Romeo and Juliet - Media

[mrsanderson]

Hello all,

As always, any questions you have can be (hopefully!) answered here.

In the meantime, here's some interesting trivia about the film (taken from http://www.imdb.com):

• There are various bill boards throughout the movie that contain quotations from other William Shakespeare plays: - 'Shoot forth thunder' (the gun advert) is from 'The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth', Act IV, Scene I, Line 109. - 'Experience is by industry achiev'd' (in the Capulet lift) is from 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona', Act I, Scene III, Line 25. - 'Such stuff as dreams are made on' (another advert) is from 'The Tempest', Act IV, Scene I, Lines 168-169. Prospero (the name of the drink in the advert) is the player who says these lines. At the gas station, one of the Montague boys recites the Macbeth witches' chant to the nun and two passing students. The pool hall is called "Globe," after the Globe Theatre in London where these plays were first performed.
  
  
• A number of important moments (and a lot of trivial ones) involve water. When we first see Juliet, she is holding her head under water; when Romeo and Juliet first see each other, it's through a fish tank; the balcony scene is moved from a balcony to a swimming pool; Mercutio is killed at the beach; when Tybalt is shot, he falls into a pond; when the banished Romeo comes to Juliet's room he is drenched from the pouring rain, and when he leaves the next morning he falls into the pool again.
  
  
• The majority of sets were built from scratch in order to achieve the film's unique look. The Sycamore Grove theatre and huts on Verona Beach were actually destroyed by a hurricane during filming. The beginning of the hurricane is evident during Mercutio's death scene, and many pick up shots had to be filmed elsewhere.
  
  
• Claire Danes wears a wig throughout the movie and also had a special aquatic wig for her underwater scenes.
  
  
• The film runs for exactly two hours, in line with the prologue which states: "Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage".
  
  
• The music playing as Juliet shoots herself at the end of the film is Isolde's 'Liebestod' from Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, where it is used in exactly the same context.
  
  
• All the guns in the film are named after types of swords.
  
  
• Baz Luhrmann sent British alternative-rock band Radiohead a videotape containing the last 20 minutes of the movie and asked them to make a song for the end credits. They composed the song "Exit Music (for a film)", which appeared on their 1997 album "OK Computer" (the director has said in the DVD commentary that he believes it's one of the best exit themes ever written).
  
  
• Leonardo DiCaprio's version of Romeo's speech at Juliet's bier was so good it moved Claire Danes to tears, nearly ruining the scene. The moment the director yelled "cut!," Danes smacked DiCaprio on the arm and said, "Don't make me cry. I'm supposed to be comatose, here!"
  
  
• Like most of William Shakespeare's work, the verse of Romeo and Juliet is written in iambic pentameter. Pete Postlethwaite, who plays Father Laurence, is the only actor in the movie who speaks using this meter.
  
  
• Key hair stylist Aldo Signoretti was kidnapped by gang members and held for $300 ransom which Baz Luhrmann paid.
  
  
• Leonardo DiCaprio was Baz Luhrmann's first choice to play Romeo.
  
  
• In Baz Luhrmann's native Australia, the soundtrack was the second highest selling album of the year, going platinum five times.
  
  
• Claire Danes was only three years older than the character she played. It was her first ever experience of performing Shakespeare.
  
  
• In an effort to drum up the necessary funds from the backers, Leonardo DiCaprio flew to Australia on his own dime and performed an on-spec audition video with Baz Luhrmann.
  
  
• The Jesus statue that dominates Verona was actually a visual effect. In reality, it was 2 feet high.
  
  
• Shakespeare described Tybalt swordsmanship as "showy". To transform this into flamboyant gunplay, John Leguizamo worked with choreographer John 'Cha Cha' O'Connell to create a flamenco-inspired style.
  
  
• The opening gas station encounter took 7 days to film with 2 days of pick-ups in Vera Cruz.
  
  
• Romeo and Juliet first kiss which takes place in a cramped elevator with the camera dizzyingly swirling around them was achieved by making the elevator into sections and putting the camera on a circular dolly. As it spun round, stage hands would lift and very hurriedly replace the elevator panels to accommodate the bulky camera equipment.
  

