#romeo and juliet the baz luhrmann one

[harlequinchaos]

Now that I'm older, every time some form of media is adapted in a new format (book to movie, videogame to tv series, animation to live action, etc.) I always take the criticisms of it with a grain of salt because I feel like what it means to adapt successfully means something different to everyone.

I always feel like people want an exact 1:1 adaptation but fail to realize the nuance that comes with each form of adaptation. Sure you can break every piece of media down by like, setting, character, and plot, or specific story beats or even down to specific physical details but people fail to realize how this is going to read to the consumer across different forms.

Scenes that are in a first person point of view in say, a book, are going to read different than a scene of a movie, which similar to a play or show on a stage need to be designed in a way the consumer can digest.

In a book, you can slowly be fed information as it is deemed necessary to the story. Details can be intentionally left out, leading to inaccurate judgements that can snowball into larger consequences. With movies or television, as soon as you see the scene or characters, you're seeing them as the whole bigger picture. The details are either there or they aren't, a faster judgment can be made, more meaning can be inferred by visuals, so a character's motivation becomes more of a driving point. A plot element intentionally left out in a book, can alienate the consumer if not properly handled in a movie or television setting, and part of adapting that piece of media is ensuring it's done properly, and I feel like people don't understand that. The art of adaptation is how consistent purpose can be conveyed while adhering to the rules of the established media.

It seems people just want, "the same thing" as a book, tv show, or a movie, videogame, comic, animated version, or in a live action version and it just Doesn't Work Like That.

Each form of media has their own rules of what 'works' and a good story will utilize those unique aspects of that form of media to tell the story; but the method of how that story is told has to change in order for it to be a successful adaptation.

[cosmicdreamgrl]

they can't deny our love they can't divide us we'll survive the test of time i promise i'll be right here

[manny-jacinto]

BAZ LUHRMANN’S FILMOGRAPHY IN 30 YEARS (1992-2022)

[maneaterm1a]

me @ goths emos and punks. i would literally die for you

[literaryspinster]

Jordan + Marie

*edit* fixed her wing a little. I don’t care if that’s how it looked in the screencap or if no one noticed how weird it looked but me, it was driving me insane.

[secretagentsagainstwhatever]

does…does he think Romeo and Juliet was real…? just two normal teenagers Shakespeare knew irl 🥲

[cryscendo]

being an english major is so tough bc i literally cannot be normal about classic lit

[dailyflicks]

My Love, my Life. Death is upon thy breath and yet not thy beauty. Thou are not conquered yet, this beauty is in thy lips and thy cheeks and deaths pale flag has not been conquered there. Dear Juliet, why are thou so fair? Should I believe that unsubstantial death is amorous, keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? Here, oh here will I stay with thee; and never from this place of dim night depart again: here, here I will remain. Eyes look at last, let me take one last embrace, and lips only to the doors to breath and seal with a righteous kiss. ROMEO + JULIET 1996, dir. Baz Luhrmann

[queerstudiesnatural]

dean literally kills himself one episode prior to this and is only brought back because billie decided it wasn't his time to die. like he really pulled a romeo on cas. imagine cas coming back and asking where dean is and sam is like oh uh he just killed himself because he thought he'd lost you forever :/ sorry :/ this blue cross in the background reminiscent of baz luhrmann's romeo + juliet means nothing btw

[thequeeninyellowlace]

Y’ALL. Do you need a new show? Did you love Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet? Do you want not one but TWO sad wet cat new blorbos? A gorgeous, complicated woman?

KAOS. Holy cow y’all. The Greek gods are alive and well and ruling over Crete, and they are causing a commotion. Eurydice is tired of being nothing but Orpheus’s muse. Hera is hilarious. I am 100% in love.

[moralesmilesanhour]

mad props! 02

summary: Miles catches onto your antics. wc: ~800 a/n: some advanced haterism going on here. this has gotten increasingly fun to write as the plot ramps up! pls don't be scared 2 leave any reactions or thoughts in the comments + tags :) 01 02 03

From then on, you made it a point to ignore Miles during partner work and punctuate it with an eye roll. He tucked his head back in surprise the first time you did it, and you felt like you’d just won a prize.

…That is, until he ignored you back. 

Eventually, Miles just turned to the person in the next column to ask for a pen instead, seeming perfectly content with working on his own.

It should've been a relief.

Today, Mr. Sanchez handed out worksheets to write a short composition on, and you struggled to recall the correct word for ‘kitchen’. All of your attempts to remember the pictures at the back of your flashcards came to nothing, finally forcing you to turn around and ask with a heavy sigh.

