Romeo + Juliet (1996) truly has everything…heavy religious imagery…young leo…90s fashion…a brief drag scene….neon lights…those iconic angel wings
guns labeled “sword”
being better than anything shakespeare ever produced
i dislike the implication that shakespeare wouldn’t have done the exact same thing if he were alive in the 90′s
Fun fact, the guns being labelled “sword” is not just them being Extra™.
Most of the guns being used by the main characters are modified Taurus PT99 pistols, the different types of which are often named after specific types of knives and swords, thus enabling them to not have to change the Shakespearean dialogue, but to also manage that specific visual pun.
So Shakespeare would have absolutely been 100% all over that shit.
For example, Tybalt’s gun is a modified 9mm “Rapier” (from the Taurus PT99 Series ‘R’) and is actually one of my favorite visual aesthetics of quite probably any weapon in movie history to date.
While everyone else seems to be using a much more heavier and “powerful” version of pistol, his is sleek and light in frame, making it much easier for him to fight the way that he does. Which is undoubtedly Extra™ in comparison to everyone else, but also intended to mimic the dueling stance of actual rapier swordsmen of the time who relied on speed rather than brute force. They were Gentlemen after all. If you were going to cut someone down you ought to do it with some finesse.
If you look closely at his hand you’ll notice that with the exception of his middle finger on the trigger, he’s actually holding it the way one would a sword hilt. He’s also got the poise of a honed duelist.
This is someone who has been brought up with a very strong sense of Family Honor, and is expected to fight to defend it, but not as a common foot soldier (who carry “longswords” which are modified shotguns in the film), but as a Gentleman.
A gentleman who suddenly finds himself having to fight in the streets with people carrying “daggers”.
Like Mercutio’s modified pistol, which while beautiful and (importantly thematic) transparent in its function, is also heavy and cumbersome in comparison to Tybalt’s rapier, which also has a much further range, something he also makes better use of with the addition of a quick release mount for a c-scope, which allows him to either be slow and accurate, or to forgo accuracy for speed during say, a one on one duel vs a street brawl.
Which means even if he can’t make as many quickfire short range movements as Mercutio can, he’s still going to fucking obliterate him with the practiced ease of someone who has been training for duels their entire life.
Not to mention just how fucking ornate this thing is. Look at it. What an extra little sob, I love it. I love the whole movie. It’s an excellent adaptation and I’ll bite my thumb at anyone who says otherwise.
Tumblr backup 