Trailer
From the uniquely imaginative mind of writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann comes the new big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Gr...
Director: | |
Writers: | |
Cast: | |
Released: | Friday, May 10, 2013 |
Length: | 143 minutes |
Studio: | Warner Bros. |
Genre: | Drama |
Rating: | ![]() |
From the uniquely imaginative mind of writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann comes the new big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. The filmmaker will create his own distinctive visual interpretation of the classic story, bringing the period to life in a way that has never been seen before, in a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.
“The Great Gatsby” follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
Academy Award® nominee DiCaprio (“Blood Diamond,” “Aviator”) plays Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire starring as Nick Carraway; Joel Edgerton and Oscar® nominee Carey Mulligan (“An Education”) as Tom and Daisy Buchanan; Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as Myrtle and George Wilson; and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan will play the role of Meyer Wolfsheim.
Oscar® nominee Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge!”) directs the film in 3D from a screenplay co-written with frequent collaborator Craig Pearce, based on Fitzgerald’s book. Luhrmann produces, along with Catherine Martin, Catherine Knapman, Lucy Fisher and Academy Award® winner Douglas Wick (“Gladiator”). The executive producers are Academy Award® winner Barrie M. Osborne (“Lord of the Rings – Return of the King”) and Bruce Berman.
Two-time Academy Award®-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin (“Moulin Rouge!”) also designs with the director. The editors are Jason Ballantine, Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond, and the director of photography is Simon Duggan.
Purchase DVD/Blu-ray/4K UHD physical copy of The Great Gatsby today at Amazon.com
Download The Great Gatsby in Digital HD/4K from the iTunes store.
The Great Gatsby images are © Warner Bros.. All Rights Reserved.
Summer, 1922. Veteran and Yale graduate Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) moves into a small house on Long Island. There he learns his reclusive neighbor is none other than mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), seldom seen entrepreneur who hosts an endless string of lavish parties; headline-making soirées that attract everyone from Hollywood power players to sports stars, businessmen, gangsters and an assortment of other colorful characters. Gatsby, though, takes a particular interest in Nick, stepping out of the shadows of his mansion to ask a single favor of his new neighbor. Nick, you see, is cousin to a wealthy woman named Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), who lives across the lake with her hot-tempered husband Tom (Joel Edgerton). And Gatsby, as it turns out, has been in love with Daisy for a very long time. But when Gatsby asks Nick to arrange a secret rendezvous for the would-be lovers, it sets off a series of events that involve disastrous decisions and (not so) shocking revelations.
Fitzgerald was no stranger to wealth, prosperity or the social extravagance of the 1920s. And yet his "Gatsby" is as much an indictment of the era and its indulgences as it is a dissection of the manner in which class and culture structures begin -- and continue -- to crumble wherever money, art and celebrity collide. The novel, though largely dismissed in Fitzgerald's lifetime, remains a scathing commentary on the fabled American Dream, which, to this day, continues to make promises that can't possibly be kept. It's an impossible ideal at best, a shared delusion at worst, arguably making Fitzgerald's "Gatsby" as relevant in 2013 as it was in 1925.
So how is it that Luhrmann's Gatsby rings so hollow? How is it that an adaptation arriving in the midst of another boom-crisis-boom-crisis economic cycle has so painfully little to say to a modern audience? Why does The Great Gatsby grin and grimace from start to finish as if its filmmakers didn't understand the point of Fitzgerald's book in the least? Here, Nick and his money-grubbing compatriots are superficial, altogether alienating caricatures. Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, George (Jason Clarke), Myrtle (Isla Fisher), Jordan (Elizabeth Debicki)... brash, one-dimensional exclamation points whose wide eyes, grand gestures, laughably exaggerated performances and simultaneously stiff period delivery are baffling. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was less cartoony than Gatsby. No hyperbole necessary.
More troubling is Luhrmann and Pearce's hyperactive vision and sledgehammer script, which utterly fail to tie decadence to decay, connect the '20s to the 21st century (the film's modern music is a transparent trick that leads nowhere), or convey the intricacies of a fascinating period in American history rife with opportunity and ruthlessness, opulence and cruelty. The director's Roaring '20s are more rowdy than roaring, and lack texture and truth; his actors proceed as if they've literally been snorting copious amounts of cocaine between takes, and suffer the limitations such feverish intensity and spastic energy bring. Even if you've never cracked a copy of "The Great Gatsby" -- fewer and fewer have -- it's all too obvious there's a lot of noise to the film but nothing that might make it quintessential or meaningful.
If there's any respite from the dizzying recklessness that dominates the film it's Luhrmann and Pearce's third act, which offers a glimpse into the Gatsby that could have been. When Tom begins to poke and prod Gatsby -- in view of Daisy, Nick and Jordan no less -- Edgerton and DiCaprio step onto the stage of an entirely different movie. One that's still grossly theatrical, but far more compelling. As tables turn, tensions rise and houses of cards tumble, Tom, Gatsby and Daisy become considerably more interesting (despite their prevailing narcissism), while Edgerton, DiCaprio and Mulligan's performances suddenly become considerably more bearable (despite their prevailing hysterics). It's too little, too late, sadly, but the dark turn suits the film better than the flights of frenzy that render the first two acts a waste of Luhrmann's talents and Fitzgerald's subversive novel. Hollywood has yet to do right by "Gatsby." And it's probably safe to say they never will.
On Blu-ray this week, Warner's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer is as dazzling and extravagant as its cinematography, with bountiful colors and exacting detail. Skintones are overly lit and prone to pink hues, and sometimes take on a sickly, flushed appearance (Gatsby's initial reunion with Daisy at Nick's house is particularly problematic). But similarly harsh lighting and oversaturation frequented the film's theatrical presentation, making this a matter of intention rather than an issue of the encode itself. Whether Craig Armstrong's blend-of-the-centuries fusion score or the film's eclectic hip hop soundtrack works for or against The Great Gatsby is debatable. Whether it works for or against Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is not. With each beat, blare and snare roll, Luhrmann and Armstrong's musical canvas is full of punch, power and presence, with just enough playfulness and flare to make its command of the soundstage well deserved.
Special Features:
The Great Gatsby is too much flash and way too much fizzle. It isn't a matter of style over substance either. It's a matter of style without substance. The film is too detached from Fitzgerald's novel, too far removed from reality, and too disconnected from the human or historic elements that might offer film fans a foothold or anchor point. Instead, DiCaprio and company are amped up to the point of irritation, the script is cranked up to deafening levels, and the splashy visuals and blaring music undermine everything pulsing beneath the surface. The same can't be said of Warner's Blu-ray release, though. With an excellent video transfer, enthralling DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and a decent selection of behind-the-scenes bonus content, The Great Gatsby excels in high definition. It's just a shame the film only excels in excess.
For more reviews please visit our film/television review section.