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Unit 6 – Task 4 – Analysis of a Film – Romeo + Juliet (1996)
By Chelsie Brandrick
I. INTRODUCTION
Romeo + Juliet the movie adaptation of the world famous play by William Shakespeare
was produced and directed by Hollywood’s notable Baz Luhrmann. The film was
released on November 1st 1996 by 20th Century Fox Studios and received commercial
and critical success, grossing over $147.5 million despite the movies $14.5 million
budget and gained mostly positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes rated
the film ‘Fresh’, with 72% of 53 critics giving positive reviews. Well known film critic,
James Berardinelli gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and wrote, “Ultimately, no matter how
many innovate and unconventional flourishes it applies, the success of any adaptation of
a Shakespeare play is determined by two factors: the competence of the director and the
ability of the main cast members. Luhrmann, Danes and DiCaprio place this Romeo and
Juliet remake in very capable hands”.
The movie is set Venice Beach on the west coast of America but is called ‘Verona
Beach’ in the film, which is an acknowledgement to the original setting of the play
Verona, Italy. This subtle change by Luhrmann modernizes the story and allows the
story to contain more modern developments, which is more relatable to current viewers
whilst maintaining the interest of the viewers who liked the original location.
The film won several awards, at the 51st BAFTA Film Awards, director Baz Luhrmann
won Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay, Nellee Hooper won the Best Film
Music and Catherine Martin won the Best Production Design. The film was also
nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Sound.
At the 69th Academy Awards, Catherine Martin and Brigitte Broch were nominated for
Best Art Direction/Set Decoration whilst at the 47th Berlin International Film Festival,
DiCaprio won the silver bear for Best Actor and Luhrmann won the Alfred Bauer Prize.
Leonardo DiCaprio won Favourite Actor and Claire Danes won Favourite Actress in a
Romance at the 1997 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, as well as both being
nominated for Best Performance and Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards in 1997.

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Romeo + Juliet was a great success because it appealed to those already familiar with
the story, featured many relatable universal themes, like love and hate and attracted
audiences by using popular and attractive actors, like Claire Danes and Leonardo
DiCaprio.
II. CONTENT
Romeo + Juliet opens with the prologue that briefly suggests the setting and theme of
the movie whilst preparing the audience for the destiny of the two lovers made by fate
and their external circumstances. The prologue swiftly moves into the exposition where
Romeo declares his lust for Rosaline. Order is shown in the Montague and Capulet
households, which emphases and contrasts the feud that materialises later in the film.
The exciting force follows when Romeo meets Juliet at the Capulet house and forgets
about Rosaline. Rising action occurs when Romeo expresses his wish to marry Juliet
but fears they will have to wed in secret as their families won’t allow the marriage. The
climax of the film is when Tybalt kills Mercutio and it enrages Romeo to seek his
revenge to kill Tybalt whilst the prince banishes Romeo resulting in him unable to see
Juliet for fear of death. Falling action follows when Paris becomes engaged to Juliet and
Juliet decides to fake her death with a potion father Lawrence gives her in an attempt to
be with Romeo. The final moment of suspense happens when Romeo is informed that
Juliet is dead and arrives at the Capulet tomb ready to end his life, despite Juliet being
alive but sedated by the potion. The film is concluded with the denouement when
Romeo drinks the poison from Father Lawrence and dies just as Juliet awakens to watch
her love die. She then kills herself with Romeo’s gun so she can be with her lover.
When both families learn of their children’s deaths, they agree to stop the hatred and
end the feud. The denouement is abrupt and tragic but is a great example of how a
complicated plot can be resolved in a scene.
The film was promoted with a premiere in Los Angeles on November 1st 1996 and a
poster that was hung in movie theatres all over America and Europe. In the days before
multiple premieres, the opening of a film was a prime chance for it to be publicized.
