1996 Film Version Of Romeo And Juliet

The (1996) Film Version of “Romeo and Juliet”

“Romeo and Juliet” is one of the most read and known plays in the world, with its playwright William Shakespeare being a household name across continents due to his distinct and excellent style of writing. William Shakespeare has received and continues to receive praise and appreciation today, four centuries after his demise. It is the way that he portrays and describes his characters through their speeches and acts that make him immortal. Most of his characters throughout his plays are magic, since the audience is able to strongly commune with them regardless of the setting of the plays. Shakespeare is known for his rhyme scheme and designs of his plays that he invented, whereby he introduced

The power contained in the story is marvelous, whereby two young lovers who love each other with unconditional love decide to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their affection for each other, hence leaving an indelible mark that cannot be erased throughout history. However, this particular play has not been popular within the reading community of youngsters due to its difficult and strange language that Shakespeare uses in describing this particular plot. This dissatisfaction has been noted by various filmmakers and television producers who have made attempts to produce adaptations of “Romeo and Juliet” since 1908 to date and were inspired by different ideas. There are close to sixty adapted films of “Romeo and Juliet”, which have tried to base their storyline on the play, but when it comes to the ones that have really tried to borrow from Shakespeare’s original script, the count decreases to less than ten. In this essay, we will use the 1996 film version directed and produced by Baz Luhrmann that manages to address the new generation. In this analysis, we will investigate whether the 1996 film version updates the play “Rome and Juliet” or distorts it, as well as whether it helps the audience to commune with the play or it deforms it beyond

It is common knowledge that movies are easier to understand as compared to books, even though there might be variations in the plots. In Baz Luhrmann's (1996) film “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”, there are some noticeable differences that exist between William Shakespeare’s book and his film version. One of the differences that cannot go unnoticed in the two versions is that, while the book’s setting takes place in the eighteenth century Verona beach, the film takes place in the late twentieth century still in the beach of Verona. This difference greatly distorts the film to make it appear out of place, given that the young characters use the same language as that used in the original script of the play. In this same film, there are some noticeable differences that exist between William Shakespeare’s book and this version, however it has largely been suggested that rather than being seen to distort Shakespeare’s classic work, this film adaptation can play a role in enhancing the play’s readability, and hence pulling it from the pedestal levels that it has been placed in by the masses (Boose and Burt). For instance, having been left out by the young audience, William Shakespeare’s book “Romeo and Juliet” can now be accessed by this vast youthful