An Adaptation "The film Romeo + Juliet" (1996)

Introduction

Drama is"The film Romeo + Juliet (1996), an adaptation, a piece of writing that tells a story and is performed on a stage.  Similarly, film is also a narrative that combines both theatrical and dramatic elements. The drama and the film imitate human life. The drama and the film are complementary to each other because they are the works of fiction.  However, both are independent art forms.  Hence, the adaptation of the drama to the film is a multidisciplinary process. 

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1597) has been performed and adapted as a film by making  different transformations using diverse devices on different media, by different people. The timeless nature of the 16th century play is evidenced by the reappearance of several film versions throughout the 20th century. Baz Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic film adaptation of Romeo + Juliet (1996), the most significant adaptation, presents a fascinating modern interpretation of the 16th century drama.

In 1996, director Baz Luhrmann decided to take Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet for its adaptation as a film Romeo + Juliet. This movie showcased a soundtrack of modern music, characters in contemporary dress, and a modern-day setting in Verona Beach, Florida. Shakespeare’s Elizabethan dialogue, however, remained the same. The film Production Company is Bazmark Productions. The film is distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, a film distributing agency.  It is produced as well as directed by Baz Luhrmann. The screenplay of the film is written by Craig Pearce and Luhrmann.  Music of the film is composed by Nellee Hooper.  The film is starred by Leonardo DiCaprio (Romeo) and Claire Danes (Juliet).

Luhrmann’s colorful direction forces new life into a well-known, much-adapted tale. The film adaptation of the drama Romeo and Juliet further made it famous and its popularity reached up to the peak. The film won 13 awards out of 23 nominations. The film won BAFTA Awards (1998), Australian Cinematographers Society (1997), Berlin International Film Festival (1997), Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1997), London Critics Circle Film Awards (1998), Academy Awards, USA (1997) and so on.  Its declared budget was $ 14.5 million while it earned a net gross revenue of $ 147,554,999.

Truly, the film remains faithful to the writing of William Shakespeare, although, the two lovers are transported to the contemporary period. This is an American movie that transports Verona in the neighborhoods of New York by keeping a contemporary decor of the 20th century. This film has the particularity of having kept the dialogues of the Shakespearean play.

2) William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet (1597) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. He composed it early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reunite their feuding families. It was Shakespeare’s most popular play during his lifetime.

Romeo and Juliet belong to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The story revolves around three families from Verona i.e. The Ruling House, the House of Capulet from where Juliet hails and that of Montague, the male protagonist’s family. The story commences with a street fight fired by the feud between the Montague and the Capulet families. Where the Prince of Verona threatens that any further feud would result in punishment. Count Paris of the ruling house expresses his desire to marry Juliet, from the House of Capulet, who is only thirteen.

Meanwhile, after the clash, Benvolio learns about Romeo’s lost-love Rosaline, one of Lord Capulet’s nieces. The strange meeting between Romeo and Juliet takes place at the ball arranged for Count Paris to meet Juliet. Romeo meets and falls in love with Juliet. Romeo discloses his identity to her on being ‘encouraged in love’. He finds her love to be bright, sunny, and warm when she says: "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?". They seek the support of Friar Laurence, Catholic advisor, longs for settlement between the two families and, therefore, he secretly marries them. Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin challenges Romeo to a duel on discovering that he had sneaked into the ball. However, because of Juliet, Romeo refuses to fight him and calls on the anger of Mercutio, who accepts the duel in spite of Romeo. When Mercutio is wounded in the duel, Romeo slays Tybalt and is exiled for the latter’s death. Juliet’s grief is worsened when Lord Capulet makes plans for her wedding with Count Paris. She seeks help from Friar Laurence. The plan they come up with is that Juliet would consume a drug that would take her into a coma for nearly two days. Romeo was to be informed of the plan via a messenger, but unfortunately he doesn't reach him in time. On the other hand, as per plan, on the eve of her marriage to Count Paris, Juliet takes the drug and is declared dead.

