Romeo+Juliet
Shot-by-Shot

20th Century Fox Film Corporation is a subsidiary of
News Corporation, the media conglomerate owned by
Rupert Murdoch.

20th Century Fox
• Formed as a result of a merger between
Twentieth Century Pictures and Fox Film
Corporation in 1935
• Wholly owned by News Corporation since
1984

News Corporation
• •
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newspapers (New York
•
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•
studios Foxtel (Aus) and Sky
Network (NZ)
television

Not surprisingly, Romeo+Juliet begins with an
example of the power of the media, with a television
news report taking the place of the Chorus

Following the conventions of television news

The powerful block lettering of the titles is
superimposed onto the faces of some of the main
players. The sombre blue lighting here contrasts
with...

...the warm, golden lighting used for Mercutio (and
later Romeo)

This low-angle shot gives us the point of view of
one of the Montague boys still in the car as
Benvolio speaks to him.

The reverse (high) angle shot. This is not Benvolio’s
P.O.V, but still holds a subtle cue as to the position
of Benvolio relative to the action on screen.
Note the use of bright primary colours and
religious imagery. The Montague car is yellow.

A series of close-up shots is used to introduce
Tybalt to the scene. The Capulet car is blue.

Tybalt’s boots carry the symbol of the cat.
Tybalt (or Tibert, French) was a traditional
name for a cat out of folklore.

Big Close Up (BCU) showing just part of his head
and hand. Note Tybalt’s cat-like grace in daintily lighting
his cigarillo. Note also the blue backdrop.

A Big Close-Up usually crops both chin and
forehead. Tybalt is positioned on the left of the
screen. Cool lighting (blue)

The corresponding reverse BCU shot of Benvolio
positions him on the right of the screen, and uses
warmer colours and lighting.

Extreme Close-Up (ECU) of Tybalt. ECUs are often
used to indicate strong emotions, in this case
hatred. Because Tybalt is looking directly into the
camera, he seems confident and powerful.

The corresponding reverse ECU of Benvolio.
Benvolio’s instinct is to avoid a fight, and he is not
looking directly into the camera, showing his doubt
and fear.

Extreme Close-Up (ECU) of Tybalt’s boot heels as
“the cat” grinds out his match. These details of
Tybalt’s clothing emphasise his vanity.

One of the storyboard frames from the scene.

One of the storyboard frames from the scene.

Establishing Shot. The giant statue of Jesus (matted into the shot of Mexico
City), emphasises the power of religion within the state. The skyline is
dominated by skyscrapers featuring the Montague and Capulet names.
Interestingly, the colours used for the names here are opposite to those
used in lighting scenes featuring the family. The helicopter is used to evoke
the feeling that this is a war zone (helicopters in movies often mean war).

Capulet is looking up at the TV news story. But in
cinematic terms, he is looking up at his lord and
master, the Prince.

The corresponding low angle view of the Prince puts
him in a superior position to Capulet and Montague.

Just like Tybalt earlier, Capulet is positioned on the
left of the screen in this medium close-up....

... with Montague and Benvolio on the right

The camera looks up at these powerful men, who
are accorded equal status in this symmetrical mid-
shot.

The prince splits the difference. In this close-up
(CU) head-and-shoulders shot, he is in the centre of
the screen, with the symbol of power behind him.

Our first view of Romeo is a wide angle shot, lit with
soft, golden lighting (earlier associated with
Mercutio).

Medium Close-up of Romeo lit from behind. Like
Tybalt, he is smoking, but he faces in the opposite
direction.

Establishing shot of Sycamore Grove. Romeo sits
centre stage in the traditional proscenium arch.

Reverse shot shows the connection between the
beach and the violence back in the city. The wrecked
car shows us that the beach is not immune to the
violence.

In this close-up, Romeo is isolated against a blurred
background. Looking directly at the camera, his
isolation underlines his centrality in the story.

The drunken transaction taking place in the
foreground shows that there is not much room for
romantic love in Verona Beach.

Close-up of Romeo, still isolated as the romantic
hero in the midst of all this hatred and destruction.
The lighting is warm, the colours red/yellow

Two-shot of Romeo and Benvolio talking. Benvolio
left, Romeo right. Again, the background is blurred.

In the reverse shot, Romeo occupies the same
position on the screen relative to Benvolio, placing
the audience on the same side of an invisible line.

Our first view of Juliet is a Big Close-up of her face
under water. She looks like a drowned girl (like
Ophelia in Hamlet, perhaps): this shot foreshadows
both her first meeting with Romeo and her eventual
death.

BCU of Juliet’s face emerging from the bathwater.
Again, this is paired with a later shot of Romeo.

Mid-shot of Juliet as an angel, a foreshadowing of the
balcony scene.

Romeo’s experience of the love drug is evoked with
a series of ECU shots.

As Romeo attempts to wash the effects of the drug
away, this BCU of his face underwater deliberately
echoes the earlier shot of Juliet. They are a matched
pair, with their deaths foreshadowed.

Romeo’s first sight of Juliet is through the fish tank:
viewing her “under” water, just as we did earlier.

Cinematographer Donald McAlpine uses the lighting
in this scene to show the divide between the lovers’
two families. Romeo’s warmer red/yellow hues
evoke the Montagues, while Juliet is behind the cool
blue/green tones of the Capulets.