romeo and juliet play william shakespeare

Just as the families influence the music so do individual characters. The non-existent use of sound bridges creates fairly erratic music which stops and starts creating clear distinction between characters. The music helps us to understand the style of the two ‘gangs’.

When we see the Capulet boys, the music changes to western style, the type used in western movies. When we meet the Montague boys, the music is very loud, fast and crude. In the film, when we see the two families, at the petrol station, the music for each is very different.

In a scene if two different types of music are played each will have a totally different effect on the atmosphere of that scene. The music in any film plays a huge part as the music is the thing that gives any scene its atmosphere. In contrast when we first meet Tybalt, we see him at the petrol station, a place prone to catching fire, with guns.Īlong with the setting another big part of the film is the music. When we first meet the priest, he is surrounded by plants, again part of nature. For example, when Romeo & Juliet first meet, they meet at the fish tank. Romeo, Juliet and the friar are always surrounded by nature, giving us the message of clarity and innocence. The setting is also used as an instrument to show us the viewers the ‘good’ people from the ‘bad’. In fact throughout the film the setting and the events brought the film to its inevitable ending. The hatred between the families is like a plague which kept on spreading and if it hadn’t been stopped, would have overwhelmed the whole world.

Later on in the film even the beach is inflicted of violence and the crime, when the murder of Mercutio takes place. It is away from the chaos of the city, almost like a world within a world, like a sanctuary. At least at the beginning of the film, it is a place of peace and tranquillity where people could escape from the commotion.

The sacrifice of Jesus was to save the people of this world and similarly the sacrifice of Romeo & Juliet would end the feud and bring the two families together creating peace in their frenzied world, hence saving the people of fair Verona of the misery and the pain and the turmoil caused by the feud.Īs a contrast to the violence of the city is the beach. The positioning of the statue implies that the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet did not identify with either side but were caught in the middle. Lurhman was trying to compare the deaths of Romeo and Juliet to the death of Jesus. Referring to the statue between the two buildings, the fact that the statue of Jesus is used holds a certain symbolism. This world that the viewers are shown is a world of crime overwhelmed with violence and out of control people. We see traffic, helicopters flying, tall skyscrapers, casualties and scenes of overall chaos.

Romeo and juliet play william shakespeare