Romeo learns about her ‘death’ and buys poison before visiting her tomb. Fate has other plans as Paris encounters Romeo and is killed by the latter. Romeo believes that Juliet is dead, and, so to follow her he drinks poison. Dramatically, Juliet awakes to discover Romeo's corpse, and in sorrow, stabs herself. The two lovers die a tragic death to make the story immortal. The two families meet at the tomb and hear the story of the lovers from the friar. They reconcile and the violent feud is declared over.

3) Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet

Baz Luhrmann adapted this classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy for the screen, updating the setting to a post-modern city named Verona Beach. In this version, the Capulets (Juliet's lineage) and the Montagues (Romeo's lineage) are two rival gangs.

Baz Luhrmann’s second feature film Romeo + Juliet is a bold and vigorous adaptation of the most famous tragedy. He offers a stylish, contemporary re-telling of the classic love story with Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo's role and Claire Danes in Juliet's role. Set in the gangs and gun culture of Verona Beach, the Capulets and the Montagues are two rival corporate dynasties with generations of hatred behind them. Juliet (actress: Claire Danes) is attending a costume ball thrown by her parents. Her father Fulgencio Capulet (actor: Paul Sorvino) has arranged her marriage to the rough Paris (actor: Paul Rudd) as part of a strategic investment plan. Romeo (actor: Leonardo DiCaprio) attends the masked ball and he and Juliet dramatically fall in love. They race towards a secret marriage, and when it seems that there may be some hope to bring the two warring sides together, events take a tragic turn.

Luhrmann courageously sticks to the drama but maintains the zeal of contemporary life. The film is shot beautifully with vivid and curious sets. Luhrmann makes the Capulets ball a colourful affair. The music is loud and the pace fast. In all, there are thirteen songs and tunes are used at the proper places in the film. The wild camerawork drives the audience through the film as the ill-fated pair dashes towards their doom. Its overwhelming effect is observed when Romeo, at last, utters: "Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty".

4) Creative Elements in the film Romeo + Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy deals with two young star-crossed lovers scarify themselves which ultimately, by chance, reconciles their feuding families. It is the most famous love story in the English tradition. Love is naturally the play’s as well as the film's dominant and most important theme. The play as well as the film focuses on romantic love. Specifically, the intense passion that springs up at first sight between Romeo and Juliet is realistically captured by the dramatist as well as the film makers. Romeo and Juliet are the major characters in the drama as well as the film. From the beginning of the plot, the ancestral hostility (enmity) between the Montaigue and the Capulets is always seen influencing every turn in the story. The scene of the ball is also conserved from the opening. At the end of this scene, the two lovers discover their identities. Luhrmann had a challenge to maintain the original locale in England in conformity with  the  contemporary scenario. This transposition is simply impossible without the emergence of some alterations. Here are certain major deviations in the movie Romeo + Juliet which are in fact the creation of the film producer as well as the director:

1) A mere glance at the film and the drama shows that the film is different in terms of setting, costume, casting, music and props.

2) The setting of the film there are surprising shifting of the locale. Instead of original Verona, Italy, events take place in a crowded seaside metropolis called Verona Beach, Florida, USA . Verona Beach is a modern-day city, with cars, huge and high buildings, gas stations, and hot dog stands.

3) Luhrmann’s costumes are shown highly modernized.  This opening scene finds the Montague boys parading around in Hawaiian shirts and sporting unnaturally colored hair, while the Capulet boys favour leather and metal-heeled boots.  These are some drastic changes from the traditional Elizabethan wear of the time to the contemporary aristocratic lifestyle.

4) In the film, the audience is provided with modern hip-hop, electric guitar sound effects, a sign to musical themes. Luhrmann explains in an interview on the Music Edition of Romeo + Juliet that Shakespeare used all the varieties of music to reach the highly varied audience in the Globe Theater: church music, folk music, and popular music of the times.  Luhrmann echoes this in his version of the film.

