The purpose of this post is to analyse the two films ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and explore how the films reflect Baz Luhrmann’s creative decisions in ways that make him an auteur. Both films have a common theme of love, death and tragedy; Luhrmann displays this in similar and different ways in each of the two films. Luhrmann has also creates a modern feel within the two films by using things such as modern music in ‘The Great Gatsby’ and by taking the idea of drug abuse in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ rather than Shakespeare’s original concept of a dream, as well as being set in a modern city.
The costumes in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ are highly modernised, the opening scene shows the Montague boys with brightly coloured hair and hawaiian shirts and the Capulet boys wearing leather. This is extremely different to the tradition clothing which would have been worn at the time the play was set. The approach to costume design in ‘The Great Gatsby’ is very different to how it is in ‘Romeo and Juliet’, all the characters are dressed appropriate for the time in which the film was set (1922). The men are usually dressed in suits and ties with a hat and women in flapper attire, making the film historically accurate, unlike ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
Unlike the name of the film may suggest, the principle figure within ‘The Great Gatsby’ is Nick Carraway, portrayed by Toby Maguire. Carraway narrates the film from a sanatorium; Luhrmann uses this idea to indicate that he is having therapy, which suggests to the audience that events may occur in the film which cause him to become mentally and emotionally unstable. This point is also supported in the very start of the film with a tracking shot of a document with the name ‘Nick Carraway’ written at the top, followed by a list reading things such as ‘Morbidly Alcoholic’ ‘Insomniac’ and ‘Fits of Anger’ as well as ‘Anxiety’ and ‘Depression’. Furthermore, this scene is set in December 1929, at this time, the roaring 20’s would have finished and the Wall Street Crash would have taken place, soon leading onto the Great Depression. It is unknown whether or not Carraway was suffering from the effects of the crash, but it can be assumed from the setting of the scene and the way the character is portrayed that he may have been. This scene also shows a close up of Nick Carraway’s face, only half lit. The low key lighting in this scene may be foreshadowing bad events which will happen later on in the film.
In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ the story is told in a slightly different way. The film starts off with a news report summarising the synopsis, this allows the audience to gain an understanding of what the story is about, however, there is no real indication of when the film is set. It appears to be set in modern times, but on the other hand, it is clear that the language being used is not modern and this may be confusing to people viewing the film. There is no narrator in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as the script is the same as that from the original play, however titles are provided over the shots when new characters are introduced so that it is clear who is playing which role.
Nick lives in a small cottage next door to the infamous Jay Gatsby; who, despite this fact, does not make an appearance until thirty minutes into the film. However, Luhrmann creates a constant feeling that Gatsby is present. There are many shots of his ring before he makes an official appearance. The close-ups make it visible that there is a daisy engraved on this ring, showing his unusual obsession with an important character in the film, Daisy Buchanan. The green light, which is a main theme throughout The Great Gatsby, is the first thing we see when the film starts, the tracking shot moving across the water towards the light shows the importance of it during the film, and that it’s something that is trying to be reached. This light is another symbol for Daisy, again showing how she plays a vital role in the film.
Religion is a huge symbol in ‘Romeo and Juliet’, however, Luhrmann’s take on the film seems to contradict this at first, setting the scene in a modern city with gunfights in the first scenes. However despite this, the film does include a massive amount of religious images, which may be overwhelming to the viewer. The contrast between these two points may reflect Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, suggesting that their relationship is unique but very real. The main religious image within the film is the cross. This may link to the synopsis at the start where it is mentioned that the couple are ‘star cross’d lovers’. The cross appears even in the title of the film between the two names to represent the ‘and’.
The editing in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is particularly interesting, especially in the scenes where Romeo has taken ecstasy. When the drug kicks in, there is an extreme close-up of Romeo’s eye before a firework and an explosion of colourful lighting. There is also unusual music playing over different slow motion shots as well as some faded looking shots to give the impression that he is high, although towards the end of this scene the shots are sped up to give a feeling of chaos and confusion. Furthermore, the sound in these scenes become louder and distorted, with animal sounds and strange noises coming from people’s mouths.
The editing in ‘The Great Gatsby’ is done very well. CGI is used almost all the way through the film, but it is undetectable because it is done so well. Gatsby was the editors’ first project in 3D, AVID Media composer was used to do this. Luhrmann opted for native 3D, shooting on RED EPICs with 3ality Technica 3D rigs. Villa says the goal was to immerse the audience, “as if they were there on stage.” The director wanted viewers to feel like they were in the room during the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, and to feel like part of the gaiety in the lush party sequences.
The party in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is very similar to the party shown in ‘The Great Gatsby’. Both have modern music playing and both are held in a mansion. Moreover, there are fireworks in both, signifying celebration and to add more interest and colours into the scene. Luhrmann’s approach to filmmaking is unusual, there is always an interesting or strange element in his films, and we can see this in both ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
Overall, it’s clear that Baz Luhrmann is seen as an auteur as many of his ideas are his own and he likes to add different and unique aspects to his films. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’ are linked in this sense as they are both modernised and different to other films.
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