The Great Gatsby [DVD] [2014] [2013]

575 reviews, to date, hardly call for another one - but I Iiked this film, so I'll say why briefly. In a way, it is an over-the-top Luhrmann production, very stylish in a sense, colourful and vivid. The style isn't always true to the period (1922) in which the novel is set, and in particular the music, which is very often anachronistic, is not, though it does frequently add a lot of atmosphere. But Luhrmann does not play about with the essence of the novel, except in small ways (Jordan Baker is not portrayed as a cheat, for example) ; a lot of the text is there ; the casting and the acting are really excellent ; the pacing of the film is very assured ; and Lurmann gets the climaxes right - the claustrophobic, climactic row in the New York hotel is frightening, for example. It is intensely dramatic, and in the end, we understand exactly why Gatsby was 'worth the whole damn lot of them'. No, this is a worthy film, a good one and a very absorbing one. .

I'm currently using the novel The Great Gatsby for a dissertation and some have studied the book in great depth, and since I loved the book so much I decided to give the film a try. I have to say, I am very pleasantly surprised by the film. The acting is spectacular, especially by Leonardo de Caprio and Toby McGuire. Although some events are changed slightly, the film works incredibly well and I connected to the characters as much as I did to them in the books, which I have to say is very rare. The theatrical elements, such as the exravagent parties and special effects, are well done and although may seem slightly over the top at times, they are used excellently to highlight specific elecments of the plot, such as Nick Carraway's initial admiration of Gatsby. I'm not even ashamed to admit that I cried at the end, which in itself is a testament to the film as I rarely cry at movies. For those who haven't read the book, I definitely recommend this movie to you. I would even recommend this film to those who have read F. Scott Fitzgerald's original novel.

My one line verdict...'Blown Away' by the superlative production. Not for a second did it sink under the vast and detailed production values. The best screen filler since Cecil B. De Mille.Heart breaking and deeply moving. Lurhman understood the novel and it's inner text. The only DVD add on was the deleted scenes and Baz explaining why. I loved the missing scenes but so could see why he left them out.The book and film is actually as much about the strange friendship between Jay and Nick Carroway as much, if not more than about Gatsby and Daisy.The one deleted scene that Lurhman most regretted not using was just before they go to New York for the Tom and Gatsby showdown. Nick says, "She's got an indiscreet voice," I remarked. "It's full of----" I hesitated. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby said suddenly.That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money--that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . high in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. .Later when Tom try's to repair his friendship with Nick, he says" I couldn't forgive him or like him, but I saw what he had done was to him, entirely justified. It was all very carless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy, they smashed up things and creatures, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."So all in all it was just wonderful. I had expected the music to jar...but not so, not even the odd rap. It was minimal and it sounded period, beautifully mixed.One scene I waited for with bated breath was the SHIRT scene. Jack Clayton's version with Robert Redford did it so beautifully you saw why Daisy was crying......Here was a different take just just as telling. Magical film making.As you might guess I most heartily recommend it.