Romeo And Juliet Vs Zeffirelli's

The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet is the classic play written by William Shakespeare that follows two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who are mortal enemies that fall in love with each other. The protagonists try to keep their love hidden from their families, but not forgotten by themselves. This play of love and passion has been prototyped countless times on the silver screen, as it is the greatest love story ever told. The most well-known movie versions of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo And Juliet are Franco Zeffirelli’s (1968) Romeo and Juliet , and Baz Luhrmann's (1996) Romeo + Juliet. Both versions captured the main essence of the original play with Zefferelli's staying true to its source, while Luhrmann’s takes a more modern,
One detailed part that both movies portrayed conveniently and truthfully are the characters of the original play. In the original play of The tragedy of Romeo & Juliet, Tybalt, (Juliet's cousin), is this violently aggressive jealous man with a hot-tempered attitude, which causes him to amuse certain events at the annoyance of his relatives. This can be seen at the feast, as Tybalt automatically amuses Romeo has come to dispute the party based on him being a Montague. “This, by his voice, should be a Montague...What! Dares the slave come hither covered with an antic face, To fleer and scorn at our solemnity? Now, by the stock and honor of my kin, To strike him dead I hold it not a sin,” (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 53-58 ). This scene shows that Tybalt will take any chance he has to kill a Montague, as long as it's not a sin; thus also showing that he has such a strong sense of honor towards his family. Seeing how Tybalt is described in the original play, both directors made sure that Tybalt’s performance would be as similar to how he’s depicted in the play, to establish Tybalt as the main antagonist in their films. In Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, Tybalt overreacts in an almost menacing vengeful way when he hears Romeo, as he begins to bang his chest and threaten him with death for the sake of his family. In Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt reacted similarly to when he saw Romeo dance with Juliet at the feast, as he furiously walked afterwards towards Lord Capulet with rage and envy, telling him that he would not tolerate Romeo. Above all, both movies depicted this character truthfully and convelling as the main villain of Romeo & Juliet, by bringing the play’s details to life; thus capturing a small, but crucial part of Romeo & Juliet’s whole essence. However, while both movies were able to capture the essence of the original play’s characters,