film analysis

Romeo and Juliet - directed by Baz Luhrman

I think the opening sequence of Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet is extremely effective, especially as it manages to inform the audience of the background information and history of the family rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets, without giving too much away. The first stanza of Romeo and Juliet, ("Two Households, Both Alike In Dignity...") is presented through the idea of a news reporter on a TV screen. It starts off as a long shot and slowly zooms in so you are right there within the action of the play. The "Two Households" stanza is then repeated as a voice-over, creating an extremely dramatic effect, over loads of camera footage involving Verona, the two families fighting and their individual histories. Special effects were used to speed up the footage, and with that and loud, classical music, it looks like a news report. Baz Luhrman also introduces the main characters with editing their name and who they are on top of a frozen image of them, I think this was a really good idea as it creates a basic understanding of the people involved in the family fued. The setting of the opening sequence is all around Verona, and the mise-en-scene of the news report footage is very particular, and gives the film a sense of timeless-ness (as the mixutre


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