Romeo and Juliet - Zeffirelli and Luhrmann Film Comparisons

Romeo and Juliet - Zeffirelli and Luhrmann The two main film interpretations of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" are Zeffirelli's, made in 1968, and Luhrmann's, made in 1997. Although they use the same original script written by Shakespeare, these two films are very different. Zeffirelli's is set in the 16th century, at the time when the screenplay would have first been written whereas Luhrmann has set his film in modern time but still using the Shakespearian language. The …

…for Romeo to leave, the pace of the film slows once again. The voices become romantic instead of sexual. As Romeo and Juliet part, the camera pans out to show their hands drifting further apart from each other in a slow lethargic movement showing the separation and isolation of Romeo and Juliets character. Zeffirelli's film was very serious, stressing on infatuation where as Lurhmanns film was light-hearted and showed real love between Romeo and Juliet.