It's been said that you can't repeat the past...though of course you can when you remake a movie. Then you can repeat the past as many times as you remake the movie...
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The Great Gatsby
Surprisingly, for one who had been an English major with a focus on literature when I was in college the first time around, I had never read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby until 2013 when the most recent remake was released. I had no particular intention on seeing the film--the novel didn't strike me as interesting nor did the movie. Later, after the film's release, my wife and I were visiting our daughter in Houston and as I was looking for something to read during my stay there I spied a copy of Gatsby in their bookshelves. It was a relatively short book so I decided to read the thing that I had thus far avoided for my entire life.
Well, I was blown away--one of the best novels I have read. Upon finishing it was clear to me why The Great Gatsby is considered by many to be one of "The Great American Novels." In a sense it is the truest American story, a rags to riches parable for the modern age. The novel captures the spirit of an era and the essence of the romantic longings for the unobtainable that so many of us may have experienced in our own lives at some time or other. The tragedy is beautifully told by Fitzgerald and begs for cinematic treatment. After reading the book, I was convinced that I needed to see this celebrated new film version.
In some future post I'll go into what made me so apprehensive about seeing the 2013 version of Gatsby, but I'll add in passing here that it was directed by Baz Luhrmann who also directed the 2001 film Moulin Rouge--yeah, I hated that film, but more on that in a few weeks in a future post. Despite my feelings about Moulin Rouge, I was set on viewing his interpretation of The Great Gatsby. At the time I was not aware that it had been interpreted by earlier directors.
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| The Great Gatsby (1926) |
Luhrmann's version blew me away thus luring me to explore whether other versions had been filmed. I discovered there had been four movie versions over the decades (not counting a made-for-TV version that I have yet to see). The first was a silent film of which no copies are known to exist any longer so other than viewing the trailer I have not seen that one. Another version was released in 1949 with Alan Ladd in the role as Gatsby. In 1974 Robert Redford played the lead in a much bigger production than its predecessors. Then came the Luhrmann spectacle.
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| The Great Gatsby (1949) |
If the 1949 version were the only one to have been made it would have been a highly credible interpretation and worth a viewing by Gatsby fans. The acting is fine though the story has been pared down to ninety minutes which does not allow for enough exposition and character development. This film is more like a summary of the story with a feel that much is missing--and it is. Nevertheless, Ladd plays the Gatsby role well. This film is satisfactory, but probably wouldn't be fulfilling enough for modern audiences. For one thing, it's in black and white and comes across as more of a film noirish experience than the story that it is meant to be. This version is pretty good, but a bit flat.
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| The Great Gatsby (1974) |
My wife prefers the sweeping epic version from 1974. The acting is outstanding and everything about the production is top rate. Robert Redford does a fine job with his portrayal of the title character. I've only seen this version once so far, but I would say that it is well worth watching.
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| The Great Gatsby (2013) |
My favorite is the 2013 version. All of the acting works well for me. The sets, the effects, and even the soundtrack are all big, brash, and a lot of fun. Toby Maguire delivers the most effective portrayal of Nick Carraway (the narrator) of all of the films in my opinion and for me he really made the film. However, I'd put Leonardo DiCaprio's performance up against any of the Gatsby's who came before him. Where this version really captures the essence of the book is in its depiction of the decadence of the Jazz Age and the craziness of the world surrounding Gatsby and his elite neighbors. For repeated viewings Luhrmann's version is the one for me. It's good stuff that sticks pretty close to the story and spirit of Fitzgerald's novel. I think Zelda Fitzgerald might have preferred this version as well.
Now for any Moulin Rouge fans who might take offense at my negative stance on that film, stay tuned to this blog for my post regarding that Luhrmann nightmare. I will have some opinionated thoughts to share about it. That post will come on November 29th directly preceding a related Battle of the Bands of December 1st. My next Battle of the Bands post will be this Wednesday when I'll be pairing a song from Luhrmann's Gatsby soundtrack with an earlier version of the song. Hope you'll join me for that.
And by the way, regarding the versions of The Great Gatsby that I've discussed in this post, they are all relatively widely available so finding them would likely be little problem. I bought the 1949 and 1974 versions through Amazon while I found the 2013 version with lots of bonus features at my local Walmart for something like seven bucks--a real steal.
Would you consider The Great Gatsby to be one of America's greatest novels? If you've seen any of the Gatsby films which was your favorite (if you liked any of them)? What are some of your favorite film remakes?
