Wednesday, May 15,2013
Decadence, idealism
and social upheaval
ead to screen spectactular...
iMliSIIBW regains popularity through
Baz Luhrman's masterful retelling
BreannaCraine
Arts & Culture Editor
The roaring 20s were probably the
best time to live in before the stock mar
ket crashed. There was prohibition which
resulted in the illegalisation of alcohol
that started the creation o f speak easies .
and parties full of bootlegged alcohol and
moonshine.
Originally a novel, “The Great Gatsby”
was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in
1925. The book was not a success until
after WWII. Fitzgerald became more
famous after he had died. The book high
lights the fun and carefree world that the
20s seemed to be like.
I had read the novel in high school and
I thought it was the best book I have read.
It is considered one of the best classics in
American literature.
There have been many movies made
after the book was written. The first
movie was actually a silent film that came
to theaters a year after it was written.
I walked into the movie theater last
weekend excited to watch Leonardo
DiCaprio in a love story. When I had
watched the commercials, the movie
sounded like it would be a 1920s ver
sion of “Project X” with some romance
In 1923, F.
Scott Fitzgerald
began planning
his work “The
Great Gatsby.”
It was done in a
desire to create
in his words,
“something new
— something
extraordinary
and beautiful
and simple
and intricately
patterned.”
G reat
FS cott F itzgerald
Jay Gatsby
Nick Carraway
Daisy Buchanan
Tom Buchanan
Jordan Baker
‘The Great
Gatsbx
written by F
Scott Fitzgerald,
was originally
puvblished by
Scribner ’s in
1925 with dust
cover artw ork
illustrated by
F rancis Cugat.
Copies are
available through
A m azon.com for
'as, Low as $4
film was not in 3D which I thought was
a little strange? Former “Spider-Man”
actor Toby Maguire plays handsome Nick
Carraway who befriends Gatsby. The film
starts off as Carraway is writing down
how he met Gatsby. Gatsby is played by
DiCaprio who is most famous for playing
Jack Dawson in “Titanic.”
Gatsby is known for throwing the best
parties in his mansion but no one knows
why he throws them. He has an under
lying meaning to why he throws these
fabulous gatherings and the further ajong
in the film we get, the more understand
ing we gain.
He is a very private man but when
he meets his new neighbor Carraway, he
opens up to him about the love he had
lost. No one knows how he inherited
so much money since he had grown up
extremely poor. Making and selling boot
legged alcohol was a big business back
then and people could make real good
money from it.
The love of his life, Daisy Buchanan,
was married to Tom Buchanan, a rich
man of “old” money while Gatsby was
from “new” money. They live across
the bay from each other in New York
City. The whole film is their fight to be
together.
The movie, in my opinion, showed the
fabulous side of the 20s, where everyone
was rich and having fun. The cars seemed
too fake, however. Maybe it was the 3D
or maybe they wanted it to seem cartoon
like, but I did not like it. The opening of
the film was confusing to me. It went
back and forth from the future to the past
and I had trouble knowing which was
which.
The love story was amazing. I almost
cried at the end because love like that
does not exist anymore. People may not
want to see this movie because it is con
sidered a classic, but this is a must-see
movie. The acting is amazing and the
parties are huge. Go and check out either
the novel or die many movies that have
been created.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Tobey Maguire
Carey Mulligan
Joel Edgerton.
Elizabeth Debicki
<
ESS
0)0)
Jay Gatsby
Nick Carraway
Daisy Buchanan
Tom Buchanan
involved.
Ihe"3D Wd'VfS B eganf out m ost o f the
and uncertainty
concerning the
title, “The Great
Gatsby” was
published in April
of 1925.
The book
sold poorly (only
20,000 copies the
first year) and
was subject to
mixed reviews.
Fitzgerald died in
1940, believing
himself a failure
and that his
work would be
forgotten.
After World
War II, Fitzgerald’s
work gained
popularity and
in the following
years was
incorporated
into high school
curriculum across
the nation. “The
Great Gatsby”
has since been
considered one
of America’s all
time best work’s
of literature and
without protest fits
the bill of a “Great
American Novel.”
i Z B
1 )1 1 3
Jordan Baker
Toby Stephens
Paul Rudd
Mira Sorvino
Martin Donovan
^ A te le v is io r ^ ^
V
adaptation
that originally
aired March
29 2000
«
Francie Swift
Jay Gatsby
Nick Carraway
Daisy Buchanan
Tom Buchanan
Jordan Baker
Robert Redford.
Sam Waterson/
Mia Farrow I
Bruce Dern 1
Lois Chiles
\
Jay Gatsby
Nick Carraway
Daisy Buchanan
Tom Buchanan
Jordan Baker
Alan Ladd
Macdonald Carey
Betty Field
.
Barry Sullivan
Ruth Hussey
Jay Gatsby
Nick Carraway
Daisy Buchanan
Tom Buchanan
Jordan Baker
Warner Baxter
of which only a
the trailer is
’
Neil Hamilton
still known to
Lois Wilson
e xist A prime j
of a A
Hale Hamilton
L example
“lost film.” ■
Carmelita Geraghty
If you’ve g o ti
copy, congrats. ’
Due to copyright
restrictions, this
version is hard u
to come by.
A silent film /^ B
F
Television Tributes
“Californication ”
Season 2, Episode 2
“The Great Ashby”
“Entourage”
the HBO show’s main
character, Vincent Chase,
stars in a fictional film
based off the book enti
tled “Gatsby”
“Mad Money”
/A
/A
JM
1.5 OUT OF B O M B
The show’s host, Jim
Cramer at times refers to
his self created index of
companies that reflects
the spending habits of the
rich and wealthy as the
“Great Gatsby Index.”
’’IB
r M u Iti p I e M ed i u ms
Aside from movies
and television, Gatsby
has transcended both
mediums and genres
with adaptations in opera,
theater, graphic novels,
radio,: music and even
computer games.