How Did Director Baz Luhrman Keep the Audiences Attention in His Rendition of 'Romeo and Juliet, Compared to the Original Play by Shakespeare

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Shakespeare and Baz Luhrmann both tell the story of the 'Star Crossed Lovers' but in rather different ways. How does Baz reinvigorate Shakespeare’s play in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for a late twentieth century audience? Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a timeless masterpiece due to its universal themes, strong relatable characters and beautifully crafted dialogue. It is arguably his most successful play, being played and studied worldwide for the past half-century. However, Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 epic Romeo + Juliet was the first film of its kind, a film that re-told the classic story in a modern day setting. This ambitious innovation presented Baz with a challenge: How to keep a late 20th Century audience entertained and, most importantly, emotionally involved in a play created five hundred years ago? Well, in Romeo + Juliet, director Baz Lurhmann uses carefully constructed camera shots, editing techniques and music to throw the audience in the turf war between the rival families, uses costume and props to visually modernize the scenes, and uses the dialogue and poetry to allow the audience to relate to the story. In the ‘Petrol Station’ scene, director Baz Luhrmann makes the content appealing to a late twentieth century audience by combating teenager’s short attention spans with rapid editing techniques, fast, witty dialogue and parallels to famous Western movies, while using costumes, props and music to add depth to the character’s, and their feud. There is a reason that most of the popular films, with a teenage target audience, are action blockbusters. That reason is because teenagers want to be dazzled, and the constant explosions and gunfire present are enough to combat their short attention spans. However, with the absence of many testosterone fueled, Michael Bay-esque action sequences in Romeo and Juliet, Baz Luhrmann was forced to take a

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