Comparison of Fight scene in Romeo and Juliet
...at different people can enjoy it, because of funny bits, like when Mercutio makes fun of Tybalt, that would make it more interesting for younger people. But Generally, Zeffirelli was aimed at adults like the play was. Lurhmann, on the other hand was aimed at a younger age group, as it is a lot more exciting and violent, and it is also set in modern times, so the young audience would feel like it is more believable and personal, not like some old thing that was written hundreds of years ago. Lurhmann's main goal was to make money, so he had to make a film that would do that, and so he made it as new and exciting as he possibly could. He did this by adding a lot of up to date music and sound effects. He modernized the play to suit the new audience and adapted the play so that it would be suitable for that new, younger audience. Representation is anything symbolic in the film that the directors have put in themselves to make the film more interesting and to make the audience think about something. The films have different interpretations in them, the directors have had to create the visuals where nothing is said by the text. The director has to be like your imagination when you read a book. Costumes are very different in both films, mainly because they are set in different times, but partly because of the way the director had interpreted the play. In Zeffirelli, the Montagues wear dull colours like grey and blue and the Capulets wear orange and black (which could indicate danger). In Lurhmann, however, it is the opposite; The Montagues wear really bright clothes and the Capulets wear black. Although the Montagues wear different clothes, the Capulets wear black in both films. I think that this is because the Capulets are meant to be the ‘baddies’ and evil, so if they wear dark clothes, it is really easy to see that they are bad. It is a typical clichéd film type (although maybe not at the time) with the heroes and the villains. The villains are dark and evil and everyone hates them whereas the good guys are the bright happy people that the camera follows around. Although if it were really clichéd then the plucky underdog would not win like they so often do, and it looks like that until the end which I think gives it a sort of realistic twist at the end instead of a ‘happy’ ending. Lurhmann cast a black man for Mercutio, but it would have been out of the question for Zeffirelli to have any ethnic minorities in his film at that time let alone Shakespeare's time because there was a lot of prejudice towards black people and the film would become very controversial meaning that some people wouldn’t want to come and see the film when Zeffirelli just wanted a plain film that was for people who wanted to see ‘Romeo and Juliet’, so no one would consider. There is also a lot of religious symbols in Lurhmann that have been thought up and subtly implemented into the film so they are almost not noticeable, like the virgin Mary on the guns, the crucifix necklaces and the church arches behind them when they fight. At a very emotional moment, when Tybalt dies, the camera moves down to see the gun in Romeo’s hand, and stays there for quite a long time, which is very symbolic as it makes you think about what the gun can do and you see the virgin Mary on the side of it, the whole film pauses for a second so that everyone can contemplate on what just happened. During the fight scene that I am studying, it is quite difficult to follow the plot / narrative if you don’t know the rest of the play and don’t already know what is going on (the narrative is the plot, or ‘story’ behind the film and how it happens and is described to the audience.), it is especially difficult to follow if you are watching the Lurhmann version; The plot is extremely difficult to follow and understand, it is like you are part of it and it is all happening around you really quickly. The film gives you this feeling because of the use of fast cuts and fast moving camera shots. The view is as if you are watching as a ‘spectator’ and most of the shots are close ups letting you see the emotion in the character’s faces and feel like you are in the film with them. The plot in Zeffirelli on the other hand is a lot easier to understand, not only because it is slower moving, but also because there are no sudden cuts or strange camera movements, and you can usually see almost the whole scene and what is going on. Even so, it is not that easy to follow the story during the fight anyway because the camera has to follow the characters and it all becomes a bit ‘jumbled’. In Lurhmann, the plot is enhanced by having exciting, up to date music and a fast moving picture, particularly the way that the scenery changes, at the start of the fight, it is a bright day and the beach is packed which makes it seem happy and normal, but as the fight progresses, the sky gets darker and eventually, a gale starts blowing and the beach is deserted. Then when Romeo kills Tybalt, the rain is pouring down and it is dark. All this makes the film very emotional and gripping. Zeffirelli on the other hand has only the bare necessities there, as if it was a normal play. Mediation means the actual film and how it is filmed, using different settings, lighting, soundtracks. The Lurhmann film is set in modern times, and that makes it more interesting for younger people as they can relate to it and understand and believe it. The lighting plays quite a large part in the mood of the fight scene as I said above, when it gets darker, the mood becomes more serious, but most of the time it is natural type lighting, possibly 3-point lighting if it is in a studio. During the fight scene, music is playing that intensifies the atmosphere by filling in any silences (apart from the purposeful silences to create tension) and using two of the five of the audience’s senses instead of one, it also helps to tell the story i.e. when the music gets fast or loud, the fight is picking up, but when it stops, its serious, it helps the audience along when they are trying to comprehend what is going on in front of them. The Zeffirelli film is quite basic, so it doesn't have anything out of the ordinary it has a little music when Mercutio dies, but apart from that it is all natural lighting, authentic setting and no soundtrack. This makes it feel like a play rather than a film because special effects, lighting and sound would be easy to produce in a theatre. Each film uses different film conventions; they use different shots and camera transitions. Lurhmann uses a wide variety of camera shots to make the film interesting and exciting, almost exhilarating at times, he uses long shots, which show the whole scene and let you know what is going on around you. He uses mid shots, which sets the main actors in the context of the setting. He uses close ups, which are quite personal and show the actor’s emotions, like when Mercutio and Tybalt are fighting and you see how into it they are. He also uses big close ups, where all you see is the actors expression, and you know that they mean business when you see the look in their eye that tells you that the character is willing to kill. Zeffirelli on the other hand uses a lot of long shots and mid shots, which are quite impersonal, but makes you feel like you are watching a play rather than a film. Lurhmann also uses different angles, not only to make the film more interesting, but also to make you understand the character’s emotions better, when Mercutio is below Tybalt, he loo...