[scott]

Miss Davidson can you please help me

What is the two types of sound?? because i can't remember

Is it digetic and non-digetic sound??

please can someone help

Scott

[scott]

it's ok
i found that my computer doesn't know the words but i had also made a spelling mistake

because it's "diegetic and non-diegetic"

thank god for the internet

[Megan]

Diegetic sound is sound that is in the world of the film i.e. birds, chatting or whatever.
Non-Diegetic sound is sound that doesn't relate to the world of the film i.e. the Jaws music when Jaws is going up to the boat doesn't belong to the world of the film
Hope I helped and didn't confuse.
;D

[catherine]

Hi Miss Davidson could you please help me with my essay? You commented on my essay" Abra's grill(SIN)" Who is abra? Also the SIN in brackets is that supposed o me that Abra's grill connotes he is sinful? Thanks Catherine

[robbieman456]

After much [glow=red,2,300]blood[/glow] [glow=blue,2,300]sweat[/glow] and tears I have finally finished this essay and now no more homework for a good 6-7 weeks.

So I gladly present my [glow=red,2,300]last[/glow] homework task.

Probably going to listen to "Ropes" in celebration.

Attachments:

[mrsanderson]

Hello everyone.

Many apologies for the lack of posting on my part - I thought the link had gone up but obviously it didn't. Bah!

This is very late, but here is the past paper link:

www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/findpastpaper.htm?subject=English&level=S

Catherine - I probably wanted you to comment on Abra's costume. He's the Capulet at the beginning who shouts 'Boo!' at the Montague boys, and he is wearing a 'grill' or mouthpiece which says 'SIN' on it. This certainly connotes he is sinful, but also dangerous and violent.

Robbie - thank you very much for your essay. You are due a very well deserved rest!
;D

[Megan]

Hi Miss,
In my comments you said I missed about the paragraph about camera? What was the plan for that one as I seem to have lost mine.
On a higher note: I found my essay!
Yay,peace is restored
;D

[Rebecca]

Here is my essay. ;D

Attachments:

[rhysarthur]

Romeo and Juliet

“ Romeo and Juliet” directed by Baz Luhrmann was originally written by William Shakespeare in 1597. The film about love and violence was realised in 1996 as a modern adaptation. The play was adapted into a screen play by the writer Craig Pearce. Baz Luhrmann makes the film modern by using modern props such as guns and cars. Luhrmann also uses a much more modern set. The main themes of the film are love and hate. Luhrmann also makes the film more modern by using technical media techniques, such as diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, editing, captions and using the different techniques for camera.

Romeo and Juliet is a story about love and violence, which go hand in hand throughout the narrative. At the beginning of the film we learn that there is tension between the Montagues and Capulets which is followed by a fight at the petrol station. After, Romeo's cousin ( Benvolio) finds a very depressed Romeo. Romeo is depressed because he is in love with a girl called Rosilne. At the Capulets party, Romeo and his true love Juliet exchange vows in love. After the wedding fate turns on the pair as Romeo is banished from Verona for man slaughter and Juliet is forced to marry Paris. These unfortunate events lead to their suicides, and the families realise that all these years of fighting have cost them the lives of their children and they resolve to stop fighting.

The prologue from the original Shakespeare play outlines the story for the audience. Shakespeare's prologue is used in Luhrmann's film to set up the rest of the film. The prologue doesn't detract the excitement from the film as most of the modern audience knows the story. Luhrmann makes the prologue modern by using a newsreader in a t.v instead of using a narrator on a stage. Luhrmann tries to draw the audience into the movie by zooming into the t.v as if the t.v is dragging the audience into it. The prologue also draws the audience in by the language.
“ The fearful passage of their death-marked love,” Which sums up the whole story and covers all the themes. It also gives you a rough idea of what will happen in the movie.

In the opening, sequence of the film, the audience is first introduced to the Montague boys who come across as laidback as they are wearing colourful hawaiian shirts and blaring music from their car. When they arrive at the petrol station the audience finds out the boys have a bawdy sense of humour. The Montagues' behaviour changes once the Capulets arrive. The way the Capulets dress up in there smart clothes suggests that they are much more serious than the Montagues and thier actions there looking for a fight, espicially Tybalt as he wears a fiery red top which says alot about his character becuase his character is very fierce and he has a bad attitude.

The audience at first see Benvolio and Tybalt as the leaders of their “clans”. Benvolio comes across as the “good guy” at the start as he tries to not resort to violence, saying the famous lines;
“ i do but keep the peace! Put up thy sword or manage it to part these men with me.” This suggests to the audience that Benvolio is the better of the two and it also suggests that the Montagues are not as serious and only do things for the fun of it. Benvolio's name means “ wellwisher” and it sums him up as he is very calm and he does not want no harm anyone. Tybalt on the other hand comes across as the more aggressive of the two and he is not sympathetic;
“... and talk of peace! I hate the word, as i hate hell, all Montagues, and thee...” The audience at this point feel that Tybalt is the real antihero and that he does not give people a chance. Luhrmann does try to make the two houses different in personality and looks, and the majority of the audience likes the Montagues more as they are like the typical “ good guys”.

