Romeo & Juliet Movie Comparison

There have been many romantic films made in the past as well as now in the present, from Wuthering Heights to Pretty Woman. But, one of the most romantic of all films is the story of Romeo and Juliet. It is safe to say that most people are familiar with this story. A couple so determined to be together, ended up tragically in the arms of one another because of their feuding families. Today, a new director attempts to recreate this Shakespearean story by adding a little of his on twists to it. Using the same dialogue as Shakespeare, this director sets the story in modern times. Romeo and Juliet, the movie, gives audience in the twentieth century a taste of a new and mystical flavor to this well-known love story.

The setting of Romeo and Juliet, as expected, was totally different from

other settings in the past. This setting, however, was not necessarily set in

way of how people today would live. The story was set more fantasy-like.

Because of the setting, the deaths of the people in this movie did not seem as

moving as to the old movies. For some reason, the setting of Mercutio's death

interfered with this supposedly poetic scene. A broken down stage on a sandy

beach does not seem to fit well together. The setting seemed pretty artificial.

Also, the scene when one of the Montagues died at the gas station did not seem

as depressing as would be if any other person was to die. This scene was the

opening one so, the audience could have been distracted by the dialogue and

therefore, not paying attention to the death to much.

In the beginning of the movie, it was hard to adjust to the dialogue with the atmosphere. The dialogue was way on the other side of the timeline compared to the setting. Some of the audience was even laughing. Perhaps that was why it was so difficult to follow the movie with all those distractions.

What was quite remarkable about this movie was how the director

incorporated today's problems and events with the old Shakespearean dialogue.

For instance, swords were used in the olden days. Now, the proper weapon would

be guns. The director also included what a teenager, today, would do like taking drugs, playing pool, and going to parties.

Overall, the director must have wanted the audience to view this movie as an entirely new and different one compared to the old ones. It is hard not to make comparisons, but if one treats this contemporary Romeo and Juliet as an entirely separate movie, then perhaps one would appreciate it more for its creativity. If people were to watch this movie like any regular movie and not think of it as the original Shakespeare story, then perhaps the watchers would enjoy it more. There are many similarities and differences between the sixties version of Romeo and Juliet and the modern version of Romeo and Juliet. It is very easy to spot these differences considering the time period each movie was set in. There are some things in the play that totally got cut from both movies. There are also some things that they added to the movies that weren't in the play. Let us get on to the similarities and differences.

First off, the biggest difference is the time periods of each movie. The older movie was set in Early Renaissance times. The newer movie is set in the early ninety's. Another difference is the use of special effects. In the new version they have explosions and gunfights. In the older version there was no use of special effects, therefore, the movie totally relied on acting, which the new movie didn't have. The new movie used special effects to make up for the lack of good acting. My next difference is that the famous balcony scene isn't on a balcony in the new one. Instead Juliet just wanders around the outside of a pool. If the movie didn't have the balcony scene on a balcony what was the point of making the movie? You can't take the balcony out of that scene