"Um, hey," you began, wincing at the softness of your voice. "What’s ‘kitchen’ in Spanish? You remember?"

Miles looked at you with only his eyes. " ‘Cocina’."

No puns, no off-hand comment. Not even an offer to help further. He just quietly returned to his work. 

Your plan was already falling apart now that he no longer initiated conversations for you to brush off, so you went with the next best thing: competing with him.

“Who was able to solve for the trajectory of–oh!”

The AP Physics instructor pushed back a strand of red hair as she glanced between you and Miles, whose hands had shot up at the same time.

“Let’s go with someone who hasn’t spoken yet. Ms. L/N?”

You smiled as you answered, “24.7 meters per second.”

“Excellent job, Y/N, and thank you for participating today. Now, would anyone else…”

As the woman called on other students, a strategy began to take shape. 

It wasn’t hard to tell when Miles was about to raise his hand. His eyes would go wide, with a tiny smile that said he was certain that no one else could get this question right but him. His hand went up so fast that you had to answer before the teacher could even finish their question, but it worked. And it got you a few extra points for participation.

“Now, who can tell me what makes the film ‘Romeo + Juliet’ so unique?” asked the English professor.

Miles raised his hand. “It takes the original play and reinterprets aspects of the original plot for modern audiences.”

As soon as he answered, his eyes flickered towards you almost as if on cue. Sure enough, your hand flew up.

“Y/N, what a surprise! Care to add on?”

“Of course. The director, Baz Luhrmann,” you met Miles’ gaze as you specified the name, “used his over-the-top cinematic style of directing to bring the drama of the original play to life in a contemporary context. He replaced the swords with guns and balls for parties, but kept the dialogue the same so that audiences could better understand Shakespeare without needing to grapple with the work of translating Shakespearean English into modern English. He found a way to make the play accessible without compromising on the text.”

Miles narrowed his eyes at you while the stocky teacher made a noise of approval.

“Very succinct explanations, you two. I’m very impressed with you especially, Miss L/N. I hope to hear your voice more often in class.”

You noticed Miles still glaring, and rested your chin in the palm of your hand.

In a sickly-sweet tone, you whispered, “What?” 

He shook his head and turned away.

-

“Alright, make sure you go home and memorize those formulas! See you Wednesday!”

You neatly stacked your papers and slid them carefully into one of your labeled folders as the bell rang, marking the end of your last class.

The hallway bustled with students rushing like bees to their lockers. On the way to your own, a pop of color catches your eye. 

It’s a bulletin board filled with sign-ups for a number of clubs, from cheerleading to student government to debate. Remembering your college counselor’s comment about your extracurriculars “looking a bit empty”, you drew closer. Might as well, right?

You didn’t have the stamina for cheerleading, but speech and debate looked promising. Just as you took out a pen to sign your name, though, you stopped short and frowned.

At the very bottom of the list read the name ‘Miles Morales’ written with a neon highlighter. 

Then again on the art club’s flier. And anime club. And music engineering. 

‘Miles Morales’.

‘Miles Morales’.

‘Miles Morales’.

Guess you weren’t the only one who needed to beef up their transcript.

“Show-off,” you muttered to yourself. 

Just as you were about to lose hope, there was one other club that Miles hadn’t signed up for, hanging precariously off of the edge of the board from a single thumbtack:

Theater. 

And auditions were the very next day.

[cleolinda]

A tale retold

I first told this story some twenty years ago, and it happened even earlier than that, so here's the Modern Retelling with Historical Context:

For many years, I had—well, you've heard of naturally curly hair? I had unnaturally curly hair. I had a stylist so brilliant that she was able to give me occasional perms that no one could tell were chemical. NO, FOR REAL, I constantly got compliments on my long, rippling hair. In reality, my hair is deplorably fine and flat, although I'm told I have a ton of it; putting in some wave made me feel better, you know? I just wanted to co-wash, air-dry, and go live my tousled life. But after my spinal surgery, I just couldn't spend 2-3 hours in a stylist's chair anymore. And so, after 20 years of my best Galadriel impression, I've had to make peace with my natural texture, the only thing about me (I realize now) that is actually straight.