The main themes of the original play are love and hate, as well as prejudice. Luhrmann shows all these themes in the opening sequence, for example when Tybalt says how he hates all Montagues. This is prejudice as Tybalt is saying that he hates all Montagues even though he hasn't met them all. He is also stereotyping them, presuming that their all bad people. An example of love is when Benvolio tries to help the other members of his family by stopping the fighting. This shows that the Montagues are very loyal to each other. The theme of hate is clearly shown in the opening sequence as a result of the fighting.

To conclude Luhrmann has effectively modernised the original play to make it fit with the modern world. Luhrmann keeps themes and the plots the same but has managed to make the set and props much more modern. The majority of the audience would have enjoyed the movie with the old fashioned language.

By Rhys Arthur

[laurenduncan]

Romeo and Juliet Essay

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was directed by Baz Luhrman and written by William Shakespeare and Craig Pearce. The film was released in 1996 but the original play was published in 1597. Baz Luhrman uses certain costumes and props to modernise the film, such as, Hawaiian shirts, guns, cigarettes and jewellery. The main themes of Romeo and Juliet are fate and love causing violence. Baz Luhrman uses technical media techniques to modernise the film, such as, camera shots, digetic and non-digetic sound, editing and captions.

Romeo and Juliet is a story about love and violence, which go hand in hand throughout the narrative. At the beginning, a fight breaks out between family rivals, the Capulets and Montagues. The ruler of Verona threatens to banish them if it happens again. Romeo and the Montague boys crash the Capulets party. Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love straight away, and Romeo asks Juliet to marry him. Everything speeds up now, Romeo then kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin and is banished. Juliet is supposed to be marrying a man called Paris, but she is already secretly married to Romeo. Juliet has to fake her own death, to be with Romeo and to avoid marrying Paris. Romeo goes to see Juliet and sees that she is supposedly dead so he kills himself. Juliet then wakes up and sees Romeo dead and ends up killing herself, so she doesn’t have to live without him. These events bring their families much closer.

The prologue from the original Shakespeare play outlined the story for the audience. The prologue doesn’t necessarily detract the excitement from the play because the audience already know the story; Romeo and Juliet is a borrowed plot. Luhrman makes the prologue more appealing to a modern audience because the prologue is read out by a news reader on a television. The line “ancient grudge break to new mutiny” suggests themes of violence and revenge; these appeal to an audience who enjoy blood and violence. The zoom in on the television draws the audience into the story and makes them want to keep on watching.

In the opening sequence the Montague boys appear first. They are very loud and boisterous; they also cause a lot of disruption. They are wearing Hawaiian shirts, chains round their necks and colourful trousers; their outfits are all very colourful which show they are very laid back. They cause a lot of chaos and are a nuisance to the people around them. Before the Capulets appear, the Montague boys are very confident and laid back but when the Capulets appear they become very shy and scared. The Capulets are wearing very tight leather trouser and jackets, a tight vest with a religious iconography, black boots and gold chains; this gives us the impression they are very strong and makes them seem intimidating.

Benvolio, a Montague, and Tybalt, a Capulet, are placed in binary opposition to one another because their families do not get on at all and are always fighting against each other which cause a lot of disturbance to Verona Beach. Benvolio is portrayed as quite relaxed and just wants to calm the tension between the two families but Tybalt is clearly very violent. In the opening sequence Benvolio says;
“I do but keep the peace: put up thy sword, or manage it to part these men with me”
This definitely gives us the impression that Benvolio is a good man, which makes us want to like the Montagues, and think of them to be the good people. Benvolio means ‘well wisher’, which is definitely a good word to describe Benvolio’s actions and attitude at the beginning of the film. When Tybalt says the line;
“What drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee: have at thee, coward!”
This makes the audience think of Tybalt to be a cruel and horrid character; Luhrman makes the Montagues and Capulets act this way at the beginning to show that they are totally different types of people. The opening sequence definitely the real script from the play. Shakespeare obviously wanted the audience to prefer the Montagues to the Capulets when he was writing the play, so he gave the Montagues a more laid back attitude to things unlike the Capulets who he expressed to be more serious about things.

The themes of the original play are love and hatred, as well as prejudice. In the opening sequence the examples of the themes of the film are well shown, as love is the family ties, hatred is between the Montagues and Capulets and prejudice means hate someone without really knowing them; all these examples are brought to the audiences’ attention during the opening sequence. It seems clear that the families have never got on along.

