May 9th, 2013
04:44 PM ET
'The Great Gatsby': What the critics are saying"The Great Gatsby" has yet to be successfully adapted by Hollywood and - depending on which critic you ask - Baz Luhrmann hasn't pulled it off, either. 'Unfilmable' novels? No such thing, says Hollywood When it comes to the director's take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's slender novel, critics have found it to be full of style but lacking in substance.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the titular "Great" Jay Gatsby, a man hiding his humble beginnings behind his new money and put-on airs. Carey Mulligan's taken inspiration from the Kardashians to play Daisy Buchanan, the wealthy woman Gatsby desperately wants but who's also married to the brutish Tom (Joel Edgerton). Tobey Maguire, as Daisy's cousin Nick Carraway, serves as the narrator of the tale. After months of anticipation - and plenty of leaks from the soundtrack - Luhrmann's "Gatsby" will bow in theaters starting tonight. The general consensus from critics is that you should leave any expectations established by Fitzgerald's classic outside of the theater, and come prepared to strap in for a very glitzy ride: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSMiWf4GCZM?feature=player_embedded&w=450&h=360%5D Time magazine: "No question that Baz Luhrmann has concocted the worthiest, tenderest and most extreme of these adaptations." Rolling Stone: "Aside from the staggering beauty of Catherine Martin's costumes, nothing works. The actors are buried in the art direction, along with feeling. The film looks as sti ff and lifeless as a posh store window ... There may be worse movies this summer than 'The Great Gatsby,' but there won't be a more crushing disappointment." USA Today: Luhrmann "has fashioned a gaudy long-form music video ... So much effort seems to have gone into the eye-popping production design, swooping camera work and anachronistic musical score that the result is hyper-active cacophony rather than enthralling entertainment." New York Times: "[D]espite what you may have heard, it is an eminently enjoyable movie. ... Mr. Luhrmann’s reverence for the source material is evident. He sticks close to the details of the story and lifts dialogue and description directly from the novel’s pages. But he has also felt free to make that material his own, bending it according to his artistic sensibility and what he takes to be the mood of the times. The result is less a conventional movie adaptation than a splashy, trashy opera, a wayward, lavishly theatrical celebration of the emotional and material extravagance that Fitzgerald surveyed with fascinated ambivalence." Chicago Tribune: "Despite a few good ideas and the uniformly splendid production and costume designs by Luhrmann's mate and partner, Catherine Martin, this frenzied adaptation of 'The Great Gatsby' is all look and no feel. .. If you liked 'Moulin Rouge!' — Luhrmann's hyperactive ode to Paris at the end of the 19th century — you'll probably find a lot to admire here." Los Angeles Times: "The director has steadfastly proclaimed his passion for the novel, but the film he's made of it too often plays as no more than an excuse to display his frantic, frenetic personal style." Entertainment Weekly: "There's a reason 'The Great Gatsby' continues to be taught in classrooms nearly 90 years after it was written. ... Too bad Luhrmann, the caffeinated conductor, doesn't trust that story enough. He'd rather blast your retinas into sugar-shock submission."
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after comps cables...
what a dumb cast
haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Good movie; lots of braless boobs.
The script was probably good before Hollywood got hold of it. But seriously, we dont care.
good cast.
This is at least CNN's third article on this movie in the past week. We don't actually care about it that much.
Great book, but the movie makes it look like everyone from that time period was a jerk, an idiot, a psychotic, or some combination of the three. Nice house, cars, and clothes though....and the music is good.
wuzzup
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THANKS
THANKS
does not work because everyone knows i'm attractive.....so therefore more too go but we do like your wasted energy.
too much damage too the script and there is tons for everyone to do.
I almost left before the end. Sorry, this is not as bad as some say, but by June, none will remember.
The most unwatchable movie since, "The English Patient" and "Caddshack 2 ".
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that's all it was.
outbacks thursday?
I cant wait for the porn adaptations of this movie
Can barely remember the '73 version, but let's.face it – its cast was unbeatable.
A complete contradiction: You can't remember the other version, but the cast was unbeatable?
"That was the best meal I've ever eaten!"
"Yeah? What did you have?"
"I don't remember."
Fail
the blonds face said it all...
have a great night all!!!!!!!!!!!!!
great movie and i love the glamour
gummy bear chicks.....puhleaze..
