ROMEO AND JULIET, A COMPARISON.
Romeo and Juliet received enormous attention during Sheakspeare’s lifetime: critics would initially be conflicting on Shakespeare’s play, because of its unconventional fate-guided plot and rebellious characters.
Many adaptations of the play have been made, and in the 20th century lots of movies and music have been built around the theme of Romeo and Juliet.
Here I am going to discuss four major artistic productions revolving round this theme, including two songs and two movies: the former “Romeo and Juliet” movie by Franco Zeffirelli and Dire Straits’ “Romeo and Juliet” song, the latter “Romeo + Juliet” by Baz Luhrmann together with “Exit music (for a film)” by Radiohead.
PART 1: THE CLASSICS
FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI’S VERSION:
A FAITHFUL RENDITION.
This movie, aired in 1968, has been considered the only worthy adaptation of the play, up until Baz Luhrmann came out with his own interpretation.
This rendition wants to resemble in each and every detail the original play, through a neat and appropriate use of costumes, in order to create realism.
Although not every act or actions are displayed in the plot, the language used closely resembles the
original script, together with gestuality, intonation and perfect setting representation. Also, to confer further realism the actors were the exact same age of the characters they interpreted.
Franco Zeffirelli used typical techniques of the time, such as long sequences, a clear dubbing and some classical music pieces to accompany the movie.
The target audience also was the audience of the time, interested in seeing a loyal rendition of the acclaimed play.
I would recommend this movie today to anyone who loves classical literature, history and historical drama, or also the old fashioned cinema of the 60’s.
DIRE STRAITS’ BALLAD:
ROMEO AND JULIET AS A FAIRY TALE IN POP CULTURE
The iconic pop-rock group Dire Straits released this song as a single in 1981; it was considered a classic from the moment it came out.
Mark Knopfler, singer and creator of the song, starts the song with an introduction played on a particular guitar, the “Resonator guitar”: it is a metallic guitar that produces a more antiquated or vintage sound. The ballad follows a traditional structure verse/chorus with interludes between them and an outro, maintains a constant flow without great variations, stays on the same key all the time and features a typical instrumentation for a pop-rock ballad: guitars, bass, drums and some vocals delivered with a gentle voice.
The lyrics are instead a little more subtle: there is no great context, but we know for sure that the story is about a modern age romance, told from the point of view of a left alone Romeo. He complains how Juliet can only fall for “chains of silver and gold”, how he is now “just another one of your deals”.
We also understand that the fictional Romeo is the composer and narrator of the song and eventually leaves behind his delusions, according to the reassuring and sweet tone of the song. At the end, such as at the start, an external narrator repeats the same two stanzas and ends the song, accompanied by a gentle instrumental fade out, just like Romeo’s illusions that slowly fly away.
Even though Dire Straits sing a different story from the original one, I find this song fairly related to Zeffirelli’s movie: they both show a distant world and reality, using traditional techniques to convey the messages; both of them today are still considered classics for their classical approach to convey a similar story to the spectator/listener.
PART 2: MODERN TIMES
BAZ LUHRMANN: POST-MODERN “ROMEO + JULIET”
There are no doubts: Baz Luhrmann’s version of the play is definitely the weirdest you’ll ever see. Still, it wants to set the bar high, featuring actors like
Leonardo Di Caprio and Claire Danes in their youth, recreating many of the situations of the play, with the same lines, even if pronounced by thugs and criminals of today.
The movie takes place at Verona Beach, in the USA, during the ‘90s: it is full of violence, weapons, crazy characters that enhance the traits of the original ones, and a strong critique of consumerism. The two houses are both owned by rich capitalists that compete for market dominance: the hatred between the two is manifested in some feuds in an urban environment.
The love between the two is much more carnal and full of raw violence around it: in comparison with Zeffirelli’s version, the two characters are much more attached to a material love, they just go straight to the point without too many indulgences or doubts, just like a typical young couple of modern age.
