Consider the opening sequence of Baz Luhrmanns 'Romeo and Juliet'. Comment on the ways in which the director presents the themes, Characters and plot to the audience.

In Romeo and Juliet' Luhrmann sets out to present Shakespeare's original play in a contemporary setting. His Target audience is teenagers and young adults, maybe people who don't know the story of Romeo and Juliet. The director aims to make it seem modern and exciting whilst still using the original lines from Shakespeare's play. The setting of the play is 'Verona beach', which looks like a modern American city. The director chooses this setting because …

…opening scene is extremely effective in conveying important information. The director gets important information across despite the complicated dialogue. Luhrmann succeeds in bringing Shakespeare to a contemporary audience whilst still staying true to the original play. I think the most effective part of the opening sequence is the television scene, because it gets lots of important information across to the audience in an original and interesting way, whilst still staying true to Shakespeare's original play.