Review of The Great Gatsby (1974) by Paige D — 19 Aug 2008
They actually made this accurate to the times. It is very rare you see a film that capitolizes on historic accuracy, but when you see this movie, there's no way to find a flaw in any aspect of that kind.
I never like Redford until I saw this film. He is an excellent Gatsby. Still, however, it would be nice to see the previous performances of Warner Baxter and Allan Ladd for comparison. The film stayed reasonably close to Fitzgerlad's original, but the ending was tweaked, slightly, and details about Gatsby's background were almost completely left out.
in the book, Wilson didn't kill himself---or if he did it was implied. In the book, Gatsby lived to realize that Daisy didn't care enough about him to at least be with him in his last moments.
With that said, I do prefer the movie to the book because Coppolla's script brings out the vague symbolism that Fitsgerald pushed aside. Also, by changing the end, he allowed narration to point out the biggest symbol in the film--the green light at Daisy's dock, just far enough away so that he could never grasp it, but close enough to taunt him with memories of the past.
Do not bother watching the made for TV remake from 2000. It's a waste of time.
This review of The Great Gatsby (1974) was written by Paige D on 19 Aug 2008.
The Great Gatsby has generally received mixed reviews.
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