The closing scene in the Zefferelli film begins with Romeo in the churchyard with Balthasar. Romeo sends Balthasar away he does this because he wants to be alone with his love and he doesn’t want him to stop him from committing suicide; here we can see how close Balthasar is to Romeo. I think this is very romantic. He then heads towards the vault, the door is locked, so Romeo has to break the door open with a large boulder; this makes it more realistic because a family vault containing dead people would be locked. He then enters into the quiet and dark vault and we feel an overriding sense of death. There are many corpses and Romeo has to search to try and find Juliet. I think this has been done to firstly show how much Juliet must have loved Romeo to have take a sleeping draught and especially to wake up in amongst dead corpses in a locked vault; and secondly to make it more realistic.

This scene in the 1997 Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo & Juliet begins with Romeo heading towards the cathedral type building with a helicopter chasing him. This makes it very loud and I think this inappropriate for a scene where Romeo has just learnt of the death of his loved one. However it also makes you realise how much he is risking being back in the city of Verona, just to see Juliet before he takes his own life. He also threatens to kill a man just so he can see Juliet (not in the original script.) I think this is slightly over the top because except for when Romeo killed Tybalt, Romeo is very rational. However in the original play Romeo kills Paris before entering the vault which leads me to ask why instead of having Paris murdered an innocent man is threatened. I think that the threatening at this point is completely inappropriate and I think you should either have Romeo killing Paris or leave the part out completely. When Romeo final gets inside after a lot of ‘hype’ (action and build up) there is an overwhelming sense of light and in the centre of it all is Juliet.

The 1968 film is quiet and dark in comparison to the 1997 which is loud and bright. I think this is the main difference during this part in both films. During this part of the scene I prefer the Zeffereli film because I believe it is more true to what Shakespeare intended, which was to create an atmosphere of death and the strength of both of their loves. However saying that, I also believe that Shakespeare wished people to enjoy his play, even if it is interpreted differently. I like all the candles in the Baz Luhrmann, even if they are a bit excessive because through out the whole play, Romeo refers to Juliet as the sun, moon and star which all provide light and I think the candles are symbolic of this. At this part of the play both films focus on Romeo’s eyes and on Juliet’s. This makes it more romantic and you realise how innocent they are and that they just ‘play things’ in their parent’s fude.

Before Romeo enters the vault Paris is supposed to be mourning over Juliet although Paris doesn’t appear in either films.

Romeo sees Tybalt’s corpse in the Zeffereli version and tries to apologise to him. This is in keeping with the original text. In the Lurhmann version there is no mention of Tybalt at this point. I think it is better to show and mention Tybalt so that we know Romeo hasn’t gone completely mad and is still sorry for murdering him; and had the film followed the original text and had Romeo to murder Paris, this would have salvaged Romeo’s character. Throughout this scene in the Baz Lurhmann film the violent aspect remains especially during the hostage scene, which I don’t think is appropriate. Here I believe the old film is more effective because the 1997 film is inappropriate as it concentrates too much on the violence instead of the sadness of this part of the film.

In the Zeffereli film Romeo then search for Juliet and when he finds her he looks happy because she doesn’t look dead but then he realises that she isn’t and makes a long speech about how beautiful she is before taking the poison. In the 1997 version Romeo walks straight towards Juliet and doesn’t have to search for her. During this part of the film the camera focuses on Romeo face, so we would immediately aware of any change in his mood; although his reaction doesn’t actually change, so we think he is so upset he doesn’t know what to do. This means you don’t feel the sense of death. Romeo then makes the same speech as in the Zeffereli film. I prefer this old film again in this section because Romeo is more real and seems to realise that Juliet is actually dead. I also prefer the 1968 version because in the 1997 version Romeo appears too be in a trance when he sees her, maybe this is to make it look as though he’s really upset, but I don’t get this impression. As Romeo takes the poison in the Luhrmann version, Juliet begins to wake up; although this is not at all suggested in any way in the text, it makes the audience far more tense and this make the scene more exciting.

The prevailing theme in Shakespeare’s play is one of misfortune and circumstances taking over. This definitely not present in the Baz Lurhmann version as I think that violence is prevailing. I don’t think the Zeffereli film presents very well either; however it shows it more than the Baz Lurhmann version.