The actors were photographed and interviewed and they later ended up in magazines
and newspapers across America, which generated a lot of hype for the film. Many
celebrities were invited to the premiere and then also photographed which encouraged
their fan bases to see the movie. The movie poster was split into six equal sections that
each contained an image from a key scene in the movie as well as text that emphasizes

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the emotion and theme being portrayed in the scene. The first square features a shot of
Juliet on the balcony in an angel costume with the word ‘Hope’ in the corner. The word
hope is paired with Juliet in this image as she is wearing an angel costume and appears
to be pure and innocent which is Romeo’s hope. Angels are also often linked with hope,
as they are a higher power. Next to that image is Romeo firing a gun in the scene where
Tybalt dies. The text in this section says ‘Despair’, which contrasts hope and leads the
viewer to believe Romeo ruined Juliet’s hope by killing Tybalt her cousin. The third
part has Romeo on his knees screaming and looking upset, the text states ‘tragedy’,
which emphasizes the emotion being portrayed in the image and what Romeo is feeling.
The fourth section has an image of Romeo and Juliet kissing in a swimming pool with
the word ‘love’ placed over the top. The love text highlights the couple and that the
relationship is real and strong. This section contrasts the tragedy square next to it, much
like the hope and despair sections above. These contrasting sections tell a story of action
and reaction that is told in the movie. The last two sections feature a picture of Romeo
and Juliet appearing to look at each other, which allows the viewer to see the actor’s full
faces. Additional text includes the title of the film and credits to the actors, which tells
the audience what the movie is and who is in it.
CONTEXT
When William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in approximately 1595, England
had a lot in common with fourteenth-century Italy, the era in which the movie takes
place. As in fourteenth-century Italy, Elizabethan England experienced incredible
violence and tragedy and in 1592 England was ravaged by the bubonic plague, a disease
that had also swept across Italy in 1348. England was deeply enmeshed in a political
and religious power struggle that resembled conditions in Italy 250 years before. Romeo
and Juliet is set during the highly religious catholic era in Italy where society had a
strong belief in damnation for mortal sins. As suicide and bigamy were both considered
sins, it makes Romeo and Juliet’s decisions more outrageous and shocking to watch
whilst demonstrating the social issues of the time in which the movie is set.
The movie reflects fourteenth century Italy by portraying the religious nature of society
by having Father Lawrence play a large part in the storyline and many scenes are shot in
religious settings such as the church where Romeo and Juliet marry and the feature of
the nuns in the opening scene. In the movie Lord Capulet exemplifies the patriarchal

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society that was common in Renaissance times, by exercising complete control over his
wife and daughter. This is demonstrated when Lord Capulet gives orders to Lady
Capulet and how he wishes to marry off Juliet when she is still very young similar to
how his wife married him when she was young.
In this time period family feuds were frequent and this is represented in the film by the
Capulet and Montague feud. The lovers are made to feel like their romance is wrong
due to their quarreling families, which makes their affair more intense and interesting to
watch as a viewer. The Montague’s also seem more affectionate towards Romeo than
the Capulet’s are to Juliet, which leads the viewer to question why he didn’t approach
his parents about his love for Juliet and instead confiding in Father Lawrence. It reveals
the distant relationship wealthy parents had with their children and how potentially
damaging it was, which is still a relevant issue in modern day. Many of the cultural
issues mentioned in the movie such as arranged marriages; distant parents and young
forbidden love are still prominent in modern times, which makes the audience relate to
the plot of Romeo and Juliet despite it being written over 500 years ago.
The language used in the film hasn’t been modernized since it was written, but it has
been stripped down to its necessities in order to sell the movie to a younger audience
who many not understand the complexities of the original text. The language reflects
the time period whilst allowing viewers to find it relatable, this paired with the
modernized visuals presents a blend of old and new that hasn’t been done before which
contributed to the success of the film.
III. SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS
In the opening scene metatextuality is Baz Luhrmann’s overt intention as it is signaled
explicitly by the first image being a television set in the center of an empty screen
showing the credits and production studios responsible for the film. A clip of a news
presenter follows speaking the prologue in a measured and restrained tone similar to
that of a breaking news bulletin. On a screen behind the presenter a broken wedding
ring emerges with ‘I love thee’ inscribed which represents the romance of Romeo and
Juliet and its tragic ending as well as the family’s feud.

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The whole screen bursts with a montage of newspaper headlines in the form of
fragmentary quotations of the prologues text. Examples include, ‘In fair Verona’, ‘New
mutiny’, ‘Montague: Caplet. The Feud continues’ and ‘Where civil blood makes civil
hands unclean’ which all adds emphasis on the setting, theme and plot of the film.
The two identical towers represent the two feuding families and the equal impact and
power the families have on Verona. Fire is used to transition between the montage,
which symbolizes danger, and passion, which reflects the themes of the film. Shots of
war and destruction are shown to add emphasis on the effect the feud is having on
Verona and it’s residences. The font used for the text and title screens contains crosses
which reflects the time the story is set as well as the religious culture that was present in
fourteenth century Italy. The cast is shown by displaying shots of the characters along
side their names and relationship to either Romeo or Juliet, which suggests they are the
key focus of the film and will play a significant part in the story. The montage ends with
flashing images of scenes that occur throughout the film, which creates a dramatic and
climatic ending and transitions well into the title screen and then the first act. Showing
the prologue to the viewers in this manner is a great use of the enigma code technique.
The first act, scene one features a turf ware at a petrol station between the ‘Capulet
Boys’ and the ‘Montague Boys’ and is shown in a western and action film style, which
is another way Luhrmann has tried to attract a younger audience. The Montague’s are
shown in a bright and playful light. They are wearing Hawaiian shirts and their car is
yellow which is the colour of happiness. They seem juvenile and weak as when they
start an argument with the Capulet’s they back down and seem afraid, not realizing the
consequences their playful nature has caused. Whereas the Capulet’s are shown in a
dangerous and feared way, their car is dark blue, they wear dark black clothing and have
a controlling, powerful yet taunting nature. The Capulet’s immediately want to fight as
soon as they see the Montague’s which suggests the Montague’s started the feud. The
Capulet’s are very theatrical which is shown by their frequent gun tricks and
monologues during the brawl. But the Montague’s are very immature which is shown
by their comedic sound effects and laughter as well as their inaccurate shooting ability.
The shots of the police and swat teams after the fight show how the law has to intervene
and the control they assert over the families. The police represent the justice and
authority, which contrasts the rebellion and freedom the Capulet’s and Montague’s
represent.

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During the exciting force portion of the story, Romeo meets Juliet at her family’s party
and the scene is shown in a delicate and romantic way that fits the theme of the story
whilst perfectly highlighting and contrasting the scenes that show their love is
forbidden. The two star-crossed lovers meet in a tender exchange of eye contract across
the elegant light of an aquarium. The pair follow each other across the length of the
glass in an enduring and delicately youthful and romantic moment, which contrasts the
way Juliet is with Paris and makes the viewer favor Romeo as a suitor for Juliet. The
lighting is glimmering and atmospheric whenever the lovers’ meet, which is different,
compared to the rest of the film and emphases their innocent love for one another during
the dangerous and oppressive time they are living in. During the scene Romeo is
dressed as a knight in literal shining armor whist Juliet is wearing an angel costume.
The clothing choices represent how the lovers see each other and why they are attracted
to one another. Romeo is Juliet’s knight as she hopes he will save her from her abusive
father and forced marriage to Paris, whilst Romeo is a hopeless romantic and sees Juliet
as a beautiful, innocent angel that he wants to be with.
IV. CHARACTERS
Romeo is first shown wandering aimlessly at sunset whilst his mother informs the
audience that he often shuts himself away from the world, smokes cigarettes and writes
poetry. It is clear to the viewers that Romeo is depressed and in pain and it is later
explained that the reason for Romeo’s dramatics is because Rosaline won’t be with him.
