Investigation In Moulin Rouge And Romeo And Juliet Through Cinematic Techniques

Baz Lurhmann has done an amazing job with these films. These films are both visually striking and they include amazing elements of cinematography. The cinematography techniques that have been chosen to be discussed in this essay include lighting, framing, high angle shots and eye level angles incorporated in the sequences in which the heart images have been shown.

The heart images in Moulin Rouge signifies the power of love as well as the connection between Satine and Christian, but in Romeo and Juliet, heart images and the sacred heart images have both been used to signify the deep love in the film and to also emphasise how important religion is in this film.Sequence 14 (Elephant love medley) in Moulin Rouge is similar to the kissing scene in Romeo and Juliet when they are in the elevator to the scene when Satine and Christian sing together. The introduction of the heart in this sequence is beautifully framed with Christian and Satine in it which forces the attention of the audience on them.

The lighting of this sequence emphasises the fact that Satine and Christian are the main ideas in the scene and the lighting used also emphasises the connection between these two characters. Contrastly in sequence 8 (Poetry Reading) the heart image is introduced through zooming which forces us to observe what is happening in the scene and it also introduced using an eye level angle shot which emphasises the equality between the two characters and it shows that there is no power given or taken away with this angle from either characters. A silhouette of the image of the heart is also created through the lighting used.

Similarly to sequence 8, sequence 7 (Party of parties) in Romeo and Juliet introduces the heart on the “Queen mab,” an ecstasy-like drug that works within minutes after use, using a close up shot at eye level, he uses this type of shot to emphasise the significance of the heart. The close up emphasises that love is like a drug which we witness throughout the scene. The close up also forces a deep focus on the scene and commands the gaze of the viewer by emphasising the importance in all elements shown. The cutting and close up shots also show us how disorientated Romeo is because of the pill.

The lighting used when Romeo places pill on the tongue also forces the viewer to observe what is happening. Baz Lurhmann uses colours that create intensity when Romeo places the pill on his tongue which creates anticipation amongst the viewers as well as making the scene more dramatic.In sequence 20 (Death on a summer’s day), the gun Romeo uses has the sacred heart on it which is introduced using a high angle shot and this signifies how important religion is in the film alongside other religious icons used throughout the film. However, the religious icon on the gun also contradicts the system of belief of a Christian because the weapon is used for killing. The lighting used emphasises how intense this scene is because Romeo kills Tybalt and also creates weakness in the scene to make Tybalt look powerless. Even though it may seem as if love is not portrayed in this sequence we see it because Romeo kills Tybalt because of the deep love he has for Mercutio after Tybalt kills Mercutio.