You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
- 10/29 various versions of Romeo and Juliet
-
1) What did you like about these clips? (Hopefully, they motivate you more to read the play which you may have read in school or avoided doing so…)
It’s very interesting since they’re all extremely consistent with the storyline of Romeo and Juliet. Same fight scenes and such. But I’m not a crazy fan of the more older films, nor am I crazy about the more modernized ones. The changes are either too weird to me since they keep the original script of the play. And the older ones are just not as capturing, I didn’t feel extremely engrossed like the films in between.
2) Which version(s) appeal to you and why? Please explain.
The 1968 version is my favorite because the love between Romeo and Juliet feels much warmer, more real. The 2013 is pretty good, but the way the actors are playing the balcony scene for 1968 feels more natural, like they truly are secret lovers. And Westside Story is a classic, I’ve always loved Westside Story. My elementary school always invited an acting group to do Westside Story every year.
3) Which version(s) bother you and why? Please explain.
The Romeo + Juliet (1997) is my least favorite. Maybe it’s because the way they speak while the setting is modernized just throws me off. It feels a little goofy, which I assume is the purpose but I’m not crazy about it. But I do love Leonardo DiCaprio’s acting here, the film just overall isn’t appealing to me.
The black & white version has actors far too old for the parts. The lead characters are supposed to be teenagers! Also, the acting style back then was very “theatrical” wherein ladies would put their wrists to their foreheads to show distress.
The newest version was not very engaging and Juliet just seemed to just say her lines without feeling–although Halley Steinfeld normally is a good actress, but not here in my opinion.1. Each rendition of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is the same but distinct, which I enjoyed. It’s as if each director puts their own twist on what it’s supposed to be, so each one a person watches is unique and not the same thing over and over.
2. I really appreciate ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Romeo + Juliet’ from 1997; it’s not your traditional ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ but it appears to have a humorous side to it, and it’s more fun than the standard versions, and it appeals to a more modern audience. The usage of guns rather than swords in the 1997 versions seems more in line with current events.
The director wanted to appeal to younger audiences that enjoy action movies!
3. I didn’t mind any of the versions; I just didn’t like the blurred look they used in ‘West Side Story,’ but everything else was good.
The occasional blurriness was to show the lead characters were intensely focused on each other and only saw each other, not the world around them. The cinematography overall is clear and focused.
1) What did you like about these clips? (Hopefully, they motivate you more to read the play which you may have read in school or avoided doing so…)
I find it interesting how Romeo and Juliet version of 1968, 2013, and 1963 the Montague and Capulet are having a brawl and fighting with swords every director has their way of making the scene similar. But as we get the Romeo and Juliet version 1997 this part of the fighting where the Montague versus Capulet they have cars, guns, and there in the gas station. I find this scene unfamiliar and weird because when I was in high school I grew up watching Romeo and Juliet of the version 1968. I remember I’ve watched version 1968 of Romeo and Juliet but it was 4 years ago in high school.
2) Which version(s) appeal to you and why? Please explain.
Although there is multiple version of Romeo and Juliet I still have to say that Romeo and Juliet 1997 is more appealing because they’re using guns and the environment is extremely different from what I had watched in my childhood. Romeo and Juliet 1997 is more intense where Montague and Capulet are fighting back with guns.
3) Which version(s) bother you and why? Please explain.
I find version 1997 bothers me the most and not the B&W version because I’m unfamiliar and find it weird how in the film Romeo and Juliet they have guns and modern cars that exist.
The modern trappings: guns, cars, helicopters are to make the timelessness of the famous story fun for contemporary audiences that enjoy action movies. Leonardo DiCaprio is a magnificent actor, but I did find the movie disappointing only insofar as the American actors speaking Elizabethan English just did not sound right to my ears.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
