英文电影教学资源库
主讲教师:于春梅18604497253
1    英文电影欣赏-动画篇
2    英文电影欣赏-艺术篇
3    英文电影欣赏-音乐篇
4    英文电影欣赏-体育篇
5    英文电影欣赏-文化篇
6    英文电影鉴赏-英国文学篇
7    英文电影鉴赏-美国文学篇
8    英文电影鉴赏-美国历史篇
9    英文电影鉴赏-美国法律篇
10    英文电影鉴赏-人性探讨篇
Background Information
The Original Work
Romeoand Juliet is a romance tragedy written by William Shakespeare in his early years about two young star-crossedlovers whose deaths ultimately reconciletheir feudingfamilies. It is among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today,the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
Romeoand Juliet is not a simple tragedy, but usually regarded as a tragic romance stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke(亚瑟·布鲁克) in 1562, and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter( 威廉·佩因特)in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both, but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio(莫西多) and Paris(帕里斯). Believed to have been written in around 1594 or 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. The text of the first quarto version was of poor quality however, and later editions improved the text to conform more closely with Shakespeare’s original.
Shakespeare’s use of his poetic dramatic structure, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over the course of the play.
Romeo and Juliet has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical and opera venues. During the English Restoration, it was revived and heavily revised by William Davenant(威廉·戴夫南特). David Garrick’s (大卫·加里克)18th-century version also modified several scenes,removing material then considered indecent and Georg Benda’s(格奥尔格·邦达)Romeo and Julie omitted much of the action, and added a happy ending.Performances in the 19th century, including Charlotte Cushman’s (夏洛特·库什曼), restored the original text, and focused on greater realism. John Gielgud’s(约翰·吉尔古德) 1935 version kept very close to Shakespeare’s text, and used Elizabethan (伊莉莎白一世)costumes and staging to enhance the drama. In the 20th and into the 21st century, the play has been adapted in versions as diverse as George Cukor’s(乔治·丘克)1935 production, Franco Zeffirelli’s (佛朗哥·泽菲雷里) 1968 version and Baz Luhrmann’s(巴兹·鲁赫曼)1996 version.
The Film Adaptation
Shakespeare’s romance Romeo and Juliet has been filmed 12 times since its inception in 1595. The adaptation directed by Franco Zeffirelli (佛朗哥·泽菲雷里) in 1968 has been widely regarded as a classic among them, not only for the strict loyalty to the original, but also for its more reasonable development of the plot, further more, it provides an opportunity to compose a classic“A Time for Us”, which is about the eternal theme of human beings----love.
Although the end of the love in Romeo and Juliet is tragic, the way of plot expression and drama ideological tendency are both full of humanism and highly-spirited optimism. The play is definitely positive and progressive in terms of social significance. With such cultural merits, the passionate and pure love of Romeoand Juliet was displayed adequately by a particularly straight forward way in this film version.
This film is produced with a common cast without any famous movie star, which distinguishes the 1968 version from others. Romeo and Juliet are respectively played by two young people: 17 years old Olivia Hussey (奥利维亚·赫西) and 18 years old Leonard Whiting (伦纳德·怀廷), who have the closest appearance of the destined lovers in Shakespeare’s drama, and they also contributed energetic vigor and fresh blood to the success of this classic.
In addition to the fascinating plot, the film is also featured for its careful and veritable details. For instance, when the two families launched a duel, the fighting scene was played with real knife and sword. The gorgeous dancing ball at which the two young people got acquainted also showed the richness and luxury of Italian countryside life in Medieval.
In 1968, a time when young people loved to express the idea that Shakespeare has been out of date, the film, which is mostly close to the original, was released. Romeoand Juliet was made into a film for many times, but the version in 1968 made by
京ICP备10040544号-2
京公网安备 11010802021885号