<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Baz Luhrmann’s unique imprint on cinema and period pieces has perplexed film critics and intrigued the general populace alike for decades. They wondered things like “What on Earth is Jay-Z doing in </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Great Gatsby</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">? Rap music didn’t even exist in the 1920s.” Or “Why is Benvolio wearing a Hawaiian shirt in </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Romeo &; Juliet</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">?” Each of his films can be characterized and distinguished by their charming modern touch that is inspired by the mood of the moment and undertones of the plot while still staying true to the material. The Australian director walked away from this year’s Academy Awards empty-handed despite his latest picture </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elvis </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">receiving upwards of eight nominations. Now I’m an English major and a textbook example history buff. I love Shakespeare and have been to see shows at the Folger Theatre in Washington DC. I love jazz, I love Old Hollywood, I also loved reading </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Great Gatsby </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">during English class sophomore year. My favorite actress is Lauren Bacall for crying out loud. I’m exactly the demographic of people who are spitting all over Baz Luhrmann for his signature anachronisms. But upon further viewings of his adaptations of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Romeo &; Juliet </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Great Gatsby, </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I realized I was mistaken and there’s something enchanting about his particular storytelling style. Let’s go for a drive down memory lane, shall we? </span></p>
<p><b>Film #1: </b><b><i>Romeo &; Juliet</i></b></p>
<figure id="attachment_14448" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14448" style="width: 518px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class=" wp-image-14448" src="https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/Screenshot-2023-11-16-at-6.02.07-PM.png" alt="" width="518" height="340" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14448" class="wp-caption-text">Image via Twentieth Century Fox</figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just because Shakespeare wrote his plays in the 1500s, and his writing sounds fancy because of early modern English does that really mean it is high-brow literature? From Beatrice and Benedick’s enemies to lovers banter and the entire plot of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Midsummer Night’s Dream </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">(a fairy pulling pranks on everyone, love triangle, etc), Shakespeare is actually so unserious. Even in tragedies, they consist of many dirty jokes that go under the radar simply because they are written in iambic pentameter. And quite frankly, that multidimensional framework is beautiful. So I shall leave you to your gossip-like humor if you think Shakespeare wouldn’t have liked Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of one of the most famous love stories of all time. Because the film really does justice to the coexistence of absurdity and profound reflections of the human spirit. Romeo and his homies wearing Hawaiian shirts, the extravagant costume party, Mercutio driving a convertible with a customized license plate with his name on it, the pool scene, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Exit Music (For A Film) </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">playing as the credits roll whilst still keeping to the dialogue; Shakespeare would approve of this passionate mirage. It keeps a perfect blend of modern and classical. </span></p>
<p><b>Film #2: </b><b><i>The Great Gatsby</i></b></p>
<figure id="attachment_14450" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14450" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-14450" src="https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/Screenshot-2023-11-16-at-6.01.14-PM.png" alt="" width="510" height="340" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14450" class="wp-caption-text">Image via Pinterest</figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Would it be a Baz Luhrmann film if there wasn’t some huge party where some major inciting incident takes place? Jay Gatsby’s weekly parties brought to the screen gave us the theme parties of our dreams. It’s less so that modern music in a 1920s film eclipses jazz, and music of the 1920s, but rather it paints a mood so present-day audiences can feel a connection to the storyline. </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">No Church In The Wild </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">showcases the economic side of the Roaring 20s and Wall Street being an absolute frenzy. Baz Luhrmann is essentially telling the audience, “Picture all the frat bros yelling over loud music at a party to tell you about the stock market” and you get what being in New York City during the 1920s was like. Similarly, with the first Gatsby bash, Nick is invited to. The EDM, fireworks, and sparkles showcase the extravagance of the new money rich and how Gatsby wants to show off how he worked his way up to the upper echelons of society from growing up as a poor farm boy in North Dakota to impress Daisy.</span></p>
<p><b>Film #3: </b><b><i>Elvis</i></b></p>
<figure id="attachment_14451" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14451" style="width: 365px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class=" wp-image-14451" src="https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/Screenshot-2023-11-16-at-6.01.06-PM.png" alt="" width="365" height="363" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14451" class="wp-caption-text">Image via Pinterest</figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s a reason why audiences fell in love with Elvis Presley all over again last summer. With the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Priscilla </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">movie out showing a more sinister image of the King, it feels like a lifetime ago doesn’t it? Although I don’t think this film really romanticizes him either. It’s funny to see the memes of Austin Butler admitting he didn’t see his family for 3 years, whilst Jacob Elordi’s intro to the man was </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lilo and Stitch </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">does showcase to study for the role, but it does show his descent into madness. With </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elvis,</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the costuming does not disappoint as usual. And fashion above all else, is really what helps a period piece feel like a period piece because it is visual. Baz picks and chooses which period-accurate element to integrate and emphasize throughout his films. If </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Romeo &; Juliet </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">is dialogue, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Great Gatsby</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is music, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elvis</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is the culmination of this holy trinity with a Doja Cat song sampling Big Mama Thornton as a bonus track. </span></p>
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<div class="wp-biographia-container-top" style="background-color: #FFEAA8; border-top: 4px solid #000000;"><div class="wp-biographia-pic" style="height:100px; width:100px;"><img alt='' src='https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/4032x3024.jpeg.0467638751f7470abbce99e3882f0c04.large_.jpeg' srcset='https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/4032x3024.jpeg.0467638751f7470abbce99e3882f0c04.large_.jpeg 2x' class='wp-biographia-avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-biographia-text"><h3>About <a href="https://tulanemagazine.com/author/evelynyoung/" title="Evelyn Young">Evelyn Young</a></h3><p>Evelyn is a senior from the Chicago area majoring in Digital Media Practices and Jewish Studies with a minor in French. This past summer, she studied creative writing in Paris. Evelyn has held a variety of positions within the Crescent and is incredibly excited to begin her role as Senior Editor. After graduating from Tulane, she hopes to move to Los Angeles to pursue her film career.</p><div class="wp-biographia-links"><small><ul class="wp-biographia-list wp-biographia-list-text"><li><a href="mailto:&#101;&#121;ou&#110;g&#64;t&#117;&#108;&#97;&#110;e&#46;&#101;du" target="_self" title="Send Evelyn Young Mail" class="wp-biographia-link-text">Mail</a></li> | <li><a href="https://tulanemagazine.com/author/evelynyoung/" target="_self" title="More Posts By Evelyn Young" class="wp-biographia-link-text">More Posts(16)</a></li></ul></small></div></div></div><!-- WP Biographia v4.0.0 -->

The Brilliance of Baz Luhrmann
Feature Image via Pinterest