Cinema and Literature

ROMEO and JULIET by Shakespeare https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKXFiA7fePg

n In the director’s chair: Baz Luhrmann (from minute 6.50)
Review
The classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy is updated by director Baz Luhrmann to a post-modern Verona Beach where swords are merely a brand of gun and bored youths are easily spurred toward violence. Longtime rivals in religion and business, the Montagues and the Capulets share a page from the Jets and Sharks of West Side Story when they form rival gangs. Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) is aloof toward the goings-on of his Montague cousins, but after he realizes that Juliet (Claire Danes) is a Capulet at the end of one very wild party, the enmity between the two clans becomes the root of his angst. He relies heavily — and with serious consequences — on his rebel gender-bender of a friend, Mercutio (Harold Perrineau Jr.), and Father (not Friar) Lawrence (Pete Postlethwaite) for protection and support. Romeo is, of course, exiled, and it looks like Juliet will be forced into an arranged marriage with the bland Paris (Paul Rudd). It ends, as Romeo and Juliet must, when Romeo hears a tragic piece of misinformation and brings his suicide wish to what was meant to be Juliet ‘s temporary tomb. This time, though, the turf and the weapon of choice have taken a turn toward the surreal. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

lORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding (Peter Brook -1963)

In the hands of the renowned experimental theater director Peter Brook, William Golding’s legendary novel about the primitivism lurking beneath civilization becomes a film as raw and ragged as the lost boys at its center. Taking an innovative documentary-like approach, Brook shot Lord of the Flies with an off-the-cuff naturalism, seeming to record a spontaneous eruption of its characters’ ids. The result is a rattling masterpiece, as provocative as its source material.

THE SCARLET LETTER by Nathaniel Hawthorn
In 17th-century Salem, Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A because she is an adulteress, with a child out of wedlock. For seven years, she has refused to name the father. A vigorous older … See full summary »

Director: Wim Wenders
Writers: Tankred Dorst (scenario Der Herr klagt über sein Volk in der Wildnis Amerika), Ursula Ehler (scenario Der Herr klagt über sein Volk in der Wildnis Amerika), 3 more credits »
Stars: Senta Berger, Hans Christian Blech, Lou Castel

About Miguel Santos de Vega

Profesor de inglés en IES. Navarro Villoslada, Pamplona.
This entry was posted in CINEMA, DOCUMENTARIES & DEBATE IES Mendillorri. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Cinema and Literature

  1. pedro santamaria says:

    Me encanta este blog como gran aficionado al cine que soy. Me parece que recopila momentos magníficos de la cinematografía mundial. Aunque mi nivel de inglés no es muy alto y, puedo entender gracias a las explicaciones expuestas. Me parece una gran labor para que los jóvenes estudiantes aprendan cine e inglés a la vez. Mis mas sinceras felicitaciones al autor de este blog. Un saludo!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.