The Great Gatsby
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Movie Reviews of The Great Gatsby
Movie Review: movie 'The Great Gatsby'
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent movie I saw when it first came out and thought it was so good, I wanted it in my collection! Terrific acting!!Movie Review: Gatsby Review
Summary: 5 Stars
It is unfortunate that the original is not on DVD yet but this is one of the more colorful versions.Movie Review: Great Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
It's the best. Don't get the newer made for TV version released in 2000. You'll be disappointed.Movie Review: Unappreciated But Not Forgotten
Summary: 4 Stars
Throughout American literature, surely no icons existed more dramatically than F. Scott Fitzgerald and his beautiful wife Zelda Sayre. Disgustingly self-indulgent as they may appear to modern sensibilities, they were the epitome of youth, celebrity, and "modernism" to a generation struggling to shed the vestiges of World War I and escape from the reality of agrarian life and work. As he did with virtually everything he wrote, F. Scott Fitzgerald borrowed generously from his own life and relationships to create The Great Gatsby. The story has endured countless interpretations by critique and Hollywood, but the Gatsby played by Robert Redford comes as close to presenting the genuine tone of the original book as can be seen. The performance, at once sensitive and brittle, tells the story, but if viewers take it on face value, it is a mediocre Hollywood attempt at recreating its own shallow values and hidden peversities. Look closer, and what emerges is a deeply imagined commentary on dissipation and emotional poverty. So many reviews of this fine movie have overlooked the absolute truth lying hidden beneath. Performances by the cast seem to be superimposed over the everlasting strength of Fitzgerald's original prose. It is thrilling to see 1920s frivolity recreated by modern hedenists (movie stars) who certainly could have moved freely in Scott and Zelda's circle, albeit sans literary pretentions.
The art direction is splendid -- tiny details (down to the minutia scattered across Mia Farrow's dressing table) support the lush cinematography of large vistas and even larger luxury. This combination -- plus exquisite costuming and total absorption of the characters who tell Fitzgerald's story, create an overall effect that either woos audiences completely or leaves them gasping for air. F. Scott Fitzgerald gives not a moment to the "realities" of life in the Roaring Twenties -- and the critics who blasted this movie as superficial missed the point entirely. It was the essense of Gatsby and his story that both glamorized and destroyed the life to which they all clung obsessively. Zelda's later fall into schizophrenic maddness, the Fitzgerald's constant need of money, and the disappearance of their lifestyle (with the onset of World War II) may have been the consequences of their excesses, but the movie audience's fascination with creatures utterly dedicated to their own pleasures and fantasies continues to keep The Great Gatsby in our collective cultural memory. Would you like to comment on this, Paris Hilton?
Movie Review: L. Cassano----Great Gatsby Review---Mr. Yochum P.5
Summary: 4 Stars
I have read many required books for English classes; many I disliked, and few I enjoyed. The Great Gatsby is now one of my favorites! The book always kept me guessing. The characters represented multifaceted personalities which were intertwined and intriguing.
Reading the book first introduced me to the characters and familiarized me with the era of the setting. Watching the movie allowed me a vivid visual of "The Jazz" age as F. Scott Fitzgerald called it. I thought the costumes were cool with their authentic 1920's air - the complete white outfits for summer, the flapper dresses, and of course the awesome swim wear worn by Gatsby in his final scene of the movie.
The movie stayed true to the book in most aspects. I just imagined the characters to be portrayed a little differently. The movie version of Daisy seemed extra "backward", or "ditzy"- for lack of better words. Some of her comments made absolutely no sense, and she acted strange toward her cousin Nick. Tom did not appear as bulky in physique, as the book seemed to imply that he was more intimidating and threatening. Nick Carraway is shyer, yet seems to get closer to Miss Jordan Baker in the movie version- just my opinion.
I also enjoyed the fact that the title of the book - "The Great Gatsby" - is rather ironic itself. The first couple chapters Jay Gatsby is only mentioned in everyone's conversations and rumors spread quickly. Readers do not hear him talk until later. Everyone thinks Jay is leading this fantastic life of happiness with all of his accumulated riches and lavish get-togethers on his back lawn, yet as the story progresses Gatsby is not all he is perceived to be- on many levels. He is a dreamer and his life does not fit together as he and everyone else thinks it does.