Cinematic Appropriations of The Great Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby is a novel which critically discusses the ideals of the American Dream and recapturing the past. In the film adaptation, producer Jack Clayton stays very closely to the plot and even quotes the novel verbatim but fails to capture the essence of the themes portrayed in the novel. The text did not translate well into film; some facts are distorted, the depiction of the characters are different, the general ambience of certain settings do not match, and the movie is weighted towards the beginning of the book, with half of the movie based closely on the first two chapters of the book.

The Great Gatsby is based upon wealth in the “Roaring 20’s”. The novel itself contains not a single dull moment of the narrators experience in the East, as it reflects people’s aspirations corrupted by greed and money. In addition, the romance between characters can help relate the readers to the novel. The film does a great job capturing almost all the aspects of the novel; through colors and themes. It gives the viewer a clear understanding of how shallow characters get mixed up into complex

There are many differences to be discovered between Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, written in 1925, and the movie directed by Baz Luhrmann in 2013. Clearly, as time drastically changed between the two, it is easy to assume that some aspects of the story have as well. Scott Fitzgerald and Baz Luhrmann both captured the essence of the world in the 1920’s in different ways. These differences can be seen throughout the characters and themes of the story.

In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the novel, The Great Gatsby, that is now known as a classic. The Great Gatsby describes the society of the 1920s and tells a timeless story that transports readers into a different era. The story takes place in New York City which, during the Jazz Age, was dripping with outlawed alcohol. It concentrates on a specific love affair of Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald incorporates issues of the time period such as race, women’s roles, the makeup of a family, and even homosexuality. Despite the immense popularity and recognition of the film today, during Fitzgerald’s life, he sold less than twenty-five thousand copies (Donahue). Nick Carraway serves as the narrator of the story and establishes himself as a remarkably honest man for the situation he is put in. Though he is a figure of moral character, he is fully immersed in several circumstances where no matter the decision he chooses, there will be consequences. Nick Carraway narrates the novel The Great Gatsby,

The Great Gatsby film in my opinion does not do the novel justice, the film uses music from recent years instead of from the 1920’s, they don’t have the best cast, and the film is very busy. The film isn’t a disaster but it could have definitely been done better than it was.

“What is better, the book or movie?” a commonly asked question by many individuals who are curious to know one’s opinion on a novel or film he/she is interested in. The book is usually always better than the movie because the book is more detailed, one gets to know the characters better, and it allows one to be more creative and have his/her own interpretation on what is occurring. In this case, The Great Gatsby is a remarkable 1925 novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which was made into various movie adaptions in 1926, 1949, 1974, 2000 and 2013. Each version takes place in drastically different periods, so each type has its own take on the film, also depending on the director’s vision. This goes to show that the cinema has been trying periodically to recreate F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, but the attempts of the movies have mostly failed. In particular, the 1974 film decreases its effectiveness in representing the message that Fitzgerald was attempting to demonstrate in the book, which contributes to the book being significantly better than the film for various reasons.

The Great Gatsby (2013) is a romantic drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film’s screenplay is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) novel “The Great Gatsby.” It starts Leonardo Dicaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki and Isla Fisher. It follows the life of a multi-millionaire Jay Gatsby from the perspective of the narrator Nick Carraway who moves to New York out from the Midwest chasing his own American dream and end up living next door to Gatsby. The film is very alluring because it allows us to learn about the different aspects of the American Dream through an epic romantic drama between Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan.

