The Great Gatsby

I'm really interested in novel adaptations. Because the source material is easily available and usually well loved it is up to the director to create something that must work well cinematically whilst still staying true to the origins in some way. This is why I'm curious to see The Great Gatsby.

Though I read it at school I'm a little vague on the full detail of the book so intend to re-read it before seeing the new
film. I went out and bought myself a copy, judging a book by it's cover and going for the prettiest version with yellow edging, because sometimes I'm shallow.

The below video also shed some light on the main themes of the story, highlighting the importance of Gatsby's idealistic views on love, money and 'the american dream'.

There's a great article on the behind the scenes goings on HERE, including an interview with Baz Luhrmann who explains a lot of his ideas and concepts for the film. A few key points that seem to have drawn attention is the use of soundtrack and use of scale. Everything is bigger and flashier than it would have been in that time, but this, it is argued, is to illustrate to the audience the feeling at the time.

I'm yet to see it but find the reviews interesting, as it has received mixed. The below states that it's an adaptation but not necessarily the 'defining adaptation' of the book. Adapting a book seems almost impossible to truly achieve, especially if it is a classic but by the sounds of it at least Luhrmann has attempted to keep the work and words of Fitzgerald in his work. In previous films, such as Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet, Luhrmann's work seems a little gaudy however this seems to work in favour in illustrating the richness in The Great Gatsby. I'm interested to see it.