Romeo and Juliet Movie Response (Franco Zeffirelli version)
...omeo’s most powerful lines in the play in Act 1 scene I, when he is discussing his troubles with Benvolio. I think that at the end of this scene Romeo’s contradictory terms paint a very good picture of his character and what his mindset is at the beginning of the play. The power that illuminates from such paradoxes as “heavy lightness”, “cold fire”, “still waking sleep”, and my favorite which in itself may be a microcosm of the whole work “misshapen chaos of well seeming forms”. That last line seems to sum the entire theme of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, and I found Zeffirelli’s cut of those lines appalling. The next problem I had with Zeffirelli’s version of the play was his inane costuming and use of music. The costumes were bright and colorful, signifying a very happy place. Verona is not a happy place it was in complete disarray due to the strife of the two wealthiest families in Verona. The Prince was very unhappy with his city, yet the costumes gave a very happy feeling. That was an annoying anomaly. The music ...