BAZ LUHRMANN’S Romeo +Juliet

STUDY QUESTIONS1

Film Language
Filmmakers use the term film language to mean everything they can use to deliver the story most
effectively to the audience. This language includes:
• cinematography/camerawork
• mise en scene
• sets, costumes and make-up
• locations
• lighting
• casting
• editing
• music and sound
Explore these various aspects of film language and see how they are used in Romeo and Juliet.

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Most of the study questions and info below were selected from the‘Romeo and Juliet’ study guide, published by
the Film Education’s Screening Shakespeares’ series. ©Film Education. All rights reserved
Baz Luhrmann’s film Romeo and Juliet’ is introduced to the audience as a segment from a news
bulletin. During an interview, Luhrmann explains:
"I've always wanted to do 'Romeo and Juliet'. The themes it explores, the tragedy that is born of a
prohibited love in a world of learned hate is one of those primary myths that appeals to all
people. 'Romeo and Juliet', like all of Shakespeare's plays touched everyone from the street
sweeper to the Queen of England. He was a rambunctious, sexy, violent and entertaining
storyteller. We're tried to make this movie rambunctious, sexy, violent and entertaining the way
Shakespeare might have if he was a filmmaker."
"Everything that's in the movie is in the play. Violence, murder, lust, love, poison, even drugs
that mimic death. - it's all in there. It's just that we have come to associate productions of 'Romeo
and Juliet' with a certain style of speaking and certain types of costumes. In fact, those costumes
tend to be 19th century Victorian interpretations of Shakespeare, or even Renaissance versions.
When Shakespeare staged his productions the actors wore their street clothes or costumes from
the previous season."
"He is just such an extraordinary storyteller" says Luhrmann. "What I really loved is that he had
this dilemma in terms of audience. He had to knock dead those people selling pigs, the
prostitutes and the nobles because they were all in the same theatre. They had to have a different
experience of the material but enjoy it equally."
"That's what is so phenomenal about it - everyone can experience his work albeit in different
ways. That's an incredible accomplishment. Everyone, from a child to an adult can have a very
rich experience from 'Romeo and Juliet' and I think that's why it's still performed and why it's
worth doing. Shakespeare had an amazing genius for capturing who we are and revealing it to us.
My job is just to re-reveal it."

1. TASK What does Luhrmann mean by re-reveal it? Who is the target audience he has in
mind to reveal it to? Do you think he has succeeded in doing this? If so, how has he
achieved it?

Luhrmann and his scriptwriting partner, Craig Pearce, decided that, although they didn’t want to
set the film against an Elizabethan backdrop, they agreed that the social, religious and political
aspects of Shakespeare's time certainly influenced the play. Pearce explains the process: "When
we started to describe the created world we considered Shakespeare's views on Verona. In the
research we found that he was not historically or geographically accurate in his depiction of
Verona. To Shakespeare and to Elizabethan audiences, Verona was a hot, sexy, violent, Catholic
country. So we needed to find a place that exists in an equivalent way for our audience. It didn't
necessarily have to be naturalistic but we wanted it to ring true. Essentially, we wanted to create
heightened circumstances where the characters do the real things."
 2. What does Luhrmann mean by an icon? Make a list of as many modern day icons from
the film. They could be from the film world, modern western culture or religious icons.
3. If you were creating a world for your film interpretation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ what icons
would you use to signpost the world they lived in?

CINEMATOGRAPHY
- The essential elements of cinematography are lighting, cameras, and lenses. The way
moving images are photographed is crucial in a film and the position of the camera is of
key importance. For example, if a camera is looking down on Its subject its position is
one of power. By manipulating camera angles the filmmaker can tell us a lot about the
relationship between two characters looking at each other. The camera can also take on a
characters point of view and allow the audience to identify with that particular person.
- When choosing camera shots and lenses filmmakers have to decide what is more
important to bring across the desired meaning. Should the emphasis be on the expression
of certain feelings or moods or on realism for that particular moment in the film?

4. Look closely at the scene where Romeo and Juliet meet at the masked ball. Why are all the shots
in close-up? Why has the director chosen an aquarium for their eyes to meet across? What is the effect of
the water and the fish floating past? How does this sequence contrast with what is going on around them?
(Compare the same scene in Zeffirelli & Luhrmann)

5. Look closely at the scene between Juliet and her father when she opposes his plan for her to
marry Paris. How does the camera intensify this emotional scene? Does the camera linger on one
person or go backwards and forwards between the two? What position does the camera take to make
Juliet’s father appear violent and threatening? What effect do the close-ups have on us, the audience?
Do we share anyone’s point of view in this scene? If so, how does the camera do this? (Compare the
same scene in Zeffirelli & Luhrmann)

COSTUMES
The Masked Ball
The ballroom is a key location as it is the setting in which ‘Romeo and Juliet’ fall in love.
1. Look at the references to the ball in Shakespeare’s written text (Act 1 Scene V: Page 113) and
consider how the director, Baz Luhrmann, has picked this particular event out to convey so
 much visual information. To recap, what information do we get from simply looking at the
ballroom scene?
2. TASK Look at the ballroom scene. Pick out some of the details of the costumes. Do you
remember how the Capulet parents dressed for the ball? How does this emphasise or extend
aspects of their personalities? How are Paris and Tybalt dressed? (Discuss the costumes in
both Zeffirelli & Luhrmann)

