Magazine Review of Baz Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet Essay

Magazine Review of Baz Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet Imagine that you are writing a review of Baz Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet for a magazine aimed at English teachers. Concentrating only on the first ten minutes of the film, explain its possible appeal to 14 year olds and how the director has adapted Shakespeares play. Finally explain whether you would recommend it to be used in the classroom. Baz Luhrmann has produced a vibrant, innovative and modern version of Romeo and Juliet. He brings attractive actors, beautiful settings and action together to portray one of Shakespeares most famous plays. The play as we†¦show more content†¦He also shows images of the media to emphasise the prologue by having several shots of magazines and newspapers with titles relating to the introduction. He introduce the characters to the audience who may not be familiar with Shakespeares work, by pausing the film with a characters face on the screen, and their name appears in graphics with their relationship with to Romeo or Juliet. This all happens while the diegetic Italian opera, crescendos throughout the scene leaving the audience anticipating the film to come. The story begins with three Montague boys speeding down the highway with rock music blasting through the cinema speakers. Their costumes are all similar, with a brightly coloured beach shirt and trousers with modern hair cuts and even pink hair dye. The Capulets dress slightly differently, wearing leather, having more religious symbols and on the whole looking very similar to how gangsters dress in other films. This is one of the first instances where Luhrmann adapts Shakespeares play to keep the movie modern. Another example is that Shakespeare refers to swords several times in the play, where as Luhmann has close up shots on the guns which are called sword 9mm, and the way that the prince is now a police officer with the title Captain Prince, chief of