Baz Luhrmann has brilliantly conveyed how Romeo is a hopeless romantic and
desperate for love, which makes the audience more likely to accept that Romeo could
fall for Juliet quickly. Romeo is a relatable character for the younger audiences as
throughout the film he acts like a stereotypical teenager by ignoring his parents, doing
drugs, crashing parties, falling in love quickly and making rash decisions. Romeo is
often overpowered with emotions, such as when he meets Juliet and requests to marry
her or when he kills Tybalt for revenge, his impulsiveness improves the plot of the film
and makes it more interesting to watch. Romeo’s clothing reflects Juliet’s adolescence
and compliments her plain dress; he wears a black suit or a colourful shirt later on in the
film. Before the lovers meet, the audience can see their compatibility by their
harmonizing styles.

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On contrast to Romeo, Juliet is first introduced as being a young girl who is naïve and
innocent. Juliet’s innocent personality is the result of her parents controlling her, which
is shown by her father forcing her to marry Paris, an older man, whilst she is still
considerably young, and Juliet’s mother frequently giving her commands. Juliet’s
naivety is visually demonstrated by her not wearing any makeup and wearing light
clothing which symbolizes her virginity and youth.
In comparison to the younger members of the cast, the parental and authoritative figures
such as Lord and Lady Capulet and Montague, are dressed in expensive and regal
clothing, suggesting the traditional values of the society and wealth. Both women at the
head of each household are dressed in luxurious clothing and don’t work, which plays
on the stereotype of wives of influential men.
The film well represents a community, as there are a variety of different social and
economic groups featured. The Montagues and Capulets are from an upper middle class
background whilst their employees and Father Lawrence are from a working class
background. There are a range of different ethnicities, ages and genders in the cast and
Mercutio’s drag performance has lead to a theory that he was gay so the characters are
inclusive and show a wide range of society especially considering the movie was made
21 years ago.
V. GENRE
The story of Romeo and Juliet begins as a romance but ends as a tragedy. In the film the
romance is shown throughout with Romeo and Juliet meeting and falling in love as well
as the love between friends and family. The tragedy part begins when Mercutio is killed
half way through the film, which leads to Tybalt being murdered and Romeo and Juliet
taking their own lives. The film fulfills all the elements in order for it to be a tragedy.
Romeo and Juliet are the tragic heroes cursed by the fate of their feuding families and
their tragic flaw or hamartia is their love for each other, which eventually causes their
deaths. The good forces are the star-crossed lovers who are fighting against the evil
force of their parents who forbid their love because of a feud between their families.
The tragic waste is Romeo and Juliet dying, which causes their families to end the feud.
The external conflict for the lovers is the feud that their families have with each other
making their romance off limits, which leads to Juliet being forced to marry Paris and
Romeo being banished after killing her cousin. The internal conflict for the lovers is

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trying to decide how they can be together and figuring out the consequences of their
actions if they were to be together. The film is a great catharsis as the themes and
content of the film are relatable and allow the viewers to release emotions. The film has
a lack of poetic justice as the two protagonists end their lives and the monsters of the
story, i.e. their parents and the feud live on. Romeo and Juliet had to die in order to end
a feud that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.
The use of the elements that complete the tragedy genre enable the viewer to connect
with the plot and identify what type of film it is, which allows them to think about what
storylines could occur and what could happen to the characters they are watching.