BLEEEEECH!!!!!!!
I HATE Gatsby!!!!! THis book is CRAP!!! I HATE that MY TEcher MADE ME read this CR@P when I was a KID!!! GROS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently you hated spelling and grammar too.. just sayin'
puhleaze...
You must be one of tham thar repulicans.
no
i needed another hour and guess who comes up on bb -– its a nut...lets go forward..
I am still remembering that I actually walked out on Moulin Rougue which I thought was one of the worse movies on this decade.
I don't feel that all the plush and glamour that apparently this movie has, is going to make me spend a penny on the price of the ticket.
OMG I walked out on Moulin Rouge too! All my girlfriends were saying its the best thiing ever but I was horrified and couldnt even find it funny it was just the worst trash i'd ever seen! When they did that can can "So exciting" song – that was the last straw!!!!
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oh no......believe me completely and utterly ignorable....listen too me....
I predict this movie will be right up there with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
Ha, Ha, you got it. funny
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thanks
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not me..."them"
Meeting with cnn on ip address control–
ruled out jealous and pathetic... ...
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[
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harrassment, stalking charges, boxed in machines are considered stalking and hacking
don't think so......reports foward too LYRS
the cast would be better off if they had a better female for the role
=
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california meeting when out there
addiction at its best
worst actress in history
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don't forget
done?
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coward@gmial.com
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good job
continue too make sure blog names in drive are attached too everything–clote was the new one
are we all on? bb
gee i wonder why
guess.
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he's not satisfied with CAT–thanks
thanks
oh no-meeting asap on outside machines.
thanks
AND A REPORT EVERYTHING THAT WAS DONE TOO ME OVER THIS LAST YEAR...NOT PUTTING AWAY STALKING ISSUES...YET
Boss says...business as usual cuz we got 4 machines-
its business as usual because of 4 technology car crashes....KAPEESH SISTAH
they did love her acting...but it did not work
yep
i am so happy for leo....the ratings have gone through the roof
the cast is outstanding and i cannot wait too see this movie
I am so proud of Leo
Those men are hot..
I agree Decaprio will win....he is a fine actor.
decaprio will win the oscar
best cast...
thanks gatsby!!!!
CA's--not quality film
Whatever happened to the real jay gatsby?
Hoes!
ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS TRAIN WRECK. BAZ LAHRMANN HAS DESTROYED THIS CLASSIC PIECE OF LITERATURE.
AGREED
The Great Shatsby – splattered all over the immaculate floor. FAIL.
The book is much better then the movie.
maybe that was her he was talking about hmmmmmmm
would you like too see it kitty?
I like the 1973 version with Robert Redmond and Mia Farrow. The music was awesome too!
Nice weekend, all!
I have never read the book but really enjoyed the movie. Glad I didn't read any reviews until after I'd seen it. I had no expectations whatsoever.
Tea is all over the place....and its all THAT ONES ATTENTION SEEKING FAULT....
baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
The reason The Great Gatsby continues to be taught in classrooms 90 years after it was written is because curriculum does not change and some teachers (some) can not think outside the box and bring new literature into the classroom.. I hated the book 40 years ago and as a teacher, I still see untold students disliking this book. Please English Depts. , move on from The Great Gatsby!!
Hi, my 9th grade teacher made us read Tropic of Cancer, Lolita, Ulysses, Mein Kampf, Factotum, American Psycho, The Satanic Bible and the Turner Diaries this year and write book reports on them. I didn't do any of the reading and used CliffsNotes instead.
II am a teacher too and loved the book entirely although I read it much later in life and relied on Cliffs Notes when I was in college.
I thought the movie was excellent...you should see it some time -
Different strokes for different folks... but I didn't like the book and I've never liked any of Baz's movies that I've seen. I can't really envision a scenario where I'd enjoy Gatsby.
but the actress did her best to get ratings......meow
Won't be seeing the movie, but the book was one of the most boring I've ever read!
if you found one of the great novels ever written boring, something wrong with you, my friend
if we are talking about him...he is not boring if we are talking about the TOPIC above yes the book was boring...the movie was better....
Exactly. I couldn't even finish the book. Baz is a total hack too, so I can't see how this could be anything other than a bad movie. It's a pity because the sets and costumes look outstanding from the clips I've seen.
are you one of those gays?
