Conflict, Harmony and Transformation in Art, Design and Film: Entry No 11

Two days ago, while I was doing a presentation regarding the film “Romeo and Juliet” (based on Shakespeare’s tragedy), in the presence of Ms. E. Abela and the other students, an idea popped into my head regarding my “Transformation” final idea. I thought of using “Romeo and Juliet”, instead of the films that I mentioned before in my blog, bringing out the difference between the 1968 and 1996 versions of the said film and therefore the transformation that took place from one version to the other, especially with regards to the costumes worn by the actors, the location of the scenes, the weapons used and even the means of transportation.

The 1968 version of the film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli was greatly influenced by Shakespeare and his film was set in Verona Italy, just like Shakespeare’s version. The costumes worn by the actors were medieval and the weapons that were used were swords/daggers. They travelled on horses/donkeys.

The 1996 version of the film was directed by Baz Luhrmann. Luhrmann was also influenced by Shakespeare, but more in writing than in his directing. The film was set in a fictional location in America called Verona Beach and the actors wore modern outfits (leather clothes by the Capulets and Hawaiian shirts by the Montegues). The weapons that were used by the actors were guns (even though they were called swords and daggers) and they travelled in cars.

Zeffirelli introduced his film by having an actor narrate the introduction while showing 5 scenes or so of Verona to let the audience reflect on the words rather than the scenes. On the other hand, Luhrmann repeated the introduction twice – first as a television news report and the second time by showing various scenes from the film.