Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2828 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-12-15
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Turkish, Arabic, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Romanian, Dutch, Norwegian, Slovene, English, Hebrew, Spanish, Bulgarian, Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, Portuguese, Icelandic, Finnish, Serbian, German, French, Italian, Danish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 135 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Perhaps no movie could capture F Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby in its entirety, but this adaptation, scripted by Francis Ford Coppola, is certainly a handsome try, putting costume design and art direction above the intricacies of character. Robert Redford is an interesting casting choice as Gatsby, the millionaire isolated in his mansion, still dreaming of the woman he lost. And Sam Waterston is perfect as the narrator, Nick, who brings the dream girl Daisy Buchanan back to Gatsby.

The problem seems to be that director Jack Clayton fell in love with the flapper dresses and the party scenes and the jazz age tunes, ending up with a Classics Illustrated version of a great book rather than a fresh, organic take on the text. While Redford grows more quietly intriguing in the film, Mia Farrow's pallid performance as Daisy leaves you wondering why Gatsby, or anyone else, should care so much about his grand passion. The effective supporting cast includes Bruce Dern as Daisy's husband, and Scott Wilson and Karen Black as the low-rent couple whose destinies cross the sun-drenched protagonists. (That's future star Patsy Kensit as Daisy's little daughter.) The film won two Oscars--not surprisingly, for costumes and musical score. --Robert Horton

Synopsis
The story of Jay Gatsby the dashing millionaire who takes a shine to the spoiled Daisy Buchanan. Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Customer Reviews

Faithful and sumptuous adaptation
F. Scott Fitzgerald, himself, battled with self-depreciation, as he believed his literature was a failure. If you have read his work, you would find this incredulous, he was a man of great wit and value. Turning Gatsby into a film would be easy, after all the book is written in the style of flashback and has the contemporary use of the cinematic cut-showing how Fitzgerald was very avant garde by incorporating the most modern and fresh ideas in his work.
Perhaps as the novel is short, it does not receive enough acclaim to the likes of Vanity Fair or War and Peace, however, it is no matter. The sharp social satire mixed in with casting which no one could protest at- Mia Farrow as Daisy is a particularly refined and polished performance-and the entire allure of the novel has been transfered into the spelendour of technicolour.
A plot that unfolds itself reveals the cold nature of the frivoulous 1920's high flyers, whom consequence to their actions is unheard of. Gastby, played by a much younger Robert Redford, is an enigmatic millionair who's desire for the cold hearted Daisy (Farrow) uncomprimisingly brings the film to an unsettling climax.
Packed full of witty observations and a potent emotional punch, this adaptation if Fitzgerald's masterpiece allows people today to appreciate just how celluloid an author he was.

A good film for a great novel.
The first cinematographic version of Great Gatsby in 1949, with Alan Ladd as Jay Gatsby, was very impressive, but the story didn't coincide with that of the story. The film-script underlined more the adventurous part of Gatsby's life, which in the book was not even merely touched; and naturally, stressed the romantic affair between Jay and Daisy more than Fitzgerald's original book. On the contrary, the new version of Coppola, is very near the novel, even if sometimes the film lacks of the magic of the story. Perhaps this is one of the most difficult novels to put on screen, one of the better-known and most rapresentative American novels of the 20th century. The difficulty is evident in many ways: the characters might have been more studied in their actions and feelings, and the film touches off many of Fitzgerald's themes. However the result is that of a good film, that pays a great attention to details and atmospheres. And, besides, it focuses one's attention on a "Great" Robert Redford in the splendour of his youth, an actor who is capable to capture the figure of Gatsby almost perfectly. Mia Farrow too, is very good and physically demonstrates the fragility of Daisy Buchanan.

Mixed feelings
This is a disappointing film of one of my favourite books. Its strengths are Francis Ford Coppola's script, which is very faithful to Fitzgerald's novel, and the production design and wardrobe, which are superb. But the acting is stilted, with Mia Farrow especially disappointing. There is none of the chemistry between her as Daisy and Robert Redford as Gatsby that you'd hope for. I also found the score pretty horrendous. The film undoubtedly captures a sense of the Jazz Age, but it's nothing like as rewarding as the book, and it doesn't even serve as a worthwhile supplement to the book. Perhaps three stars is a little generous, but I've given three because the look of the film is very strong realized, especially in its attention to Fitzgerald's preoccupation with colours (gold, white, yellow, green). If you're a Robert Redford fan, I think this is definitely one to avoid - not his finest hour.