They were "the gay 20's".
🙂
she's next...
Pliny [plin-ee]
noun Slang: Vulgar.
1. a piece of excrement.
2. a mean, contemptible person.
3. a troll.
Pliny is not hat bad...she's just dyfunctional
==
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sorry
You are welcome.
For every post that my personal-pliny-troll wastes his time with...it is that much less that he is posting his "poop" stuff.
At least here, the troll is showing some signs of not-being-a-mindless-bore.
But not much.
Why on earth would you pair 21st century music with an EARLY 20th century set film?
Jay-Z in The Great Gatsby, really?!
It's like watching a western set in the 1840's with Pink's greatest hits for the musical score.
They have been doing that for several years now. It's not my favorite thing but depending on the movie I can handle it.
I love it but I'm one of those people that can think outside the box. I love the blending of styles.
Because they want to attract the teen demographic esp. the highschoolers that are reading the novel now.
Luhrmann's style just annoys me. Moulin Rouge was so bad I walked out of the theatre, and I never so that. The way he tries to updsate classics with modern pop songs is sacrelidge. Romeo and Juliet is probably the best thing he's done and that was nearly 20 years ago! Anyone see Australia? No? Me neither!!!!
M.A.P. I couldn't disagree with you more...which to me only illustrates that Luhrmann's style isn't for everyone, and there's very little middle ground, you either like him...or you don't but there are a great many people who DO like him, far more who do...than don't. I happened to love every movie you mentioned, because I SAW them. Australia was an amazing movie!! Oh and sacrilidge is only applicable to "religion", not movies.
Pliny,
I'm sure YOU have never accidentally spelled a single word incorrectly...now have you?
@Anita
Pliny is a bothersome troll we've been having to deal with recently. Just ignore him or click on the Report Abuse link. He's just some stupid kid who should be paying attention in class, or a fat, middle-aged loser sitting alone in his elderly mother's basement trolling and spamming all day.
John, come closer so I can deposit a large steaming turd upon your forehead.
Hi,
This 'pliny' is my personal pliny-troll.
I believe he is 'triumph the insult dog'....or one of the posters who is obsessed with posting the same 'poop' stuff again and again and again.
Either way....he is a child who needs to be 'corrected'. He's not very bright. He is not creative at all.
English is slowly becoming my second language so I have an excuse. I thought sacriledge in the modern meaning could be applied to anything, religeon or movies
Poop. Poop in my butt. Poop in my mouth.
Poop
Lame ! If Baz really wanted to update gatzby he would have cast it with a black and hispanic mix like alicia keys as daisy
and diddy as gatzby
Maybe that would really mix things up, even though they are both black entertainers. And I'm not sure what qualifies Alicia Keys as a good idea for the role since she isn't an actress.
then again, Diddy has no acting experience either.
@Gina, Diddy did the TV verision of "A Raisin in the Sun" a few years ago; but his acting in that movie was lousy.
My comments never get posted
Looks like most boring movie, since, The English Patient or Lincoln. Thumbs down.
everyone know what we did.
carey mulligan will be an improvement on mia farrow with the daisy buchanan character – its about time they made a splashy and over the top remake from the dull 1974 version.
gatsby performance was poor.
the trailer looks gaudy and amazing – just like the 20's the movie is trying to recreate plus a splasb of hyper edited storytelling, should make for a short lasting inspiration.
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Toby Maguire's voice is very irritating. I dont know if I could sit through a movie with him narrating throughout.
It will be nice to see Toby in the Spiderman costume again. That was my favorite part of the book, Spiderman fighting the Great Gatsby.
I will still go see it .... When I go to watch a movie (I see 2 a week with my son), I expect a movie not a life lesson. Let's grab some popped corn a soda may be a little candy and kick it a bit.....
Yayyyy! Lets celebrate infidelity!
Leo is consider 1 of the great actors of all time and i hope he wins another oscar or this..
business as usual
the other 1 sucks.
Its a great book and i saw the movie the other night....amazing....i will see this over and over and over again.
well, I actually read the book and knew the movie (based on the trailers) wouldn't be good. too bad!
not so...i think it will be fantastic
check the blogs it was either a louie or dan who confessed last summer
All frosting and no cake.
All smootch and no cootch.