The Great Gatsby (1974)

This film is okay. Nothing too great, yet nothing too bad. It has one of the best setups for a film I've seen in ages. And the story adaptation is absolutely fantastic, as it almost doesn't miss a thing from the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald. However, when it comes to perks about this film, that's about it. This whole film is extremely flawed otherwise. One example of this is that the actors did sub-par at best when it comes to being believable. Some scenes seem a bit unnecessarily sloppy due to the overly cheesy acting in this film. It just doesn't fit too well with what the movie is about, and can come off as more hilarious than serious. One example is when Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby looks out and clenches his fist as he tries to look mysterious, when in reality, it's just silly, because of the fact that his face is clearly being shown in that scene, which completely kills the mood. And that type of stuff happens a lot in this film. Another example is that, while the casting was okay, it could've been better. I feel like the way that Tom Buchanan was portrayed in this film felt a bit off putting, considering that Tom in this film isn't exactly what you would expect for him to really look like. This film may be very disappointing for those looking for a film with great performances and great casts, as this film doesn't really have either. And because of that, this film can also come off as boring. However, I will be honest and say that the setup and the faithfulness to the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald is enough for me to recommend who are fans of the book, as this film did fantastic with following the book. However, at the end of the day, the version with Leonardo DiCaprio is more recommended than this film, as it's not only better acted, but is just, all around, more fun to watch. As this version doesn't seem to have either of those perks unfortunately.

Before the disappointing adaptation of this film in 2013 came another disappointment. It would be the Robert Redford/Mia Farrow version mentioned here. I agree with the criticism of one earlier reviewer: the casting was the problem. I'm a great fan of Robert Redford. I never bought him as Jay Gatsby. He was in his pretty boy period and didn't have the bruises of experience to come across as Fitzgerald portrayed him. Mia Farrow seem like a weak Daisy. And then there is one of the strangest actresses of all time, Karen Black, with those beady little eyes, having an affair with Tom Buchanan. There is a dancing around everything with the missing angst that is the novel. I love this book and the book is the language and when you have basically poetry, except for occasional narration, it just doesn't cross over. There are many books that really should not be made into movies. I have to admit, I've never seen the first effort at this. Maybe it worked better.

Jack Clayton's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" was a very well made movie with some of the best character development I have seen in a fictional work that was turned into a film. The movie stars Robert Redford as Gatsby who is a very successful businessman who has his own private company, Redford plays Gatsby it's as if he is taking the role like it is nothing to him. In the film we also meet the narrator to the story which is a bondsman named Nick Carraway (played by Sam Waterston) who is the cousin of the woman of Gatsby's dreams Daisy Buchanan (played by Mia Farrow) who got married to Tom Buchanan (played by Bruce Dern) while Gatsby was serving in WWI. Basically this movie along with the book is just one huge love square because Tom has a mistress named Myrtle Wilson (played by Karen Black) who is married to George Wilson (played by Scott Wilson). There is a lot of things that I like about this movie besides the acting, I also was really impressed with the production design as well as the costumes which both areas won Academy awards for 41 years ago. I did read Fitzgerald's novel before I saw this movie and while watching it the story became much more clear to me. I would rank this as one of the best romance movies of all time along with Gone with the Wind (1939), Ball of Fire (1941), It Happened One Night (1934), La Dolce Vita (1960), The Apartment (1960), and Some Like It Hot (1959). This is one of 1974's best films.

The movie's plot thickens towards the end but ultimately fails to capture the nuances of character that only the printed page can provide. As such, it lacks both the gripping drama of film and the thoughtful depth of a written work leaving the viewer high and dry. The last 30 minutes or so retain the viewer's attention as a murder mystery, but the other 75% of the movie is painfully slow, vapid, and uninteresting. It tries desperately to be artistic, but instead succeeds in being sophomoric at best. For instance: there a shot which lasts almost a full 6 seconds (I think) which consists solely of a dancing woman rabidly flailing her mini skirt back and forth at a dance party. After an agonizing 1hr or so of this, we get a brief, relatively simple murder mystery, and the end.