They do not use many words, the movie displays their eye contact and actions rather than lingering on the dialogues.
The same goes for balcony scene: it is replaced by a pool scene and the physical attraction of the newborn love overturns the brief lines of the original script, which may seem a bit neglected.
Also, the tone of the movie is both darker, more absurd and satirical compared to the previous movies: there are really fast close-ups and speed up sequence shots in order to display on the screen the maximum amount of scenes; at the same time it gives relevance to the ones filmed normally.
One peculiar trait of the film is that Mercutio is effectively a Drag queen, and (in my opinion) his death is far more dramatic compared to Zeffirelli’s version.
The movie also takes after Quentin Tarantino’s style to enhance the satirical aspect of violence and ridiculousness of the feud between the two families.
Besides, the movie makes use of a lot of saturated and bright colors (as if it can be found on an instagram post!) to highlight the contrast between holy and profane, euphoria and desperation.
Instead, the original movie has a rather realistic and theatrical-like aesthetic:
The two movies are both products of their time, for different audiences and purposes.
The music is also very different, instead of just classical pieces, Luhrmann’s version also uses rock, grunge rock and 90’s songs to accompany the movie.
Talking about the soundtrack of Luhrmann’s movie, we will take “a listen” for the last chapter of this excursus.
RADIOHEAD’S ROMEO AND JULIET:
EXIT MUSIC (FOR A FILM).
The acclaimed British band Radiohead does not refrain from composing soundtracks for movies: one of their finest songs, Exit music (for a film), was indeed composed for Baz Luhrmann’s movie.
This choice was rather a bet, because Radiohead were not that popular and estimated band that they would become in just a year’s time; they were on the verge of breaking into the music industry and history as a high-profile art-rock band with the album “OK Computer” (1997), an album that is today considered one of the greatest ever.
With this in mind, we shall declare that Baz Luhrmann totally nailed it.
The same song used for the movie has been used for an insane amount of other movies and tv series suchs as Black Mirror, Umbrella Academy, The 100, Westworld and many others.
Considering Dire Straits’ take on the subject, the Radiohead ballad couldn’t be further apart.
For start, the song is in a minor key, and it also shifts through two different minor keys – a really odd thing for a “pop” song – as you can hear at minute 1:26 when the song recites “keep breathing”. This line makes us understand that the narrator is Romeo, who finds the body of Juliet and “I can’t do this alone” is a desperate cry for help. The song, making clear references to the original text, describes the final moments of the two star crossed lovers.
But just when the song is just about to end, supposedly from the point of view of the final moments of Juliet, “there is such chill”, a striking epilogue breaks in and suddenly the volume of drums and bass is disproportionately huge.
The lyrics are now a collective epitaph of the two lovers, a rageous message to the adults that would only divide them and cause the tragic end. The song reaches an unexpected and intense climax:
“You can laugh, a spineless laugh, we hope your rules and wisdom choke you, now we are one in everlasting peace, we hope that you choke”
A SUMMARY OF PART 2
Radioihead makes use of a unique orchestration and odd chords, the stunning and frightening epilogue of the song is a crucial variation from the idea of a ballad about a Romeo and Juliet distant in time and space.
The song does not end with the death of the star crossed lovers! It ends with a direct message to the ones that have oppressed them, and still oppress us today.
We can say that the tragedy is still ongoing today… Just like Baz Luhrmann’s post-modern take on Romeo and Juliet.
Now, the accounts add up.
A FINAL COMMENT
The most famous teen tragedy of literature never gets old, through cinema and music it evolves and undergoes multiple variations; from Zeffirelli’s nearly perfect recreation to Baz Luhrmanm’s postmodern action movie, the theme of hatred is more relevant than ever.
Personally I find Baz Luhrmann’s movie more engaging, it sounds just like a really dark joke with a terrifying ending – and I love it -, but obviously not everyone likes this movie more than the first one.
Which of the movies or songs did you enjoy the most/are you now curious to discover?
