Romeo And Juliet Movie Comparison

Comparisons of Films

From watching the older and more modern version of the killing of Mercutio and Tybalt there are obvious differences, as well as hidden ones. The comparison is between the Zeffirelli version and the more modern version. Watching these movies, paying close attention is important because it is not just the scenery and which characters are played by whom, but what the director was trying to portray in this scene. Both these versions were very different and it is obvious that in both cases the fight probably meant different things or played a separate significant role in each movie. In the older version the atmosphere is much more relaxed and Mercutio is with a friend and the town seems very empty. When Tybalt comes and he and Mercutio start "bad- mouthing" each other it is more of a joke
then a verbal fight. In a sudden moment, the joking becomes a true and serious problem. Suddenly, it seems as though all the friends show up and all attention is on the fight. While they start going back and forth, you can see the two sides of friends form so that they are standing on their friend's side. The first draw of the sword is Mercutio to Tybalt, and Tybalt pulls his sword out right away. All the people and friends seem happy to see a fight, as though they get hyped up seeing people fight. When Romeo comes and sees that the fight went form play to a battle, he tries to stop it all, but he has no success. Mercutio and Tybalt continue fighting and when Mercutio ends up winning, Tybalt walks away, embarrassed. As Mercutio is being congratulated he stands on top of a bunch of stairs and curses Romeo and Tybalt, it is not portrayed as a serious part. When Mercutio falls to the floor and is seen as a joke when he says he was stabbed, everyone laughs. Mercutio suddenly closes his eyes, and Romeo sees that he really was stabbed. When seeing the film you see that Tybalt did not know he stabbed Mercutio and it was a complete accident. Suddenly, Romeo feels the urge to fight Tybalt for Mercutio and runs after him. Immediately, the fight between those two becomes serious. In this version there is not a lot of drama, and it seems as though it does not look like it plays as big of a part. In the modern version the atmosphere is more focused on Mercutio and how funny he is, and everyone is listening to him.
When Tybalt pulls into the scene, Mercutio joke, and Tybalt does not find him amusing at all. Suddenly Tybalt and Mercutio start fighting and it is serious form the start. Romeo comes in the middle and tries to stick up for Mercutio, Tybalt starts kicking him right into and area where this is a huge arch. The huge arch plays a big role because it makes the fight more centered. Romeo is getting seriously beat by Tybalt when Mercutio comes and throws Tybalt on an abandoned glass mirror. Tybalt takes a piece of the mirror and stabs Mercutio. Right in the middle of the arch, Mercutio stands and curses both Romeo and Tybalt. At this time there is lightening in the back and it is such a dramatic part, and he falls dead. Tybalt drives away and Romeo follows. Followed by a car crash, Romeo and Tybalt are face to face and it becomes so dramatic and then Romeo shoots Tybalt in the Chest. In the modern version, when Romeo kills Tybalt and Mercutio dies, they are so dramatic and it stands out and grabs your attention so that you remember it
better. In the older version, nobody is really blamed for Mercutio's death because it was a complete accident. Tybalt and he were play fighting and Tybalt did not know he stabbed him. It seems in the movie that it was both their faults for play fighting with swords. However, because they played like that back in those times, then nobody is really to blame. In the newer version, Tybalt is completely to blame; this is not just because he was the one that physically stabbed him, but because Romeo did not call for help form Mercutio. When Romeo was getting beaten up, Mercutio threw Tybalt on his own terms, granted it was for Romeo, but Tybalt was the one who started beating Romeo and got thrown into the mirror. Tybalt is to blame because he started the more violent scenery and got himself thrown into the mirror, in which he used to stab Mercutio. If it is thought out, the stabbing with the piece of the mirror goes so quick that you barely see it because so much is going on. Whilst reading the book you get any idea much more like the older version movie, except the killing is more obvious and is more vivid. When thinking about how they say it in the book without looking at the movies, you think of them fighting with swords and there is just a sudden stab. Before seeing the movie, the thoughts are on the fight are much plainer and after seeing the two different movies, you get a different view on the Deaths. In the older version, the director probably portrayed the fight like that for a few different reasons. The most obvious reason is because it is an older film so swords are used and the language is much different. I think the director portrayed the stabbing as an accident because it makes it seem more like the joking was all for fun and then Mercutio dying was not on purpose. I feel as though it was portrayed as an accident because a person would not think that someone would kill someone for such a silly reason. He probably wanted to show it this way because some young boys just play fight and in those days they did play with swords, and he wanted to show that nobody really knew about Romeo's marriage yet. This shows that the fight was not as serious because if it was about Romeo it would have been a lot more serious. In the newer version the fight is portrayed as a such a dramatic and important part and is shown with thunder and a huge arch to place the scene. I feel as though the director portrayed it like this because it plays a big part in Romeo leaving the city so it should be remembered. I think that the stabbing of the glass shows that Romeo had a reason to kill Tybalt so it was not for just any reason. I think the director wanted to show that Romeo's friend was killed completely on purpose and Romeo and all the reason in the world to be mad. He probably filmed it like this because this part in the story plays a big role, so it needs to be dramatic and show that it is a strong moment in the story, and plays a significant role in why the ending is how it is. I enjoyed the modern version because of how strong actions came out. I thought it was neat how in the older one it was not on purpose to kill Mercutio, but the modern version appealed to me more. In the more modern version I thought it was so interesting that they fight into this huge arch where they really stand out. My favorite part was when Mercutio curses both Tybalt and Romeo and there is thunder and it really makes you remember it because it is so loud and strong. I enjoyed it more because it seemed much more realistic how the cars crashed and it was on the beach and how he shot him and it was so intensive, it stayed in your mind and the pictures are remembered. I think when reading and comparing I wouldn't expect what I saw in the modern version, but that's what I liked about it; I didn't expect it to be like that. The feeling of seeing something you completely didn't expect made it more exciting and more interesting because it was completely out of your imagination. I think it makes the play come more to life in mind because I can see vivid images; they are not hidden but stand out. I can still see the lightening and the shooting, and the sweat that Romeo had while he was holding a gun to his own head and saying the words, "Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him." Moments like that in that one particular scene just stood out because of the drama in them. In both versions, you imagine completely opposite things, and they both have very hidden messages that only the director can uncover.