Baz Luhrmman'S Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet has been made into many film adaptations. These adaptations all vary is their use of style and function that makes Shakespeare’s play incredibly accessible. The Australian director, Baz Luhrmann, has implemented things like costume and prop that modernizes the play through a cultural materialist perspective. It is worth considering that Romeo and Juliet was first performed in the 16th century where audiences went to listen rather than to see. “Shakespeare’s audiences referred to going to hear a play rather than see it, emphasizing that the Elizabethan theatre was an aural rather than visual experience.” With plenty of opportunities to emphasize Shakespeare’s play, Luhrmann has created a visual representation fuelled with action and drama that is enunciated through fast paced sequential events. Whilst the play and film are portrayed differently, they also share many common features.

A visual representation has enabled Luhrmann to bring the play alive through a vibrant, rich, location and setting. When performed in the 16th Century the audience were informed through a prologue that the play was set in Italy. Luhrmann changes the location to a fictional place in America making his film a lot less restrictive. A fictional location means the director doesn’t have to meet audience expectations and can let his imagination run. The prologue is informative and sets the scene for the play. Luhrmann has presented the prologue as a news report that suggests the serious and dangerous themes of the play. The news report ends in a sudden outbreak of non-diegetic music performed by Craig Armstrong. The words “In Fair Verona” flash whilst the camera zooms to an extreme close-up of a monument of Jesus.

Fast paced cuts to different scenes cause the audience to receive a lot of information through a use of mise-en-scene. On a straight angle the camera zooms quickly back to an establishing shot of the city. This shows tall buildings dominating the city named ‘Montague’ and ‘Capulet’ facing one another. By controlling camera movement the audience can see that there is tension and unrest in the city through a multiple use of aerial views and panoramic sweeps. Moreover, the long shot of the city shows the monument of Jesus standing in-between the two feuding family buildings. The monument could be a representation of the character Friar Lawrence who tries endlessly to stop the violence. However, the scenes depicting dead bodies and police vehicles suggest that neither law nor religion can stop the violence. Through fast cuts and camera zooms the audience are infused with a sense of action and drama that sets the tone for the remainder of the film. Also, through dynamic camera use an audience is able to experience “cinemas power to show things words can present only indirectly.” This makes the film a pictorial realisation.

The play and the films prologue also act as a foreshadowing device that informs the reader/viewer of what is to come. “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,/Whose misadventured piteous overthrows/Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.” .

Many narratives can make use of flashbacks or flash-forwards that causes a difference between ‘telling’ and ‘happening’. Shakespeare makes use of ‘proleptic’ devices that reveal parts of the climax. This gives the audience expectations that are dramatized through acts and happenings embedded within the plot. The literary critic, Peter Barry, writes about prolepsis, “These are proleptic details, and they indicate in a slightly crude way how analepsis and prolepsis are often important in establishing and foregrounding ‘themes’ in a story.”

Shakespeare’s use of vivid language captured his 16th century audience. Luhrmann uses costume, prop, and vivid shots to capture his audience and to modernize the play. “Luhrmann's flamboyant direction pumps new life into a well-known, much-adapted tale. With the Oscar nominated 'pop-promo' design of the film; Shakespeare became fashionable and cool once again.” Additionally, Luhrmann has included Shakespeare’s prose as a spoken language. This makes the film more authentic and keeps the viewer submerged in the story-world. Many of the characters costumes in the film are vibrant beach shirts that suggest the sunny location the play were originally set in. Luhrmann renames the city of Verona as Verona beach and uses pop-culture images that a modern audience can relate to.

“The film draws on pop-culture images such as those fromMiami Vice, which depicted both urban glamour and crime. Luhrmann clearly distinguishes the downtown area from the beach. He associates the city with the violence of the feud and the idyllic beach with love and peace.”

On the other hand, the