Baz Luhrman has definitely been successful in portraying the themes of the play in the opening sequence through camera shots, digetic and non-digetic sound, sound editing and captions. I felt as though the old fashioned language went along very well with the modern setting, it gave the film a sense of uniqueness. I strongly believe that Baz Luhrman was very effective with the way he directed the film and gave it the same themes as the original play.

By Lauren Duncan

[Caty Kerr]

Romeo and Juliet Critical Essay- By Caty Kerr

“William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,” Directed by Baz Luhrmann is based on the original play by William Shakespeare which was published in 1597. Craig Pearce wrote the screenplay for the 1996 motion picture. Luhrmann uses modern props and costume like cars, guns and Hawaiian shirts to update the film and bring it into the 20th century. The themes of the play are love and tragedy. The director uses camera and sound techniques to make the film edgy and modern.

“Romeo and Juliet” is a story about love and violence, which go hand in hand throughout the narrative. At the beginning, Romeo is talking to Benvolio about Rosaline (the woman he loves.) They manage to obtain tickets to the Capulet feast. When they get there Romeo sees Juliet and they instantly fall in love. They kiss. After the party they meet in Juliet's courtyard and agree to marry the next day. Romeo goes to see Friar Laurence who agrees to marry them because he believes that it will bring their families together. They then get married. Romeo meets Benvolio, Tybalt and Romeo's friend Mercucio. They get in a fight and Tybalt murders Mercucio. Out of rage, Romeo kills Tybalt and as a punishment he is banished from Verona. To get out of having to marry Paris she takes a potion that makes the drinker appear to be dead. Romeo hears that Juliet is dead so he purchases a poison. He goes to Juliet's tomb and takes the poison by her side. She wakes and sees him taking it. She is so overcome by grief that she kills herself. Their deaths bring the two families together.

The prologue from the original play outlined the story for the audience. The prologue did not necessarily detract from the excitement of the play because Shakespeare borrowed plots from other playwrights or authors so people already knew the story of Romeo and Juliet. At the start of the play, in the theatre, people would chat so they would not be able to hear the prologue. Luhrmann makes the prologue more accessible to a modern audience by portraying it in the style of a news broadcast on a television screen. He also flashes the words of the prologue on the screen in bold, capital letters to keep the viewer interested. Luhrmann uses many different camera angles throughout the prologue. For example, there are multiple extreme long shots of Verona. Also, at the beginning the camera slowly zooms into the TV to draw the viewer in.

At the beginning of the opening sequence, the first characters introduced are the Montague boys. They appear to me very laid-back and mischievous. The Montague boys are wearing Hawaiian shirts and shorts which suggests that they do not care very much for their appearance. Their hair is dyed bright colours which connotes that they are young and rebellious which is backed up by their boisterous behaviour at the petrol station. When the Capulets arrive the Montague boys start to get visibly nervous. The Capulets are wearing black suits which suggests that they are dark or dangerous. They do not appear to be mischievous and laid-back like the Montagues. Tybalt later opens his jacket to reveal a vest with a Christian saint on it which connotes that they are highly influenced by their religion.

Benvolio and Tybalt are very obviously different characters because Benvolio is trying to keep the confrontation calm whereas Tybalt seems to be trying to pick a fight. Benvolio says “I do but keep the peace,” which tells us tells us that Benvolio does not wish to quarrel. This makes us believe that the Montagues are the protagonists in the story. The name “Benvolio” means well wisher. He is represented this way when he attempts, multiple times, to put an end to the arguments. Tybalt replies with “Peace, peace, I hate the word. Like I hate all Montagues and thee” this makes us think of Tybalt as bad and a troublemaker. It is apparent that the viewer is meant to prefer the Montagues because it is always the Capulets who start the fighting.

The themes of the original play are love, hate and prejudice. We see examples of these throughout the opening sequence. We see that their families hate each other for no apparent reason. We get the feeling that the only thing they know about each other is which family they belong to. It is a problem that has existed previously and we know that because Benvolio says “The quarrel is between is between our masters” which tells us that the fighting did not begin with their generation. We also get the feeling that nobody has ever tried to stop the fighting.

Luhrmann has successfully portrayed the themes of the play in a modern way. The modern setting works well with the old-fashioned language because it keeps the original words and ideas of the play yet it can be related to by the modern generations.

[meggiemoo13]

Romeo & Juliet Essay.

