Comparitive Movie Review: Romeo and Juliet

Stuart MacGillivray April 2nd, 2002

In comparing these two movies, the “balcony scene” (Act 2, scene 2) will be the primary focus.

Firstly, the acting is to be compared. The Zeffirelli version of the film had good acting, with the characters putting a lot of emotion into their lines. Juliet’s transition from musing to shock was well done, as was Romeo’s bravado. In the modern version of the film, the acting seemed more hollow, almost as if they were just reciting their lines without emotion.

Secondly, the plot is to be compared. This is difficult, because both films were based upon the same “script”: Shakespeare’s original scene. In both versions, the lines were fairly accurate, though oddly enough, the modern version had more of the original dialogue than the Zeffirelli version. The alternate setting in the modern version gave the lines a new twist, as well.

The cinematography in both movies was quite well done. In the Zeffirelli version, the view seems to alternate between Juliet’s perspective, Romeo’s perspective, and an overall view of the both of them. The more modern version is restricted to the third-person view, but tries to create suspence; Romeo sneaking up on Juliet is well done, though a bit comical.

The costumes and setting of the two films were approached in different manners. Zefferelli’s version tried to recreate the original Italian feeling; the costumes were reminiscent of that area, and the settings were well done. The modern version, on the other hand, was trying to set the characters in a slightly futuristic area; they have modern clothes, and are in settings that easily mesh with modern society. Neither can be said to have done a better job, since they had different goals to begin with.

The sound and music were relatively one-sided; the modern version had no disernable music, and the sound was uniform. The Zefferelli version, on the other hand, had music to go with the mood (the reprise of the song from the party was a nice touch), and had the sound as it would have been heard; Romeo’s calling, Juliet’s musing, and so on.

In summary, the Zefferelli version seemed to do a better job overall of recreating the work of William Shakespeare; the more modern rendition did a good job putting it in a more modern setting, but Zefferelli’s work was pulled off in a superior manner.