Overtime, representations have changed due to technology, for example Alice in Wonderland. It has been remade many times and has changed as technology has become more advanced. The film that is easily comparable by technology is the famous love tragedy play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Hollywood had recreated the masterpiece on screen twice (up to date) being: Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 ‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’.
Zeffirelli’s film is highly traditional and periodic compared to Luhurmann’s where he captures the essence of Shakespeare for the present day viewer. The 1996 version has wild yet graceful camera angles to keep the younger audience attracted while the 1968 version is quite limited.
The films are also different with:
props: 1968 uses swords while 1996 uses guns
prologue: 1968 uses lengthy and dull conversations while 1996 uses a news broadcast over the television
setting: 1968 is set in ancient Italy while 1996 is set in Verona Beach present day.
balcony scene: 1968 is more traditional, extravagant and revolutionary while 1996 is intense and is skilfully interchanged with a pool
Luhurmann’s “Romeo and Juliet’ transforms Shakespeare’s writings into a contemporary location with modern concepts yet keeps the Shakespearean language alive. Both films are highly entertaining but its best to know a bit about the play before watching it (but who doesn’t know about the story of R+J anyway?)
Baz Luhurmann once quoted about the film:
“The idea behind the ‘created world’ was that it was made up of 20th century icons, and these images are there to clarify what’s being said, because once the viewer understands it, the power and beauty of the language (work) is magic.”