In this old film the friar comes in to stop Romeo at this point but it is too late because he as already taken his own life. Juliet then wakes and the friar speaks to her and leaves her to take her own life. Here the Friar blames fate, even though he married them; this again raises the question who is to blame for their death. I think that the friar’s interference at this point was completely inappropriate because Juliet is in shock and he doesn’t comfort her and then leaves her to commit suicide when it is partly his fault for marrying them in the first place; although true to the text. The friar doesn’t appear at all in the Baz Lurhmann version.

When Juliet awakes in the 1968 film she acts childish and is almost naïve. I think this is true to her character because otherwise she wouldn’t have married in such a hurry. In the 1997 film Juliet wakes at the same time as Romeo take the poison, so she isn’t as naïve about Romeo. I think they are both equally as good here, but I prefer the new film because you are held in more suspense, but the old film is truer to Juliet’s character.

Juliet takes her life in both films. In the modern film she uses a gun, but in the more traditional Zeffereli film she uses a dagger. A dagger is I think better here because I think it would require more courage to plunge a dagger into your chest than pulling a trigger: and so the 1968 film show how much Juliet must have loved Romeo to kill herself over him. In the Zeffereli version we actually see her kill herself whereas in the Lurhmann version it zooms out and we hear a gun shot. The 1968 film makes us realise how brave Juliet is to commit suicide, however the 1997 version doesn’t show this aswell. The Luhrmann film makes us almost feel that everything is okay, whereas the Zeffereli film makes us realise that Juliet is dead now and the end of her life wasn’t happy, just by showing her kill herself. Again I think the 1968 version is better.

Both films then show a clip of the two of them lying next to each other on her tomb. Our last view of Romeo and Juliet in the Zeffereli film is them on a slab during their funeral procession; both looking very happy and yet both still a distance apart. Our final view of them in the Luhrmann film is them in body bags. The view of the body bags shows no romance and makes this scene seem dry and sordid. I think the older film is far more romantic and so I again prefer this.

To end this scene the prince makes a speech about the fact that everyone has lost out in their deaths. In the 1997 film a policeman says it to Lord Monague and Capulet. In the 1968 film the prince says the speech during the funeral procession, there are only two noises: the first one is the bell striking and the second is the wind. When the prince shouts there is an echo, which reinforces the message of the speech. The wind in the background also makes you shiver and reinforces the atmosphere of death.

In conclusion the 1968 Zeffereli version of the film is better of the two because it is truer to the text and gives more of a sense of true romance, love and death. Also I don’t like the fact that the 1997 Baz Luhrmann film is directly aimed at mass spectacle rather than the love between Romeo and Juliet. I think Baz Lurhmann was aiming at a wide audience when he made the film rather than Zefferelli, who I believe wanted to portray the play as close as possible to the original text.

In the old film the epilogue is a voice over with stringed music in the background (providing a sense of tragedy.) In the 1997 version a newsreader reads it and then in it repeated as a voice over. I prefer the old version because the 1997’s news report is inappropriate for a scene where two lovers have just committed suicide.

Overall I prefer the 1968 Zefferelli version because it is truer to the text and is generally more sensitive towards the prevailing mood of the text.

If I had to make a film of Romeo and Juliet, I would try and make the film as close to the text as possible. I would use swords and daggers rather than guns because that is what would have been around at the time; however I would use a modern British setting and modern British clothes so it would attract a bigger audience. To start the final scene I would have Paris talking to Juliet. Then Romeo turning up in a churchyard just a Paris goes to leave, when it is just starting to get dark. I wouldn’t have it pitch dark because I get the impression from the text that it is summer and in the summer it stays light until late and from the text there is no suggestion what time Romeo goes to the vault other than night-time. I would then let he rest of this scene in my film be true to the text. I would have no music before Juliet commits suicide, then I would have sad stringed music so the audience would get a sense of tragedy yet underlying romance. I would make the music quiter when the Prince enters but keep it going and then rise it after the epilogue. There are certain things I would definitely want such as close-ups on Romeo’s and Juliet’s eyes before Romeo takes his life. I would also want Romeo to die spread across her, so when she wakes up it is even more of a tragedy. I would like to have a small Irish friar so this would make the part more comical and attract more people to watch it. I would have the Prince as a Policeman like in the Lurhmann version.