Romeo and Juliet- The Greats

We all have our favourites. Our Greats. Our Greatests (yes I am aware this is not a word. But I like it.)

I don't just mean greatest literature. But great movies, artists, art, music and the musician's who composed it, great actors and actresses, great photography- so many talented people creating things from their own mind that move us.

This post idea came to me while watching the 1996 Baz Luhrmann production of Romeo & Juliet.
When this film came out I had heard of Romeo & Juliet but not read it, (I was 12, & hadn't covered this at school yet) and I can't even remember when I saw the film for the first time. Probably soon after it came out as everyone on the planet fell in love with Leonardo Dicaprio, and I'm fairly certain I fell into the "everyone" category for a while there.

I do remember not really "getting it"- I didn't understand the language. I remember loving the soundtrack. Radiohead's Talk show host is still one of my favourite songs. I would have to say it is one of my "greats", mostly as when I hear it, I feel how I did when I first saw that scene with Leo, his dejection and pain comes across clearly, coupled with the slow edgy beats, this scene speaks to me. It was while re-watching the movie that I began to listen to the words. I would write down parts of the speech that sounded...something. I don't have a word, sounded... important- like I had to pay attention. I still didn't really understand it. I just knew it was good.

Reading Romeo & Juliet in high school wasn't much of a treat. I don't think a lot of kids can really get a hold of it. I know I didn't, and neither did more than half my class. Plus I think we had to watch one of those really old movie versions that are traditional and try to reflect how it would have been, and I believe the class spent most of the time laughing at the dodgy acting and wishing we were watching Leo. I'm not sure much interpretation and understanding went on in those classes.

I think the concept of "tradgedy" also evaded us, ie: "Why do they have to die?", "Because it's a tradgedy," "Yeah but why? Couldn't they get married and live happily ever after?".
I believe this also demostrates my point about understanding.

This time when I watched it, well firstly it has been at least five years since I last saw it, and I'd also studied Great Literature at Uni (honestly- that was the real course name), coming to appriciate Literature of the past, and also I seem to pay a lot more attention when watching movies and reading books now that I am embarking on my own writing journey.

I noticed more about the interpretation of this classic, understood what the characters were actually saying to each other, and was able to grasp onto to the meanings behind the words.

The movie is a gathering of arts that I think is GREAT. The actors, the musical composition, the blend of classic tongue in a contemporary setting- GREAT. It is accessible. I get FEELING from this that I did not while trying to READ this works in high school. It seemed REAL. The biggest issue with reading the play was that we spent so long trying to work out what the hell they were saying that we didn't see the characters as people. Didn't understand the emotion. Most classic-style films are the same- the actors didn't make it real. They were too busy trying to remember a line and delivering it correctly, they forgot to give the audience the ONE we need to stay interested in the characters: FEELING! If we feel nothing for the characters, if we don't understand them and can't relate to them, we don't care about them and LOSE INTEREST.

That's when we close the book. Or change channels. Or skip to the next song.

What makes something great? What makes something TIMELESS?