But this story takes place back in 1996; I was a junior in high school, and I had the freshest of perms. Just absolutely exuberant. Downright Pre-Raphaelite. It had only been done the weekend before, and it usually took about two weeks for the curls to settle down and look less poodly natural, but I wasn't going to miss Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. When I was in grad school years later, my Shakespeare professor went to the mat for this movie, declaring it the best adaptation of any of his plays. And she wasn't a Leo fangirl, either. I tend to agree. And I got to see it on a big screen, opening night, with my best friend and my fresh luscious elbow-length '90s 'do. Banger soundtrack, the big bold visuals that tip over into Maybe Too Much in Moulin Rouge—I'm enthralled, I'm absorbed. Claire Danes is weeping over Dead Romeo, and we all know what’s about to happen in this, a 400-year-old play, but you still hope against hope that somehow it won’t this time. And then I feel something that's not emotion.

Something behind me. In my hair.

It's clammy. This tiny moist hand... creeping... up my neck.

Bear in mind, these are classic movie theater seats, not the big recliners you get now. My head is vulnerable to rear attack. And these tiny fingers, like a gummy little doll's hand, are crawling up my neck, under, through my hair. I am now sitting bolt upright, frozen. What the fuck is going on. It’s still creeping like a little spider up my scalp to the back of my head—put your hand up to yours, get your fingertips to the roots of your hair and really get a sense of what this feels like—

These fingers close, slowly, around the greediest handful of hair they can get hold of, and YANK.

I whip around while Juliet is sobbing—darkness.

To this day, I have no idea who (or what?) that tiny hand belonged to. I mean, you gotta think it was a small child enticed by the siren song of my curls, right? Some parents just didn’t spring for a babysitter on a big opening night, and there’s a Millennial out there with some real interesting core memories, I guess? I couldn't make out anything in the darkness behind me, and we were at kind of a key cinematic moment, so I didn't have time for more than a stern warning glare To Whom It Might Concern. And then I held onto my hair for the remainder of the movie. I chopped it all off within a few months, and went to college with short, straight hair, unable to forget the Cursèd Touch of the Hand. lol jk I just wanted a change and regretted it instantly.

So, happy 20th anniversary to the story I told on the Fametracker forums all those years ago. I can still remember exactly what that hand felt like: tiny. And moist.

[aq2003]

I've had a vague urge to get more into Shakespeare for years; what are the top 3-5 plays you'd recommend that AREN'T Hamlet or Much Ado? And what version of each is your favorite?

(sorry for omitting two god tier ones but I've already seen David Tennant in each of those and I surmise that you're insane about both so I'm looking for some new plays)

gonna be some basic bitch answers but here:

macbeth - the tragedy of macbeth (2021) movie adaptation starring denzel washington. this movie is fucking stunning and the way they did the witches was SO good. also i have the throne of blood (kurosawa's adaptation) also on my watchlist since i've heard REALLY good things about it

richard ii - 2013 rsc production w/ david tennant (link). he gives me catastrophic gender envy, i need to become more masculine to become more feminine etc. ben whishaw in the hollow crown series (link) is great too

romeo and juliet - romeo + juliet (1996) movie adaptation directed by baz luhrmann. this is like, the most well known romeo and juliet and you might've watched it already but i'm listing this anyway because there will never be a better mercutio and the way they did the setting is SO fucking funny and inspired

twelfth night - so far only saw this one Outside On The Grass Where They Performed This At My College but i liked it a lot... reccing the 2012 globe production with mark rylance (part 1 / part 2) (his hamlet was one of dt's favorites as an aspiring actor) (i'm putting my faith in letterboxd and david's taste for this one)

coriolanus - 2014 donmar production w/ tom hiddleston (on archive.org). this is directed by josie rourke, who also directed dt/ct's 2011 much ado! the staging and the effects are fucking awesomeeee (also peter de jersey and elliot levey are in this, i love them)

also shoutout to the ones i want to watch:

the 2016 production of a midsummer night's dream w/ ncuti gatwa (i have found nowhere to pirate it and i might just crack and pay the 10 dollars to watch it)

the 2015 production of the love's labour's lost w/ edward bennett (he played laertes in hamlet (2009) and he's REALLY underrated, i love his benedick SO FUCKING MUCH even if that production overall was a little dull)

either hollow crown's or greg doran's henry iv (it's two whole plays i need so much time to watch that. and ideally i want to watch both lol)

kurosawa's ran (1985), an adaptation of king lear set in 1500s japan

vishal bhardwaj's omkara (2006), an adaptation of othello set in india

[bird-inacage]

The Heart Killers: Character Styling Update (Firstkhao Focus)

I know these photos have been released for a while now, but I'd like to comment on the character design. P'Jojo clearly has a very specific aesthetic he likes. There were concerns that the styling in the pilot felt too reminiscent of Only Friends, particularly as First and Khao had only just performed as Sand and Ray.