“William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet” was directed by Baz Luhrmann and adapted into a screenplay by Craig Pearce, in 1996- almost 400 years after the original play was written by William Shakespeare. Luhrmann takes the original play in mind but produces a much more modern version, such as instead of the swords originally used in the play Luhrmann uses guns, but the make of the gun is a “sword.” Romeo and Juliet is a timeless classic about a tragic love story about two feuding families- the Montagues and the Capulets- whose children fall in love. Love, hate, violence and prejudice are key themes in the play. Camera, dialogue, diegetic and non-diegetic sound, editing and captions make the play modern and edgy.

Romeo and Juliet is a play about how feuding families can tear families apart and cause two children to take their lives because they would rather die than be apart. At the beginning of the story Romeo is moping because he thinks he is in love with Rosaline, a girl who doesn’t know he exists. He then goes to a party hosted by the rival family (the Capulets) in search of Rosaline but finds Juliet, the daughter of Capulet. Romeo and Juliet quickly fall in love, and by the end of the night Romeo has proposed to Juliet. The next day the couple still haven’t told anyone about the proposal. After Romeo and Juliet are married, Romeo kills Tybalt because Tybalt (a Capulet,) has killed Romeo’s best friend, Benvolio. Juliet is devastated when she hears the Prince has exiled Romeo. Romeo and Juliet spend one last night together, after Romeo leaves Juliet fakes her death. Romeo hears the news and goes back to see her, thinking she is actually dead. Deciding he cannot be apart from his one true love, Romeo kills himself. Juliet awakes to see Romeo is dead and kills herself with Romeos dagger. Distraught by the news, the Montagues and Capulets unite through the death of their children.

The prologue for the original Shakespeare play “Romeo and Juliet” draws the audience into the story and outlines the main themes of the play. The prologue doesn’t take away from the main story because most people know the story of “Romeo and Juliet.” Luhrmann makes the prologue modern by using a TV presenter to tell the prologue as if it is main news on TV. The use of camera in the prologue is particularly affective by zooming into the scene as if it is pulling the audience into the story.

The Montague boys are very audacious and when you first see them they are very loud. Luhrmann uses costume and actions to portray that they are carefree and they are genuinely good characters; for example, the Montague boys wear Hawaiian shirts which suggests they are relaxed and quite calm. However, the Capulets are the complete opposite; the Capulets are the first the draw their guns which suggests they are very angry. “Peace. Peace. I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues and thee,” shows that the Capulets want to fight and are not even thinking about the possibility of peace. When the Capulets arrive the Montagues behaviour immediately becomes tense and cautious. The Capulets look very intimidating, wearing all black and shoes with steel heels. The Capulets are very angry, the way they walk and talk whilst the Montagues are more youthful, laid back and they try to keep the peace.

Benvolio and Tybalt are completely different from each other in so many ways; one clearly wishes the calm while the other is clearly a violent man. Benvolio -meaning “well wisher”- is a good man. “The quarrel is between our masters,” is the first thing Benvolio says, showing he is a calm and reasonable character. Benvolio doesn’t want the fighting to continue because the fight is nothing to do with them and is between their masters. So it is not their fight to continue, this makes us think that the Montagues are a better side than the Montagues. Tybalt says that he hates peace: “Peace. Peace. I hate the word. As I hate hell, all Montagues and thee.” Baz Luhrmann chose to have the boys act like this in the beginning because he wants you to side with the Montagues. The opening sequence reflects the real script from the play. I think Shakespeare intended his audience to prefer one to the other because it is the Capulets who first draw their guns and the Capulets who first kill, so I think it was intended that the audience preferred the Montagues, who are more mellow.

Love, hatred and prejudice are the themes of the original play. The Montagues and Capulets exist in a state of pure hate and are very prejudiced against each other because they don’t really know each other. They are making assumptions that all of the other family is bad. The hate has always been there in the families and seems like it was always exist.

In conclusion, Luhrmann has portrayed the themes on the play in the opening sequence very well. The originally words used in the play worked well with the modern setting because people can relate to it more. However, though the scenery is modern, Luhrmann chose to keep the originally dialogue because the words do not lose the beauty and passion. The opening sequence of the play is very effective, using techniques such as characterisation, love and prejudice. As a whole, the opening sequence is very effective in the way Baz Luhrmann has portrayed it.

[mrsanderson]

Excellent work, all of you! Now, run along and enjoy the holiday sunshine (and, if you're anything like me, try to avoid sneezing for more than five minutes at a time!).

See you all in August,

Miss Davidson

[meggiemoo13]

one last question.. why does it's say i'm a "march hare"?