Romeo and Juliet Adaptations - 2600 Words

I believe that the (1961)‘West Side Story’ film version of Romeo and Juliet is superior to the later version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ directed in 1968 by Franco Zeffirelli. Jerome Robbins, the director of ‘West Side Story’, having a different aim/ representation of Romeo and Juliet has used various effective techniques to produce his film – which I consider to be more successful. Robbins chose it to be a transformation of Romeo and Juliet not the original play from Shakespeare, but that’s not the only reason, if it is one, to acknowledge it as superior to Zeffirelli’s film. Each director has used divergent ideas in their techniques, so different yet only to provoke from their audiences the same response. Therefore to determine which†¦show more content†¦Zeffirelli also used close shots to hold and emphasise the moment. The close shots intensified the mood greatly. Upon meeting Juliet, Romeo’s smiling face was in a close shot deeply contrasting the preceding close shots of his gloomy appearance. Mercutio’s wound was shown in an extreme close-up, to the audience a few moments before the surrounding characters realise. (It was shown from Mercutios’s viewpoint as the pain became evident). Mercutio insists them that the wound was enough to kill and he needed a surgeon at once, but no one realises that he isn’t fooling around til it was too late. The close-up shot that was used in this scene, made the audience feel the grasp of fate. It intensified the fact that the tragedy could have been avoided so easily (if only the wound had been seen by the others), yet fate was unchangeable as if it was set in stone. Zeffirelli’s crypt scene was shown in medium and long shots. The long shots showed the fear and vastness that Romeo saw in Capulets’ tomb; the fear that he’d discover his love’s death was true and the inferiority he felt without the presence of Juliet’s life. Even though both films were made in the same decade, Zeffirelli’s film was produced well afterwards so it was in better colour. But the technology gap wasn’t wide; WWS wasn’t poor in technology. In Maria’s and Tony’s meeting, the background faded into an obscureShow MoreRelatedEssay Film Adaptation of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet896 Words   |  4 PagesFilm Adaptation of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Romeo Juliet, was written by poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. The romantic play, Romeo Juliet involves many recognisable emotions and themes including passion, love, hate, agony, and sadness. 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To do this, Anthony does a close reading of four different films directed by Cukor, Zeffirelli, Alvin Rakoff, and the BBC. With these films, Anthony delves into them while dissecting specific scenes to compare how they are different or similarRead MoreThe Adaption of William Shakespeare ´s Romeo and Juliet1235 Words   |  5 PagesThe Adaptation of Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare, is a world-known tragedy. Torn between two enemy households, Romeo and Juliet try to keep their love alive. The passionate story of their love has been adapted into several movies. While each movie has its own charm, Baz Luhrmann’s modern adaptation has its noteworthy features that dissociate it from Franco Zeffirelli’s adaptation. By staying true to the story, the characters, and the creativity he uses, Luhrmann takes