Romeo and Juliet the 20th century, these moral arguments were disputed by critics such as Richard Green Moulton: he argued that accident, and not some character flaw, led to the lovers' deaths. In "Romeo and Juliet", Shakespeare employs several dramatic techniques that have garnered praise from critics; most notably the abrupt shifts from comedy to tragedy (an example is the punning exchange between Benvolio and Mercutio just before Tybalt arrives). Before Mercutio's death in Act three, the play is largely a comedy. After his accidental demise, the play suddenly becomes serious and takes on a tragic tone. When Romeo is banished, rather than
Romeo and Juliet on screen 1960 "Romeo, Juliet a Tma". As a result of this ubiquity, any film about young love and its challenges will court comparison with "Romeo and Juliet", as "Roseanna McCoy" did in 1949, and two James Dean films – "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause" – did in the 1950s. In 1960, Peter Ustinov's stage parody of "Romeo and Juliet", "Romanoff and Juliet" was filmed – dramatising true love interfering with the cold-war superpowers' attempts to control the fictional state of Concordia. In 1980 an episode of the anime Astro Boy was based on the Romeo and Juliet story.