With this recent update, P'Jojo has shown a great eye for playing into that visual language he loves, and taken it up a notch. He's really leaning into Vintage Americana with this series, and I personally love everything about this. He's now differentiated each character's own visual identity much more clearly through wardrobe.

First, well FIRST. Good lord. Kant is going to be one dapper fella. He's got this old school, suave, hipster gentleman thing going on, which has me weak. The little scarves and waistcoats?? The spectacles? I see a lot of men dress like this in old timey, retro barber shops. The increase of skin ink is a very welcome addition too. First looks hella sharp and it's really matured him up to boot. A man who has grand theft auto charges on his record and moonlights as a private investigator of some sort. The fact we get to watch this man get his flirt on? Legendary. The spectrum of his styling lends itself to being casual and quirky as well as more imposing/intimidating.

Moving onto our resident murder baby. Twee lil Bison is giving Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet. His outfits have more of a street rat edge, which feels youthful in a boisterous, devil-may-care type of way. This gives Bison a bit more grit than in the pilot and I personally like that, as I don't think I've seen Khao play someone more rough around the edges. (Even though Ayan and Ray were sold as 'bad boys', they were still quite clean cut). It also distinguishes him from his brother Fadel. I feel like we could get wild, free-spirited energy and/or an absolute loose cannon. It took me a while to get used to the new haircut but it's growing on me. Khao will make anything work.

I know Khao recently commented that despite wielding a huge gun, people are still calling him cute. But come on, he does look so baby though, bless his little assassinating cotton socks.

I MEAN. LOOK AT HIM.

All in all, I'm really enjoying that Kant and Bison's personal styles are more at odds with one another. That they don't look like an obvious match at first glance, because that should bring some interesting points of tension into the mix.

[emergefromthenoise]

Violent delights and violent ends – a tragic lovers' tale.

All the world's a stage... Indeed, so the whole theatre becomes exactly that: from the rooftop (a distant and isolated Mantua), to the backstage corridors and fire escapes standing in for meandering streets of Verona or foyer turning into Capulet's house's halls. Use it all. And at the same time focus on the word: darkness engulfing the stage where vulnerable characters bare their desires. Micro expressions on display as cameras follow the actors around. Lights. Camera. A story of love and hate. A tragedy weaved by fate. Timeless tale.

Some raised the alarm as the casting revealed Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as Juliet, claiming it wasn't true to Shakespeare's spirit. Well, I, for one, am glad that it wasn't. Not that I have anything against men in tights, but that would be a different play entirely. Also may I remind everyone we would be subjected to some pre-teen, prepubescent males with their falsetto trying to nail Juliet's voice timbre. And Nurse's too. But then we would have been deprived of seeing such brilliant performances from Francesca and Freema [Agyeman] which would be simply a travesty. And all in a name of staying true to the original text (may I add also well known fact – Shakespeare's not so secret and nice tendency to “borrow” from other's work thus him being not so original himself).

Even though my first reaction to Freema being cast as a Nurse was: she's too young! Because in my head this character is this elderly matron rather than witty and lively Nanny. But that's the beauty of theatre and interpretation: anything goes! And oh, boy how it worked!

Francesca's Juliet is so youthful, gentle, so full of passion. One's heart sinks seeing her heart's woes. Tom's Romeo has boyish charm, rage and love so bound together it boils. His Romeo is impulsive, emotional, he brings laughter and choked silence as one observes his character being played by fate. Let's not forget Juliet is the driving force. She's “yes” or “no”, black or white, ultimatum giving kind of girl. And Romeo? Well, he's both romantic (grand gestures much?) and... well, he's a fuckboy (how fast Rosalind is in his rearview mirror, huh?). But then he's Juliet's fuckboy and heaven is not on their side.

Maybe I'm a cynic when I look at this great romance and frown and childish overreactions and hyperboles. But these two [Francesca and Tom], they're so gentle and pure, so deep, that one quickly invests in their budding feelings and looks upon them with softness knowing too well what's glooming over. The tragic face of star crossed lovers.