VI. CODES AND COVENTIONS
Baz Luhrmann uses many camera techniques to add emphasis and portray the emotions
featured throughout the story. For example during Tybalt and Romeo’s confrontation
scene, a multitude of camera techniques are used that gain the audiences attention and
build suspense throughout the scene until it’s climax when Mercutio is murdered by
Tybalt. Luhrmann uses fast moving camera, low angle shots, special effects, close ups
and pathetic fallacy to make the audience feel as sense of thrill and action. Luhrmann
chooses to have the camera move quickly between Romeo and Tybalt to create almost a
blurred vision effect, which represents the confusion and vision the characters have. The
critical moment of Mercutio’s death is separated from the rest of the scene by Mercutio
staggering away from the scene, which creates an intimate moment between Romeo and
Mercutio. As Mercutio dies the footage is slowed down to dramatize the seriousness of
Tybalt’s actions. Low angle shots are quickly met by Mercutio falling to the floor and
shouting “a plague on both your houses”. Baz Luhrmann uses low angle shots to
underline the significance of Mercutio’s words. After Mercutio dies a thunderstorm
arises and the camera angles change to a bird’s eye view, which is a great use of
pathetic fallacy and the suggestion that these actions are being judged by a higher
power. By using the weather to mimic the characters emotions it amplifies the
significance of Mercutio’s final words.
The lighting throughout the film mimics the emotions being portrayed in the scenes. For
example, when Romeo and Juliet first meet the light from the fish tank is delicate and
soft, which represents the love between Romeo and Juliet; it is new so it needs to be

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taken cared of much like the fish in the tank. When Mercutio and Tybalt are killed the
lighting turns very dark to represent the loss of life, danger and to make sure the viewer
sees the contrast between the love scenes to the hate scenes.
The mise-en-scene is very simple and the sets that have been used to create this new
world and adaptation of Verona, Italy has worked very well. The sets are very realistic
and resemble sections of houses or the balcony and garden featured in the original play.
The sets are designed to be very flat and simple rather than multilayered, the clean sets
don’t distract the viewers from the dialogue and add to the storyline. The lighting is
very high key throughout the majority of the film so everything looks bright and this
represents the happiness the lovers feel. The costumes the characters wear represent
their influence and prestige. Romeo and Juliet wear simple and everyday clothing that
suggests they are teenagers with not much influence. However, their parents always
wear extravagant clothing and suits, which shows their importance. Not many props are
used in the film, except ones that are necessary to tell the story, like the potion, poison
and guns. Having few props allows the viewer to focus on the dialogue and facial
expressions of the actors rather than relying on the props to tell them what is happening.
The music used in the film is modern and includes songs from artists that were popular
at the time such as Radiohead, Des’ree and The Wannadies. The selection of songs are
eerie, raw, edgy yet delicate which fits the mood and tone of the film. The music
mirrors the emotion of the scenes, which conveys the message of the film well. For
example the ‘You and Me Song’ by the Wannadies is an upbeat song about love and it
is played when Romeo is arranging the wedding, which is an upbeat and happy occasion
based around love, like the song.
The dialogue used is original text and includes many monologues and long sections of
speech where the focus is solely on one actor. The diegetic sound is the speech and
music during the party scenes where the viewer can see the artist performing the song.
The non-diegetic sounds are the sound effects and music that is played over cinematic
sequences.
The editing is in a unique style that Baz Luhrmann is known for and can be seen in
other films like Moulin Rouge. There are many quick shots and jump cuts that create

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chaos and add intensity to the scene. During the romantic scenes the shots are steady
and slow and blend together well using transitions and panning shots, which highlights
the emotions and delicacy of the love. There are many following and over the shoulder
shots during the dialogue sequences that portray the characters having a fluid
conversation. Close ups are used to show the audience the emotion and thought process
a character is going through. In the murder sequences the close ups are sandwiched
between action shots that break up the intensity and fast pace of the scene.
VII. NARRATIVES
In films, narrative refers to the telling of a story through the presentation of events.
Linear narratives show the story in chronological order, starting at the beginning,
moving to the middle and proceeding to the end of a story. In contrast, a non-linear
narrative often starts at the middle of a story or the height of a conflict and then returns
back to the beginning to tell the story. Non-linear narratives can also feature flashbacks
and flash-forwards; these techniques capture the viewer’s interest at the start of a film
and ensure they will continue watching the film. In addition to structure, narratives can
contain different strands in the storyline. Single strand narratives include one central
character in a single plot whilst being surrounded by a group of minor characters.
