is going to be discussed later.

    In the film, when Romeo dies, Juliet starts to wake up and sees him. It is different than

    that of the film as mentioned above, Juliet wakes long after Romeo dies in the play. This

    difference is used to create suspense and tension to further engage the audience. When

    Juliet decides to die with Romeo, the prop she uses in the play is a dagger to stab herself.

    Juliet: [snatching Romeo’s dagger]… [stabs herself] There rust, and let me die” (Act V.

    scene iii. line 172 – 175) While in the film she uses a gun to shoot herself. Similarly, both

    the props used can make Juliet die yet the different choices is used to connect more to the

    society in its time period, people in Shakespeare’s period do not have gun yet and in

    1996, it is rather ridiculous to see someone stab herself to death when gun is already
    invented. Either way, it can show how Juliet loves Romeo and would like to sacrifice

    herself to him. In addition, in the film version, after they have died, there is a flashback

    scene showing back to when they met at the fish tank, the chase around scene in the

    elevator and more and this is not shown in the play. The flashback scene can create more

    emotional impact on the audience of how their love story has been to further beautify the

    love of these two.

    Last but not least, character’s relationship in both film and play also portray some

    similarities and difference. Similarly, both versions show how hierarchal everyone’s

    relation was. For example, Juliet’s mother has to call her nurse to call her daughter and

    her daughter speaks rather formally to her own mother.

    Juliet: Who calls?

    Nurse : your mother.

    Juliet: Madam, I am here, what is your will?

    (Act I. scene iii. line 5-7)

    This relation was also shown in the film to state how Juliet has to obey her mother. The

    difference between two versions is that in the play the nurse has her own servant called

    Peter and Romeo too whose name is Balthasar. This is not portrayed in the film as the

    film does not want to focus so much on the hierarchy relationship but the romantic

    relationship. Yet for the play, since the society of that time is often hierarchal,

    Shakespeare would like to shed lights on this point as well to match the society then

    more, just like the film has used guns and cars to match the current society. In the end of
    the film, the importance of characters’ relation is seen again. As mentioned previously, it

    is said that the play also focuses on families’ relation rather than just on Romeo and

    Juliet’s. In the play, after Romeo and Juliet die, Capulet and Montague actually made

    peace to each other because of the tragedy: Capulet: O brother Montague… and

    Montague: For I will raise her statue in pure gold. (Act V. Scene iii, line 301,304)

    However, in the film, Capulet and Montague don’t really make peace but just to realize

    how wrong they had been in their own close up. This difference can show again how the

    film focuses more on the theme of romance and for the play, it focuses on both the

    romantic theme and that of the relationship of both families.

    Through different uses of cinematography, setting and some newly added content, the

    film version of Romeo and Juliet not only can tell the original story, it also heightens

    every scene and connects more to current society. Although the film version focuses

    more on the romantic theme while the play focuses on both families and romance, two of

    them undoubtedly can convey the theme of Romeo and Juliet’s – tragic love in feuding

    families.

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