#ZakOrth

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 90's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 marathon...William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) on amazing blu-ray! #movie #movies #actionadventure #drama #tragedy #williamshakespearesromeoandjuliet #WilliamShakespeare #RomeoAndJuliet #leonardodicaprio #clairedanes #JohnLeguizamo #HaroldPerrineau #paulrudd #PaulSorvino #RIPPaulSorvino #jamiekennedy #DashMihok #dianevenora #briandennehy #ripbriandennehy #jessebradford #VondieCurtisHall #PetePostlethwaite #MiriamMargolyes #memmetwalsh #ripmemmetwalsh #ZakOrth #ChristinaPickles #QuindonTarver #desree #bluray #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas4thannual90sfest

[doomonfilm]

Thoughts : Romeo + Juliet (1996)

When Baz Luhrmann envisioned the Red Curtain trilogy, he had intentions of demonstrating how a particular motif could amplify the film experience.  After exploring dance in Strictly Ballroom via the David and Goliath story arc, he set his sights on exploring how poetry could be used in a narrative sense for a film.  In a bold and brilliant move, he turned to one of the most historically famous poets, embarking on a venture to turn one of his most famous works into a hit film, and he more than succeeded.  The result was the stunningly beautiful and wholly captivating masterpiece that is Romeo + Juliet. 

In Verona Beach, two opposing families stand atop the social world with no hope of finding common ground in sight.  The Montague and Capulet families, while noble in stature, often find themselves the center of negative attention when the younger members of the family quarrel in the streets.  After a particularly brutal confrontation between Benvolio Montague (Dash Mihok) and Tybalt, Prince of Cats (John Leguizamo), both with crew in tact, Captain Prince (Vondie Curtis-Hall) warns the families that their next punishment may be more severe than they’re ready to handle.  In the wake of this madness, Romeo Montague (Leonardo DiCaprio), forlorn over his love for Rosaline, ends up at a party with Benvolio, the rest of his cousins, and their friend Mercutio (Harold Perrineau) at the House of Capulet.  While at the party, Romeo happens to run into Juliet (Claire Danes), daughter of the House of Capulet and soon-to-be bride to Dave Paris (Paul Rudd), and it’s love at first sight.  Tybalt, however, has spotted Romeo and the other Montagues, and vows to teach them a lesson.  Romeo, fixated on Juliet, devises a plan with Father Laurence (Pete Postlethwaite) and Juliet’s Nurse (Miriam Margolyes) to secretly wed Juliet.  After searching relentlessly, Tybalt finds Romeo, Benvolio, Mercutio and the crew at Verona Beach, Tybalt attempts to confront the group, ending in the death of Mercutio at Tybalt’s hand.  Enraged, Romeo slays Tybalt, which results in his banishment from Verona Beach.  Father Laurence, Juliet and Nurse devise a plan to assist Juliet in escaping her marriage, but due to miscommunication and unforeseen circumstances, tragedy strikes that rocks the worlds of all involved.  

The face lift given to this timeless work does what very few re-creations of this type can do : modern day relevance is given to a centuries old tale.  Vehicles, businesses and residencies are adorned with religious insignia and family crests, similar to how the old-style architecture would have existed.  The traditional sword has been replaced with the latest weapon of choice, the gun, even to the degree where a pistol is a dagger, bigger pistols are standard swords, and shotguns/rifles are long swords.  Even the advertisements hanging around Verona Beach contain clever wordplay corresponding to creatures and tales befitting of the times.

While Romeo and Juliet is not necessarily a hard narrative to understand, Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet actually allows a slightly deeper understanding for some of the colloquial language, puns and wordplay-based humor, and even some of the language and terms used during the more dramatic moments, combining visuals by way of situations and relations between characters with the dialogue based off of the original text to punctuate the true meanings.  The playful insults hurled between Romeo and Mercutio, the more sinister threats issued by Tybalt, the nonchalance of Mercutio in the face of clear and present danger, and even the loved-based desperation of Romeo and Juliet during stressful and trying times are all made abundantly clear via the aforementioned methods.  The reshaping of Verona into Verona Beach, complete with affluent sections, run down sections, and even the slum-like outskirts where Romeo is banished serves to provide a deeper understanding of the stature the Montague and Capulet families hold in regards to the city and its residents.

Though mentioned briefly earlier, the high style and vivid imagery implemented by Luhrmann cannot be denied their recognition.  The beach scenes, House of Montague scenes and the final scenes in Juliet’s tomb burst with color.  By contrast, the nighttime scenes are composed like full-color noir, with deep shadows offsetting fleeting glimpses of the bright colors that rule the day.  The outfits worn by the entire cast not only pop off of the screen, but inform you to subtle aspects of character personality.  Even the mechanism of the chorus role being assigned to a barely-there TV with a newscaster is visually arresting due to its minimalism.  Add all of this to sonic support via a stellar soundtrack, and the end product is one of the most immersive Shakespeare works committed to film in recent memory.