Superman is a good example of a single narrative strand. Whereas multi-strand
narratives feature two or more isolated groups of characters existing at once, which
makes the film more interesting to watch. For example, the comic book series X-Men
does not have one central hero but many. Narratives can have an open or closed ending.
Closed endings have a conclusive ending that completes the story. The time is usually
compressed, fitting many years into two hours. An example is the film ‘About Time’
(2013) it fits around 20 years of story into two hours of screen time. In comparison,
open-ended narratives have many characters and no foreseeable ending, which gives the
scriptwriters freedom when making the plot and allows the possibility for a sequel.
Romeo + Juliet features a single strand narrative as the story includes a single set of
characters, Romeo and Juliet, that are followed through the plot until the end of the
story and the families, nurse and Father Lawrence are the minor characters that support
the main protagonists. The story is told through a linear narrative that starts at the
beginning of the story before Romeo and Juliet have met and ends when the lovers kill
themselves. The ending is closed as the main protagonists commit suicide and the feud

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ends so the story concludes and cannot be continued. The enigma in Romeo + Juliet
starts as the prologue which tells the audience what the story entails and is based around
the feud that the families have. The feud is shown in the opening scene and is resolved
when Romeo and Juliet die, i.e. at the end of the film. Luhrmann also used the
technique of foreshadowing which warns the viewers of the future events. This is used
during the scene before Romeo crashes the Capulet’s party when he states “I have a
feeling this party will be the start of something bad.” The story of Romeo and Juliet has
verisimilitude as it could happen in real life and has been previously argued that Romeo
and Juliet was written about a real life couple who lived in Italy in the thirteenth
century.
NARRATIVE THEMES
The films most dominant themes are love and hate. The love between Romeo and Juliet
battles against the hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets and the lover’s
passion is linked from the moment of its inception with death: Tybalt notices that
Romeo crashed the party and determines to kill him whilst Romeo catches sight of
Juliet and falls instantly in love with her. Love is presented in this film as a violent,
exciting, overpowering force that erases all over values, loyalties and emotions.
Throughout the course of the movie, the lovers defy their entire social circle. Romeo
abandons his friends Mercutio and Benvolio after the party to go to Juliet’s Garden,
Juliet rejects her families name for Romeo when she says, “Deny thy Father and refuse
thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”
Romeo defies the ruler of Verona by returning to see Juliet after he was banished. The
idea that love is a dangerous, powerful thing that consumes the lovers paired with the
extreme consequences that occur and situations the lovers face makes this story an
attractive and appealing form of escapism and entertainment to viewers.
NARRATIVE THEORIES
Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic and literary theorist and developed his own
narrative theory that could be applied to any film. Propp looked at folk tales and saw
that many had the same structure that included 8 main character roles and 31 functions
that help to move the story along. Propp believed that the plot of a film is driven by the
actions and choices of the protagonist or hero and the story always featured six other
people. The villain or antagonist, the donor and the helper who contribute to the success
of the protagonist, the princess who is the object of affection for the hero, the princess’

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father who rewards the hero, the dispatcher who sends the hero on their way and the
false hero who claims to be the hero. Some of the 31 functions include events like, the
hero is prohibited from doing something, the villain learns something about the hero or
the villain is punished and the hero wins.
Tzvetan Todorov was a Bulgarian philosopher and literary structuralist who saw
underlying structures to narratives. Todorov believed that all films followed the same
narrative pattern and that they all went through five stages that he called the
‘equilibrium’ when all forces are in balance, ‘disequilibrium’ the problem,
‘acknowledgement’ when the protagonist realizes their challenge, ‘solving’ when the
protagonist solves the problem and ‘new equilibrium’ which is the ending.