Movie adaptations are widely produced in our modern cinematic world. Many book lovers criticize movie adaptations, proclaiming that it kills the spirit of the story, misses out on critical key themes, and eliminates the reader's and viewer’s imagination. The Great Gatsby movie, directed by Baz Luhrmann and released on May 1st, 2013, is a film adaptation of the book The Great Gatsby, written in 1922 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The time lag between the movie and the book made some things unacceptable in our society. These changing societal proprietorship motivated Baz Luhrmann to alter the movie to be more suitable for current viewers. Consequently, there are many differences to be found between the book and the movie adaptation, which ultimately led to Luhrmann's movie being critiqued many times by the book’s fans, saying it was nothing like the actual book. Despite the fact that the movie adaptation of the Great Gatsby book follows the overall plot, it fails to show the racism, sexism, and abuse some of the characters withhold. The movie also fails to show the significance of the American dream, the condemnation of the lifestyle of the very rich, and it also annihilates reader’s imagination.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel about a rich socialite, Jay Gatsby, who tries to win back his love, Daisy Buchannan. Nick Caraway, Daisy’s cousin, is the narrator who brings the reader through the time of the roaring twenties to tell the story of Jay Gatsby. The 1974 film of The Great Gatsby, directed by Jack Clayton, follows the detailed storyline closely by mirroring it, but also adds and takes away some aspects of the story. There are many comparisons that can be made as well as contrasts through the actor, scenery, music, and script choices for the film.

The Great Gatsby is a phenomenal movie with drama and romance. It is every bit as exciting as the book by F. Fitzgerald. The parties are spectacularly projected as an extravaganza. Many themes and messages are given throughout the movie, so sit back with a relaxed mind. Enjoy the touch of the lively jazz ages that the director Baz Luhrmann produces. He creates a tremendous setting with the old fashioned antique like clothing.

“The Great Gatsby” movie is based on a well-known book by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, a well-known author that wrote American fiction. Maurer wrote that F. Scott Fitzgerald was known for his imagistic and wonderful composition. He could analyze the inclination of his era during a politically complex time of American History (Maurer, 2016). There have been a number of reincarnations of “The Great Gatsby” in cinematography. Baz Lurhmann, a popular director of all times recreated the movie and took the story to a whole new level. Baz Lurhmann has adapted the story and fit his visual style of production similar to other recognisable Lurhmann films such as Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet but he manages to preserve the core story.

The tale of the Jay Gatsby is not only written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but also directed and produced into a movie by Baz Luhrmann. Although thematically similar and entertaining, Luhrmann’s adaptation can hardly compare to the intricate and enchanting words written by Fitzgerald. Many differences fall alongside the similarities when comparing the novel and the 2013 movie of, The Great Gatsby, including characteristics of the narrator, relationships and Gatsby’s death.

The 2013 movie adaptation of ‘The Great Gatsby” certainly steps out of the cozy boundaries of the novella of less than two hundred pages by F. Scott Fitzegerald with its gaudy attitude and fast-paced scenes that at the same time is quite picturesque and full of details reproduced to match the prose that has been written. Some lovers of the classic might be horrified at the big top-esque film that Baz Luhrmann has made it into, for this director is no stranger to flashiness and taking risks, as shown in his past films “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet”; and the same desire in the both of them is still present in his installment of “Gatsby”: the want to capture the contemporary audience, even if it

The 2013 drama/romance movie, The Great Gatsby, is the second movie adaption made based off the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. Co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, this film received both glory and criticism upon its release. The Great Gatsby is well known for its “Gatsby era” as well as the love encircled between money and power. Without the glitz and glam of this story in conjunction with the forever love Jay Gatsby, a millionaire known for his magnificent parties, holds for Daisy Buchanan, The Great Gatsby would not be as acclaimed of a story. Baz Luhrmann makes sure to emphasize these characteristics throughout the film through his use of symbolism, irony, and imagery.

The Great Gatsby is a movie set in the 1920’s. The main character Nick Carraway lives next to the mysterious Jay Gatsby. Throughout the movie you experience the roaring 20’s first hand. They take you to the lavish countryside, through the struggling “valley of ashes”, into the bustling cites, and down into the bootlegging speakeasies. Gatsby is a secretive man and no one knows the truth about him. By the end of the film you find out his past and his secrets are revealed to us by Nick. Nick was like Gatsby’s best friend through the film. Nick was like a middle man between Gatsby and Daisy. Daisy Buchanan was a woman who lived, with her husband Tom, across the bay from Gatsby. Tom had been sleeping around behind Daisy’s back and nick was the only one who knew who it was although everyone suspected he was. Although there are many characters to follow the main one was Gatsby his life was the main purpose of the film.