The Great Gatsby [DVD]

I read the book for my book club. Having done so I wanted to see the film interpretation. I found it a good reflection of the book (so many films are not!)The choice of actors was inspired. Robert Redford made a 'Great Gatsby' - just as I imagined him from the text. Bruce Dern, Lois Chiles and Sam Waterstone (as the narrator)were also well cast. I was disappointed with Mia Farrow - only in that she did'nt meet my expectations of Daisy but I think if I had'nt read the book I would have been satisfied. My husband - not having read the book - was pleasently surprised that the film had a lot more to offer than the 'romantic' story he had expected. The fabulous written text was not lost in the film and reflected the wealthy twenties in the USA beautifully. A 'must see' for readers of 'modern classics' and anyone who enjoys a story that does'nt quite end the way you expect.

I read the Fitzgerald novel recently, and having realised it fitted perfectly with my desire to teach a topic at A2 based on "The Other"/"The Oustider", I realised that it would be a perfect novel to teach. So, it followed that I would see what the film is like and how it may help to imagine the world the novel is set in.

Filmed in hazy bright white 1920s style (with subtle 1970s styling) this film is delightful to watch purelt based on the aesthetic it presents.

Like any film adaptation it takes liberties with the original text, but this is one that is very true to the original and feels authentic.

For those who are like me and enjoy watching films for their beauty in cinematography, costume and setting, this is a great film. The acting is good and transmits the awkward, strange, dream-like feeling of the novel.

A film well worth watching.

For some reason I had never seen this version of "The Great Gatsby"; having recently read the novel, I thought I might finally watch it.

My main impressions were that (1) the screenplay follows Fitzgerald's novel more closely than most screen adaptations of books and (2) on the other hand, the effect of the story gets blurred behind a fog, that is: the production of this movie as a sort of "roaring twenties epic" rather than the more intimate, people-focused feel of the novel. The film has outstanding production values: cinematography, sets, wardrobe - but rather than just serve as a tool to recreate the 1920s, they became a goal in itself, as if the director was thinking something like, "it would be a shame not to use our budget to its fullest" or "let's give the folks who might find the story too boring something gorgeous to look at".

As for the cast: I thought the main actors were very good, and that the cast gave good portrayals of the characters, with one exception, Bruce Dern as Tom Buchanan. It is not that his acting was bad, on the contrary: I think he was miscast as Tom, and his interpretation of what Tom was like was all wrong. In the novel, Tom Buchanan is a more natural, straightforward kind of brute, as summarized by Nick, the narrator, as he concludes that he could not remain angry at Tom since he was like a child. Bruce Dern plays Tom as a more self-aware kind of con man. In the novel, at the end (no spoilers), I could believe Tom's sincerety as he expresses his feelings; in the film, he sounds like a hypocrite.

Many people have criticized the casting of Mia Farrow as Daisy. I thought she was an excellent choice. Granted, she may not correspond precisely to how Daisy is described in the novel. But she conveys the character's shallowness, with feelings that are fickle but nevertheless genuine, and which can plausibly charm those, like Gatsby, who mistake her present-moment, circumstancial feelings for something more durable and profound. The contrast between Daisy's personality with the more intelligent and perceptive Jordan, well played by Lois Chiles, is immediate and very true to the book.

As for Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby: my expectations sunk when I saw how the film changed the scene where Nick is introduced to Gatsby: from a casual encounter in the middle of the party, as in the book, to a mysterious, "James Bond villain" meeting in the film. Maybe the director felt it necessary to do that because the book scene would not work on screen, since viewers would immediately recognize Redford. But in any case, I thought that after that scene, Redford's portrayal of Gatsby was very good and mostly true to the book.

Overall, I recommend this film; but, maybe ironically, I think it might have been a truer portrayal of Fitzgerald's novel if it had been made with a smaller budget.