Claude Levi-Strauss was a social anthropologist who studied myths of tribal cultures. In
the mid-20th century, Claude Levi Strauss discovered that the way we understand
certain words does not depend on the meaning that they directly contain, but much more
by our understanding of the difference between the word and its 'opposite' or, as they
called it 'binary opposite'. They realized that words act as symbols for society's ideas
and that the meaning of words was a relationship rather than a fixed thing just a
relationship between opposing ideas. Examples of binary opposites are good and evil,
boy and girl, love and hate, cowboy and Indian and peace and war.
Romeo + Juliet includes all three narrative theories. In Propp’s theory the hero would be
Romeo and the princess is Juliet, the princess’ father is her Nurse as the nurse helps the
lovers get married. The villain is their parents and the feud, the donor and helper are
Juliet’s nurse and Father Lawrence, the false hero is Paris as he tries to win over Juliet
and the dispatcher is also Father Lawrence as he helps Romeo with his plan.
With Todorov’s theory, the equilibrium is the party at the Capulet’s house; the
disequilibrium is when Romeo and Juliet meet which throws their world into chaos. The
acknowledgement is when Romeo and Juliet confess their feelings for each other and
propose to get married; the solving is when Romeo and Juliet create a plan to fake
Juliet’s death so they can run away together. The new equilibrium is when Romeo and
Juliet take their own lives and the feud ends.

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By applying Levi-Strauss’ theory, the narrative reveals it contains many binary
opposites, like boy and girl, love and hate, justice and freedom and peace and war. The
boy and girl are Romeo and Juliet, love and hate are the themes of the film as well as
being binary opposites. Love is shown with the star-crossed lovers and hate is portrayed
with the feud between the two families. Justice and peace is shown with the ruler of
Verona telling the families to stop the quarrelling and Romeo’s banishment and
freedom and war are shown during the fighting scenes when actions rarely have
consequences or are punished.
VIII. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Romeo + Juliet is a romantic comedy that was released over 20 years ago
but still remains relevant and relatable as the director Baz Luhrmann used many
techniques to ensure the film is approachable and understood by a modern audience.
The dialogue hasn’t been altered but it is paired with modernized visual that presents a
blend of old and new that attracts a wide range of people. Luhrmann portrayed Romeo
and Juliet brilliantly to ensure the audience could easily believe that they could fall in
love quickly as Romeo is shown as a hopeless romantic and Juliet as naïve. The cast is
inclusive and represents a community, which allows the audience to relate to the film.
Luhrmann uses many interesting camera angles like close-ups and establishing shots
that add to the story that is being told and emphasises on the emotions being portrayed.
The soundtrack features popular artists of the time like Radiohead that reflects the
emotions and moods being shown in certain scenes. The themes of love and hate are
relatable to a modern audience and as the story contains many narrative theories it
suggests it is a strong narrative, which could be argued why the story is still being
displayed over 500 years after it was written.
I believe that Romeo + Juliet is popular and a good film as it is entertaining to watch
and is an appealing form of escapism for viewers. I think that Luhrmann did a great job
of emphasising the important points by creating symbolic meanings and believable
character whilst displaying religious aspects to the film without losing the audience’s
interest. In years to come this adaptation of Romeo and Juliet will still be popular as it is
the only modernised version of the story that has current content. Audiences will
continue to enjoy this film and it’s renowned tale whilst being exposed to Luhrmann’s
clever editing and directing style that contains symbolism and hidden meanings.
Word Count: 5553.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Book
Shakespeare, W. 2013. Romeo and Juliet. New York: Fall River Press.
Film
Romeo + Juliet. 1996. [Film]. Baz Luhrmann. dir. USA: Bazmark Productions.
Websites
Wikipedia. 2005. Romeo + Juliet. [Online]. [Accessed 20 May 2017]. Available from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_%2B_Juliet#Reception
Wikipedia. 2006. Tzvetan Todorov. [Online]. [Accessed 20 May 2017]. Available from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzvetan_Todorov
Wikipedia. 2006. Vladimir Propp. [Online]. [Accessed 20 May 2017]. Available from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp