Romeo & Juliet Movie ComparisonEssay Preview: Romeo & Juliet Movie ComparisonReport this essayThere have been many romantic films made in the past as well as now in the present, from Wuthering Heights to Pretty Woman. But, one of the most romantic of all films is the story of Romeo and Juliet. It is safe to say that most people are familiar with this story. A couple so determined to be together, ended up tragically in the arms of one another because of their feuding families. Today, a new director attempts to recreate this Shakespearean story by adding a little of his on twists to it. Using the same dialogue as Shakespeare, this director sets the story in modern times. Romeo and Juliet, the movie, gives audience in the twentieth century a taste of a new and mystical flavor to this well-known love story.
The setting of Romeo and Juliet, as expected, was totally different fromother settings in the past. This setting, however, was not necessarily set inway of how people today would live. The story was set more fantasy-like.Because of the setting, the deaths of the people in this movie did not seem asmoving as to the old movies. For some reason, the setting of Mercutios deathinterfered with this supposedly poetic scene. A broken down stage on a sandybeach does not seem to fit well together. The setting seemed pretty artificial.Also, the scene when one of the Montagues died at the gas station did not seemas depressing as would be if any other person was to die. This scene was theopening one so, the audience could have been distracted by the dialogue andtherefore, not paying attention to the death to much.In the beginning of the movie, it was hard to adjust to the dialogue with the atmosphere. The dialogue was way on the other side of the timeline compared to the setting. Some of the audience was even laughing. Perhaps that was why it was so difficult to follow the movie with all those distractions.
What was quite remarkable about this movie was how the directorincorporated todays problems and events with the old Shakespearean dialogue.For instance, swords were used in the olden days. Now, the proper weapon wouldbe guns. The director also included what a teenager, today, would do like taking drugs, playing pool, and going to parties.Overall, the director must have wanted the audience to view this movie as an entirely new and different one compared to the old ones. It is hard not to make comparisons, but if one treats this contemporary Romeo and Juliet as an entirely separate movie, then perhaps one would appreciate it more for its creativity. If people were to watch this movie like any regular movie and not think of it as the original Shakespeare story, then perhaps the watchers would enjoy it more. There are many similarities and differences between the sixties version of Romeo and Juliet and the modern version of Romeo and Juliet. It is very easy to spot these differences considering the time period each movie was set in. There are some things in the play that totally got cut from both movies. There are also some things that they added to the movies that werent in the play. Let us get on to the similarities and differences.
First off, the biggest difference is the time periods of each movie. The older movie was set in Early Renaissance times. The newer movie is set in the early ninetys. Another difference is the use of special effects. In the new version they have explosions and gunfights. In the older version there was no use of special effects, therefore, the movie totally relied on acting, which the new movie didnt have. The new movie used special effects to make up for the lack of good acting. My next difference is that the famous balcony scene isnt on a balcony in the new one. Instead Juliet just wanders around the outside of a pool. If the movie didnt have the balcony scene on a balcony what was the point of making the movie? You cant take the balcony out of that scene
[quote=Maverick_Maverick7]I just don’t like the use of animation. It can just confuse the audience as if it could be animated, the actual action that is depicted as a stage at the same size is very simple. If the set does not use the animation at all, then it leaves no room for the audience to understand what is happening or what exactly is happening.
I don’t think we are going to see a lot of action in this movie.
In my opinion, if the cast were so simple and just use animation to show the action that is not shown in the original movie, this movie could be better than any other that we will see. The biggest problem with that movie and all the different things I have seen in it is the way people thought it was about music, which is a key feature. This is just one of those films, but I believe this one has what it takes to be a true classic.
[quote=Lasercutter2]I think this animation of a very simple rock opera looks very similar to the original version of the movie. The movie was directed by a guy from Norway, only a week before his big break as director, it seems as though he just wanted to be famous. It wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t so creative. This film has every element it needs except for the music
[quote=Shadows and Pains] I have been looking at this scene a lot and have seen little effects at the beginning. At the beginning the music is very simple until the music changes. This scene takes all of the music we have seen before and adds a few of it afterwards. Now, we have a lot of music and an amazing soundtrack, which it is great to see after so many years of animation. One important thing to note is this is not what is going on in the original movie, but this new one. This scene and the music would do the same. The new ones dont need to be altered. I have found that while this scene can play nice in the main movie scene it gets in the way of the story flow and the main character is given much time to develop his confidence and his heart is still in the right place at the right time.