Sometime in the 1800's, Shakespeare created a romance play called Romeo and Juliet. This has been one of the most famous love stories for around 200 years. In 1997, Baz Luhrmann did a remake of Romeo and Juliet and even though it is based on the original version, it is still very different. .
In the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet, you see a news reporter on the TV, telling the viewers of two wealthy families living in Verona. After the news report finishes, the same thing is said over again except by an unseen narrator. While the narrator is talking, flashes of the Montague's and Capulet's lives are quickly displayed on the screen. Using this and the dramatic sound effects, Baz Luhrmann almost immediately shows you the hatred between the Capulet's and Montague's and the extreme love between Romeo and Juliet. .
The next six minutes of the movie is set in a typical American petrol station. The Montague's are the first people to arrive at the petrol station in a brightly coloured car and all wearing unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts. This is showing how laid back and happy the Montague's are. In their car, they are playing modern music with modern words in it, which is a little confusing because they are listening to such a modern language but they don't speak it themselves. .
You also notice that they still refer to their guns as swords. That would make the movie very confusing, but Baz Luhrmann explained what they were talking about buy showing many close-ups of the Montague's and the Capulet's guns with names of swords on them. (45 Sword, Longsword and Dagger.).
BENVOLIO- "I do but keep the peace: put up thy sword, or manage it to part these men with me.".
About a minute after the Montague's arrived at the petrol station, the second family, the Capulet's, arrive. The Capulet's arrive in a dark blue scratched, old looking car, which is strange because they could definitely afford a much better one.
