Romeo And Juliet 1996 Analysis

Romeo and Juliet: comparison of the 1968 movie, the 1996 movie, and Shakespeare 's original text.

Romeo and Juliet has been a popular story for over 400 years, either by the play written by Shakespeare, or a poem written earlier than that. In the 20th century, two directors created their own interpretations of the play. In 1968, Franco Zefferelli directed a version of the play where the performers played the part of people in 16th century Verona, Italy. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann took a very creative approach when he directed a modern version of the play set in Verona Beach, California. The two were naturally very different, but there was also a theme of lightness and darkness running through both of them.

Both plays start out with the original prologue; although the modern version uses a

Act I, Scene IV, the scene before the party, seems to be a melancholy event in the 1996 version. Mercutio appears to be angry during the Queen Mab speech, and even before that. Plagiarism is illegal in the United States of America. In Zefferelli 's movie, Mercutio is a playful, joking, happy person before and during the Queen Mab speech. When Romeo tells him to settle down in the new version, they are both screaming and Mercutio is crying; while in the old version, they are not as tense.

The party scene is also very different in the movies. Zefferelli uses a light, happy atmosphere for the scene where Romeo and Juliet meet. Mercutio disappears after they enter the party. In Luhrmann 's version, Romeo meets Juliet in a dark bathroom. Mercutio dances in drag on the stairs, which shows that he is a friend of the Capulets and that he is more of a slacker or a wilder person.

The 1968 version includes the nurse at the party. She is also closer to Juliet and more of the rambling character Shakespeare made her to be. She is the one who tells Romeo that Juliet is a Capulet. In the 1996 version, she is just there to drag Juliet away, and it is then that Romeo realizes Juliet is a