This essay explores the evolution of Baz Luhrmann as a director, with reference to the films of Romeo Juliet, Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby. It explores the use of post-modern techniques in each film, and received 100% when marked.
Film Study - The Evolution of Baz Luhrmann
With reference to Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby
Kate Jones
Topic:
“Baz Luhrmann’s films are designed to tell real, emotive stories through a world of artifice.”
- Kathryn Murrell: Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy
With reference to the three Luhrmann films which you have studied, discuss how
Luhrmann’s use of post-modern film techniques creates the films that Murrell describes
above.
Murrell’s statement about Baz Luhrmann’s films is most apt. While the techniques used
create a seemingly artificial and invented world, the stories told are honest, authentic and
moving. Through the common theme of pain and loss, the films engage and involve
viewers. An analysis of the films Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby
demonstrates Luhrmann’s creation of a non-naturalistic world to portray meaningful and
emotive stories. This is illustrated particularly through techniques of self-reflexivity,
pastiche and participation, as well as Luhrmann’s use of camera angles and shots.
Luhrmann’s evolution as a director is evident in the way he uses these techniques to tell
each story.
Self-reflexivity is a postmodern technique which makes the audience aware that the film
portrays a constructed reality. Luhrmann’s use of self-reflexivity and metafiction contrasts
this artificial world with the genuine emotions of the characters in each film. In Romeo +
Juliet, the most noticeable use of self-reflexivity is observed in the Sycamore Grove
Theatre. This dilapidated stage is visited by Romeo, Mercutio and the Montague boys
before the Capulet’s party, and is the setting for the fight between the Capulets and the
Montagues, where Mercutio is killed. The theatre links to Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and
Juliet, and demonstrates the film’s self-awareness. It also relates to the fact that Romeo
+ Juliet is part of the ‘Red Curtain Trilogy’. The only observable use of metafiction in
Romeo + Juliet is in the title cards which introduce each character.
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