Leonardo DiCaprio, already well on his way to stardom, sealed that fate in the minds of a generation via his wholly convincing portrayal of Romeo.  Claire Danes had a handful of solid roles under her belt, but her portrayal of Juliet was her breakout role, essentially making her a household name.  Giving the two families the stature they need via shorthand was achieved through casting, with Brian Dennehy and Christina Pickles’ Montagues having more than the stature to match Paul Sorvino and Diane Venora as the heads of the Capulet family.  John Leguizamo surprised many with his dramatic turn (and a convincing one at that) as Tybalt.  Dash Mihok as Benvolio makes me wonder why he has not been cast in more roles (although he may be booking plenty and I am merely unaware).  Pete Postlethwaite gives an invigorating performance as Father Laurence, more than emoting how much he cares for all that he shares time with.  Harold Perrineau graced us with a performance that should have made him a star at the time.

Though I had my apprehensions as a young man during this film’s original release, those apprehensions were immediately dashed once I viewed the film.  I regret not seeing it on the big screen when I had the chance... I can only imagine the impact of seeing the events play out larger than life.  Definitely a modern day classic.

[changoblanco]

Happy Wet Hot Day! My absolute favorite job I ever had! #wethotday #wethotamericansummer #wethotamericansummerday #davidwain #michaelshowalter #todayinfakehystory #skylab #paulrudd #amypoehler #bradleycooper #janeanegarofalo #michaelianblack #elizabethbanks #kenmarino #christophermeloni #mollyshannon #davidhydepierce #margueritemoreau #joelatruglio #zakorth #admiles #ninahellman #judahfriedlander #somanymore #campfirewood #productiondesign https://www.instagram.com/p/CEC6nr1pcfi/?igshid=1uvq1757qzu9n

[billyburkefanpage]

#ThrowBackThursday Some of the wonderful cast of #Revolution #billyburke #ZakOrth #TracySpiridakos #ElizabethMitchell

[missbrneyes79]

@Regran_ed from @billyburke_fanpage - Happy #Milesthursday! What's your favorite episode and scene from S1? #BillyBurke #ZakOrth #Revolution #Burkettes - #regrann https://www.instagram.com/p/BozEkTGAaev/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=jb88pcvegoz2

[sibling-cinema]

Jason London picks up movie John Cusack would’ve left behind. ~P #10wordmoviereviews #myteacherswife #jasonlondon #tiacarrere #christophermcdonald #alexondralee #zakorth

[movizark-blog]

First ‘Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later’ Trailer Is Insane and Amazing!! Check It Out!!

First ‘Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later’ Trailer Is Insane and Amazing!! Check It Out!! #Netflix, #WetHotAmericanSummer, #TenYearsLater, #FirstDayofCamp, #DavidWain, #MichaelShowalter, ADMiles, #AmyPoehler, #BethDover, #ChrisMeloni, #ChrisPine, #DavidHydePierce, #ElizabethBanks, #EricNenninger, #HJonBenjamin, #JaneaneGarofalo, #JasonSchwartzman, #JoeLoTrugloi, #JohnEarly, #JoshCharles, #KenMarino, #KristenWiig, #LakeBell, #MargueriteMoreau, #MarisaRyan, #MichaelIanBlack, #MollyShannon, #NinaHellman, #PaulRudd, #RichSommer, #SarahBurns, #ZakOrth, #JaiCourtney

Netflix has released the first trailer for the limited series Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later in all its insane, nutty glory. The show comes on the heels of Netflix’s 2015 limited series prequel Wet Hot American Summer: The First Day of Camp, which was an eight-episode continuation of the cult classic 2001 comedy. The film featured a scene in which all the characters promised to meet up…

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 90's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 marathon...William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) on amazing blu-ray! #movie #movies #actionadventure #drama #tragedy #williamshakespearesromeoandjuliet #WilliamShakespeare #RomeoAndJuliet #leonardodicaprio #clairedanes #JohnLeguizamo #HaroldPerrineau #paulrudd #PaulSorvino #RIPPaulSorvino #jamiekennedy #DashMihok #dianevenora #briandennehy #ripbriandennehy #jessebradford #VondieCurtisHall #PetePostlethwaite #MiriamMargolyes #memmetwalsh #ripmemmetwalsh #ZakOrth #ChristinaPickles #QuindonTarver #desree #bluray #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas4thannual90sfest

[missbrneyes79]

Happy #MilesThursday #BillyBurke #TracySpiridakos #DaniellaAlonso #ZakOrth #Revolution #Burkettes