In the opening scene of the movie, Allurement’s starts with a prologue masked as a news broadcast on the television. This sets the scene of the play by illustrating the violence occurring between the two wealthy families, the Montages and the Capsules. In Ziegfeld’s film, the prologue takes the form Of a narrator, relating the Story Of the Montages and Capsules over a backdrop of an Italian city. Verona then was a setting with highly religious dimensions. A neutral place where Romeo and Gullet’s worlds overlap is at Friar Lawrence church.
In both films this seems to be the only place Juliet is allowed to go outside of her own home. In Allurement’s film Romeo has a strong bond with Friar Lawrence however; in the older film heir bond does not appear as strong. As well as updating Shakespearean play to the present decade through, Allurement’s film is more enjoyable because of the vibrant settings. The Ziegfeld “Romeo and Juliet” occurs in an ancient Italian city, with cobblestone streets and Roman mansions.
Although the original play was meant to be performed in this setting the modern viewer cannot relate to the environment, and therefore has a hard time understanding the plot and antipathies the characters. Ziegfeld keeps the authenticity of dress by dressing his actors in hose and doublet. This helps us o understand the theme that Shakespeare first intended. The two gangs are dressed in their gang colors ( Montages in orange and the Capsules in Blue. ) Allurement’s cutting edge costume transforms Shakespearean play by dressing the two gangs in totally different clothing altogether.
By choosing to dress the Montages in tropical Hawaiian shirts with the buttons undone, and the Capsules in a more formal style in leather pants and Jackets, showcasing their gangster style and highlighting their harsh interior and also their wealth. Lurching chose to make the party fancy dress and we gain a better understanding of each character through their costume. Bag Lurching clothes Juliet as an angel and this symbolizes her beauty, innocence and purity as she is a young lady who is being introduced to the rest of her family’s and contacts for the very first time.
He then follows on to have Gullet’s father, Lord Montague, dressed up as the famous Roman emperor Julius Caesar to signify power, importance and wealth. His wife (Gullet’s mother) is dressed up as Cleopatra by extremely clever costume symbolism; we also recognizes her wealth and Importance as a figure In society. Romeo attends the party as a Knight, the definitive romantic figure. This hints to us there may be some romance between him and another character. Although his costume also represents strength, as Knights are typically strong and well-built figures, this attracts us to the characters and we are left wanting to know more.
On the contrary, Ziegfeld doesn’t use fancy dress to give us a better understanding of the main roles, but does use costume symbolism. For example, when we meet Rosalie at the party her dress is extravagant, brightly clouded and covered in diamonds, and this draws attention to her flirtatious behavior and lust for male attention. This is juxtaposed with Gullet’s simplistic and understated dress. It shows that Juliet is a true beauty, and does not need fakery to bring out her assets and attract attention.
Ziegfeld’s presents a classical soundtrack containing flutes and harps. The music is a loud fast tempo when Rosalie enters again drawing attention to her flirtatious persona and her out going presence. Although Gullet’s entrance is accompanied by softer instruments to highlight her gentle nature and pure soul. The lead singer of Radio-head viewed Ziegfeld’s interpretation when he was 13 years of age he immediately fell in love with the film and inspired him o write the key song to Learner’s soundtrack including some big chart toppers from 1996.
Each director uses very different camera effects. Alarming uses an establishing shot early in the movie which shows the importance and dominance of the two families. From a birds-eye perspective the audience can see how influential the Montague and Caplet families are; their towering skyscrapers command the sky. In addition, the birds-eye shot helps us relate to the intensity and hassle and bustle of the location, although Alarming also uses extreme close ups to sum up the emotion and passion in he characters eyes.
However Ziegfeld’s shots are of a slower tempo and a gentler pace. One of the main reasons for this is that they couldn’t access the same editing software; nevertheless it contributes to traditional renaissance of Shakespearean powerful play scripts. To conclude both films were enjoyable to both the modern viewer and the older generation of viewers. However, in my opinion Bag Learner’s film was more enjoyable because of the modern setting and the recognizable actors. In addition the up to date soundtrack and costumes keeps the audience interested and engrossed.
