Romeo and Juliet is a classic that I have wanted to read and watch for a while now, and I think watching the 1968 movie really helped me fully visualize the story. Reading the book seemed terrifying to me, because I know how challenging Shakespeare’s writing is, so I’m glad I got to watch the story on screen first. Seeing the characters, setting and emotions in a movie made it easier to understand the plot and enjoy the drama of the movie.
One of my favourite parts of the movie was the scenery. The Italian town, with its old buildings and small streets, made the fight between the Montagues and Capulets more realistic. It made Romeo and Juliet’s love story even more beautiful and the whole storyline more vivid, which I really enjoyed. The scenery also helped me follow the plot because I didn’t always understand the dialogues. Even though I sometimes struggled with Shakespeare’s vocabulary and the actors’ lines, I really loved the writing of the play. The wording seemed very poetic and I’ve never seen a movie written like this (based on Shakespeare). The “old English” enhanced the romantic and dramatic atmosphere of the movie and made, in my opinion, even the unimportant/uneventful scenes stick out through memorable speeches.
While I can see why this story has remained a masterpiece and a classic for so many years, I don’t necessarily view it as the “ultimate love story” or the epitome of love. The romance between Romeo and Juliet is intense and tragic, but it also feels impulsive and reckless to me. The idea of love at first sight is something many people strive to find, but in reality, it isn’t entirely true or realistic. I believe love comes in endless shapes and forms and can be found all around us, but stories like Romeo and Juliet tend to romanticize it too much. Love can also be tragic and complicated. However, this is what makes the intensity in the movie so memorable and special – it makes us want to believe in love like the one between Romeo and Juliet. The way Shakespeare captured youthful passion is so impressive and I can understand why people continue to be drawn to it.
Overall I really loved and enjoyed the movie. I think that it was beautifully made and I’m happy that I finally got to enjoy and see the full story of Romeo and Juliet. I believe that this adaptation into a movie also enables more people to become familiar with Shakespeare‘s work by making the story more accessible. Instead of having to put up with the complex language of his plays, everybody can enjoy the story and relate to the emotions.