Romeo and Juliet Released in 1936
Director George Cukor
Starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, John Barrymore
Rated G
Score 3/6

Romeo and Juliet Released in 1968
Director Franco Zeffirelli
Starring Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery
Rated PG
Score 5/6

Romeo and Juliet Released in 1996
Director Baz Luhrmann
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo
Rated M
Score 5/6

Romeo and Juliet Released in 2013
Director Carlo Carlei
Starring Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth
Rated M
Score 2.5/6

 

Watching 4 different movie adaptions of Romeo and Juliet might not have been the best of ideas. But then again, we all know I have made worse decisions, such as binge-watching those movies over the course of a couple days. For those of you who might be wondering what brought forth this Shakespearean binge? Saying that I was going to watching these movies, forgetting that I had hired these movies and then realizing that I had a few days left on my google play hire of the movies.
The adaptions of Romeo and Juliet that I watched where released in 1936, 1968, 1996 & 2013. 3 of the 4 adaptions had would be considered to be ‘traditional’ adaptions of the play which basically means men dressed in tights and period appropriate shooting locations. Of the 4 adaptions I probably enjoyed watching the 1968 and the 1996 adaptions the most.

 

 

Though I did like John Barrymore’s performance as Mercutio in the 1936 adaption a lot of the acting seemed to be very emotionally reserved and that is something that you do not want to see in something like Romeo and Juliet. It should also be noted that at the time Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer who played Romeo and Juliet where a little old to play teenagers Howard was 43 and Shearer was 34.
Though there were some really good casting choices in the 2013 adaption such as Paul Giamatti as Friar Lawrence, Damian Lewis as Capulet and Stellan Skarsgård as the Prince. One of the biggest problems people have had with this adaption is that it only follows the plot and uses only some of the dialogue as written by Shakespeare. I was a little surprised by this (as confusing as some Shakespearean dialogue can be Shakespeare is the caliber of writer whose dialogue shouldn’t be reworked), all the dialogue does sound Shakespearian though there was a couple of scenes where in this adaption that where not featured in the other adaptions most notably the actual preparations for the wedding between Juliet and Paris.

The 1968 adaption had some of the most passionate acting out of all of the adaptions that I watched (it should be noted that this adaption received 4 Oscar Nominations and won 2 for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design). Seeing that this was the second adaption that I watched (for those of you wondering I went from oldest to youngest) there was a noticeable difference between this and the ’36 adaption. In the scene where Juliet refuses to marry Paul Hardwick who was cast as Lord Capulet had me concerned as to what was going to happen to her, the only other Lord Capulet to achieve this with his performance was Paul Sorvino in the 1996 adaption, Damian Lewis’ approach to that scene came across as if he was trying to coax a misbehaving toddler.
I enjoyed Leonard Whiting’s performance as Romeo, though I have a sneaking suspicion that his hair served as the inspiration for the hair for Troy Bolton in High School Musical (I really wish I did not just admit to watching High School Musical). Its good to see that the actors playing Romeo and Juliet from 1968 onwards where more age appropriate to the roles.

 

If you haven’t watched Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet you should, just purely for its visual style at the end of the movie the contrast of the Capulet family vault and the outside is . I have to admit that the ‘I bite my thumb’ scene is probably one of my favorite scenes of the movie the way that its shot seems to throw you into the movie, Mercutio’s dance number was also a nice change of pace. Throughout all of the adaptions that I have watched I have enjoyed the Mercutio character. Its interesting to note how the treatment of Juliet’s Nurse by Mercutio and the Montague boys’ changes across the adaptions. It should also be noted that of the adaptions John Leguizamo gives the best performance as Tybalt.

 

 

 

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