But these two aren't the only ones shining bright on that stage. Mercutio always has been one of my favourite characters – flamboyant, fast with words and weapons, mad or is he? Harold Perrineau made such an impact with his Mercutio [in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo+Juliet], even though not on stage, there was no other version of this character for me. But I dare to say Joshua-Alexander Williams comes real close or maybe even matches the performance. Which is incredible considering it's his professional debut. Exuberant, cheeky sidekick, cursed... and cursing the feuding families. Seemingly insane with his flowery talk turns out to be the voice of reason and prophecy in the end.

The staging is stripped back, functional, raw in it's simplicity, but not dull. Focus is on the actors and the text. Blaring music and flashing lights prevent the audience from being too comfortable in their seat – it's a tragedy after all.

'Romeo and Juliet', a tale as old as overplayed. Yet, always attracting both actors ready to add their version to the pile and crowds eager to see lovers' tragic fate onstage (and/or on screen).

Shakespeare's plays always were the entertainment for the masses, even the tragedies have characters being bigger or smaller 'comic relief'. In 'Romeo and Juliet' it would be surely the Nurse, but thanks to Freema's brilliance this character is so much more than crazy old lady. The wit is her weapon of choice, true, but the emotions and layers that spill out thanks to Freema shine a new light on this character.

It takes a special kind of talent to breathe a new life into the text and a play as a whole (and the assemble did a marvellous job at it!), especially one so well-known, played so many times that people think they have seen it all. But Jamie Lloyd has carved a reputation for himself and his innovative and bold approach (and vivisection) is doing only favours to dusty classics. It is an unmissable event.

---

William Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET.

Dir.: Jamie Lloyd

Cast: Tom Holland, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, Freema Agyeman, Michael Balogun, Tomiwa Edun, Mia Jerome, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Ray Sesay, Nima Taleghani, Joshua-Alexander Williams, Callum Heinrich, Kody Mortimer

In Duke of York's Theatre, London from 13 May to 3 August 2024

[Photo from Duke of York's Theatre]

[steampunkforever]

So. Megalopolis. The world's first Solarpunk film. My prediction is that it'll be a misunderstood sci-fi cult hit 30 years from now, yet I can't say it doesn't deserve some of the razzing it receives today. It's a film in which Coppola tackles America as Empire (and subsequent decline), bourgeois excesses, his own legacy as the patriarch of a dynasty, and the very question of what it means to be an artist. It was bound to be a bit messy, but this doesn't preclude me from loving the film.

I'll preface this with the fact that I'm a documented Coppola shill, and my appreciation for his work and legacy means I'm not judging this in a vacuum. Yet I saw this film with my betrothed, who hated it, and I don't necessarily blame here there, even though I had a great time.

Coppola sold his winery for this. Megalopolis is a final film even if it isn't The Final Coppola film. It's a movie he's been trying to make since he wrapped on Apocalypse Now. There will be no more Coppola epics at this scale. And so with this framing I can understand some of his indulgence in making an epic on his own terms.

The story itself is twisty, referencing the Catalinarian conspiracy heavily as it weaves a story about an architect attempting to build a utopian city that will outlast the crumbling empire of New Rome, which is basically NYC where everyone talks like they've just left Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. It's a film that tackles fascism and scandal and what it means to build a future as the present falls to pieces, featuring Adam Driver as the architect flying in the face of it all to make something in spite of outward pressures trying to crush him.

The movie mostly pulls it off. What it doesn't pull off are relatively small things that stack up to be much bigger problems. The stilted classicist-lite dialog cuts in and out like weak radio signal, Shia LaBeouf's character is written decently but in ways that speak to debauchery of the 70s but ring more regressive for a modern context, Nathalie Emmanuel is out her depth trying to act with a script and direction that clearly do not help her pull the role off (I don't hate her as an actress but this role does not work for her) and the end of the film rings a tad sappy, which is understandable but all of this adds up!

Even so, the film still manages to shine. Giancarlo Esposito is fantastic in this. The visuals are gorgeous. Aubrey Plaza absolutely kills in her role as Wow Platinum. The cast is stellar overall. The core concepts of the film are engaging, and Coppola's approach kept me interested through the full 2 hour 18 minutes of the movie. Francis hasn't forgotten how to make films, even if he's breaking some rules on this last one. For all its foibles, I can't say that this is a bad movie.

The end result is a film that reads like a Manic Rendition of Brazil trying to tie a web of subjects together on corkboard with thumbtacks and red string, all directed by someone with a chronic case of being Italian. There is genius in the mess and yet I could not call it a triumph, even though I enjoyed it immensely. Well worth the watch, you should definitely go see this one.