5) The film is a shortened modernization of Shakespeare’s play. The Montagues and the Capulets are represented as warring mafia empires and swords are replaced with guns. The fight scene provides an excellent example of the difference in choreography.  In the text, all the characters fight with swords.  In the ultra-modern film Romeo + Juliet, the characters possess pistols bearing the name of their respective houses and make use of the surrounding cars.  Interestingly enough, though, when Benvolio (actor: Dash Mihok) requests his fellow Montagues and the hostile Capulets to lower their weapons, the wording does not exchange swords for guns, but remains as it reads in the original text.

6) The scene which undergoes the greatest influence of this modernity is probably that of the balcony. Since the terrace is under video surveillance, the reality of the scene changed somehow. So, the two lovers meet in the swimming pool, far from prying eyes, to kiss and whisper words of love. Luhrmann finds alterations to suit the realities of the 20th century.

7) In the drama, the marriage of Juliet and Paris is described in a detailed way whereas, in the film, it is curtailed only to a single reference of it because it doesn't affect the spirit of the film.   

                            

8) The drama ends with Romeo’s final fight with Paris (actor: Paul Rudd). Paris is displayed as a strong character.  However, in the film, this fight is deleted and Paris is shown as a stupid, traditional senator and a mere side note. He lived in the shadows of Romeo and Juliet’s all powerful love and, therefore, did not deserve Shakespeare’s final showdown. There were many cuts and changes observed in the final product and all were necessary in Luhrmann’s vision.

9) In the play as well as in the film, the core is love. Luhrmann changes one of the most famous scenes in history for the sake of heightening the groundbreaking sexuality and the romanticism. Luhrmann enhanced the intensity of the action, violence and the romance equally as to make the movie more appealing.

10) In the film, names of the some of the characters are also changed from Montague  to Ted Montague (actor: Brian Dennehy) and Capulet to Fulgencio Capulet (actor: Paul Sorvino). Friar Lawrence becomes Father Lawrence (actor: Pete Postlethwaite), and Prince Escalus is renamed as Captain Prince (actor: Vondie Curtis-Hall) .

11) Finally, in the drama, at the time of the death of Romeo and Juliet, Paris, Balthazar and the pastor are shown.  Where Paris blames Romeo for the death of Juliet.  Romeo kills Paris and then Juliet woke up to find Romeo's death on taking poison for her sake.  She also stabs herself and dies. This takes place at the family tomb. However, in the film, this scene takes place in a church in the center of the city where Paris and Balthazar are absent, and Juliet wakes up when Romeo takes poison. Then Juliet realizes this and shoots herself to follow him.  Both of them see each other before everyone dies. The two lovers are discovered dead in each other’s arms.

All these changes, brought to the film, are due to the transposition of the plot suited to the taste of the world of globalization. In the film, the characters are ‘big’ and the movements are detailed. Everything is enriched, the emotions as well as the gestures and actions are given catchy effect. The tragic is made more tragic and the comic is made more comical. The actor is not playing for the camera; he plays for the spectators who are gathered in the showroom. What Luhrmann has done is to be faithful to the creation of Shakespeare.

5) Conclusion

Sir Philip Sidney states in his Apology for Poetry that poetry should both delight and instruct, and both, the text and the film, serve this purpose well—each is suited to the time in which they are presented. Shakespeare incorporated jokes of the time, mentions of royalty, and references to historical events in his plays.  Luhrmann does this as well, by dragging in numerous references from recent pop culture.  Both Shakespeare and Luhrmann tried to delight their audience with beautiful costumes and familiar music, and to teach them with the basic moral precepts inherent in the story.  Moreover, Luhrmann takes Shakespeare’s task of teaching the masses against the folly of ridiculous family feuds and cleverly updates it for the 20th century, retaining its essential moral argument while making it something to which modern audience can more easily relate.