The Gangs
Costume designer, Kym Barrett, felt that it was important to differentiate between the young
Montagues and Capulets. This was quite difficult as she also wanted to indicate that they came from
the same socio-economic class, as she clarifies here:
"The Capulets' style is more decorative and the Montague kids are more utilitarian…The Capulets
wear ornamental and expensive pieces of clothing, and bullet-proof vests have become required
accessories…it's a place where guns are the norm so life and clothing would have changed to adapt to
that. The Capulets are more manicured and preening and wear clothes that are extremely well-cut and
body conscious."
The designers, Dolce and Gabbana, were the inspiration for the Capulets’ clothing; the Montagues, on
the other hand, are quite different. They have a distinctive, colourful style with Hawaiian shirts and
short hair.
Look at the beach scene. Write down more details of the style and dress code of the two gangs.
(Compare Zeffirelli & Luhrmann)

LIGHTING
The way a lighting director lights objects and characters on a set can greatly influence our
understanding of a scene. Our attention can be guided by a brightly lit object, a gesture or facial
expression important to the storyline, whilst keeping other details in darkness. An evenly lit room
with few shadows can convey a feeling of calm and security, whereas highly contrasted light and
shade can create fear or unease. Lighting can be used to create a sense of place, atmosphere and the
state of mind of the character.
 TASK
1. Do you associate certain types of film or film genres with special or highlighted effects? You will have
expectations of different types of lighting used in different types of film and as a member of a film
audience you have come to understand each particular lighting effect.
2. What lighting do you associate with the following film genres?
horror westerns love stories action
3. Look at the beach scene and think about how the lighting affects our understanding of the situation and
the characters’ behaviour and then take a contrasting scene (either a nighttime or an indoor sequence)
and carry out the same exercise.
4. Consider the lighting in Zeffirelli’s “balcony scene”.

CASTING
Actors not only bring to films their physical presence but an ‘image’ from other films they have
previously appeared in. Stars have images that they might have acquired through publicity (good or
bad press) relating to a particular lifestyle or by playing similar lead character roles in other films.
When an actor appears in a certain film, we cannot help associating the character they play with this
image. Think of some stars associated with particular images.
- The role of Juliet appealed to Claire Danes as she recalls here: "Juliet is a remarkable part
because she is so determined and mature but, at the same time, she has an innocence about
her, a youth and freshness… She is very thoughtful, smart and passionate. She is an incredibly
modern character. She makes her own decisions and takes fate into her own hands which, for
a woman, was unheard of in Shakespeare's time."
- Claire Danes found Juliet’s spectrum of emotions intriguing and exhausting at times as
she explains: "That was the biggest challenge to reach the extremes in the gamut of emotion
Juliet feels. Baz and I used to joke about it; we'd talk about the scene we were going to shoot
of Juliet in the coffee shop with her best friend when she'd complain about maths class being
such a bore… Of course, Juliet's life is never normal. She's falling in love or defying her
parents or taking a sleeping potion or dying. Everything about her is real; it's just heightened
and very dramatic…"
Compare the 2 “Juliets” (Olivia Hussey & Claire Danes) in Zeffirelli’s and Luhrmann’s films.
How do they differ? Are there any similarities between them?
EDITING

- When films were first made, filmmakers set up their cameras and kept the film rolling taking
one continuous shot of an event so the time it took for the action to really take place was the
amount of time that the event was shown on screen.
- As cameras were developed to take more film, filmmakers realised that their audiences were
becoming more sophisticated and experimented with putting together different scenes, editing
together strips of film showing different scenes. They saw that audiences did not need to be
shown an event in real time, consequently a technique of editing a film together began to
emerge. Filmmakers could build up the narrative using different sequences not necessarily in
chronological order.

TASKS 1. Look at the scenes between Friar Laurence and Romeo where they are discussing
Romeo’s love for Juliet. During their conversation Friar Laurence imagines this ‘new love’
uniting the warring Montague and Capulet families and these images of peace are edited into the
conversation. Compare this scene with Shakespeare’s written text and look at how the director has
cut the written text and yet reinforced the meaning. (Act II Scene III: Page 137)

3. The trailer for the film is a good example of shots being selected and edited into a
sequence. Look at the trailer and discuss why these particular shots were chosen to sell the
film and what effect on the audience the editing of a particular sequence may have. Comment
on the pace of the trailer. What does this contribute to our idea of the film? (Consider both
Zeffirelli&Luhrmann)

THE DEATH SCENE

This is one of the most emotional scenes in the play. Compare the ways in which the scene
was imagined in both Zeffirelli’s and Luhrmann’s film adaptations. Take into account all of
the elements mentioned above (lightning, costumes, mis-en-scene etc).
CINEMATIC INTERTEXTUALITY

1. Buz Luhrmann’s film is characterised by a relentless cinematic intertextuality (Courtney