Case Study Induction Homework

The Great Gatsby

The film is based on the novel by F.Scott Fitzgerald published in 1925, Fitzgerald wanted to explore such themes as social upheaval, excess and idealism. This creates a portrait of the jazz ages that has been described as the American dream. The author was inspired by the parties he attended whilst visiting long island, and desired to produce “something new and intricately patterned”

Plot

1929, New York. Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is in a sanitarium and is persuaded to write an account of what put him there, as he used to be writer. In his account we see several years of his life pass by. After moving to a tiny house next to the mansion owned by Jay Gatsby, and attending one of Gatsby’s famous parties he is asked to arrange a meeting for Jay and Nick’s cousin, Daisy who is now a married woman but was once Gatsby’s first love. Nick then begins to see Gatsby was a poor boy and has recreated himself throughout his life to win daisy back.

The film’s genre is classed as drama/romance, and because of the events that occur during the film (violence, smoking, partying, sexual content, and brief language) the rating of the film is PG13. Due to this, in my opinion the producer’s ideal viewers would be young males and females.

Director:

Mark Anthony “Baz” Luhrman, born, 17 September 1962 Sydney Australia, he is most well-known for producing/directing Romeo&Juliet and Moulin Rouge! -Which has recently been chosen as the top film of the 2000’s. Luhrman’s first three films are being marketed as “the red curtain trilogy” which shows that the public are interested in all of the films that he produces and directs and he is one of the best in the business. He has also been in acting roles such as in the film “winter of our dreams” which was only a small part, playing opposite Judy Davis however this gave him experience and knowledge as an actor which gave him the skills to produce and direct films successfully.

The main actors include:

Tobey Maguire (Nick Carraway)

Carey Mulligan (Daisy Buchanan)

Leonardo Di Caprio (Jay Gatsby)

Leonardo Di Caprio is a very famous actor who has starred in such films as Titanic (1997, Directed by James Cameron). Carey Mulligan is a less well known actress starring in this film; she is a British actress who has starred in such TV programmes as Doctor Who and Bleak house. Tobey Maguire, Like Leonardo Di Caprio is an American actor and he began his career in the late 1980’s and is most well-known for his role in Spiderman- Peter Parker (2002-2007).

The Great Gatsby released by warner bro’s studios, premieres on the 1^st May 2013 in New York, was first released to the public on the 10^th May 2013 in the US, and released 16^th May 2013 in the UK.  Making $323,625,739 on the worldwide box-office, with the budget for the film being $105,000,000, the film made an estimated $218,625,739 worldwide.

The film was also shown in 3D which could have contributed to its fame, as it makes it more interesting and appealing to families and young adults who are interested in technology and the media. The Great Gatsby was originally planned to be filmed in New York City as it was being filmed in September, however the director took the decision to shoot the film using live action in Sydney Australia in fox studios on the 5^th September and then shooting finished on 22^nd December 2012.

The music for this film included Florence and the machine’s “Over the Love” which included lines which responded to lines from the original book by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Also the main soundtrack was sang beautifully by Lana Del Rey “Young and Beautiful” which marries well with the theme of love and sadness within the film, which magazine ‘Rap Up’ said was “Haunting” which is fitting with the ending of this film, which is all but happy for Jay Gatsby.

As an end result the film received mixed reviews from the public, cinema score gave the film a grade B at an average, which is not an excellent score for a film with so many famous faces in the line-up and with so much money put into it. Also the Chicago Reader quoted “Luhrman is exactly the wrong person to adapt such a delicately rendered story” which could be correct as the novel that the film is based on is a vintage and loved one and should only be put onto the big screen if it is perfect and some people do not agree. However Baz Luhrman has produced such classics as Romeo and Juliet, and the Moulin Rouge therefore viewers may have thought that he would have been excellent for the role of producer of this film. Baz Luhrman also said it was a “re-imagined version” of the classic which could mean that he has put his own twist on the classic. In addition to this review, The Boston Globe believed “Magnificent is the only way to describe this performance” this was regarding Leonardo Di Caprio’s performance as Jay Gatsby.

In my opinion the adaption of the book was such a success and was not only excellent on the big screen. It proves that the novel was such a haunting and entertaining read and it transfers into this modern remake on the vintage read. After the research that I have done on “Baz” Luhrman and his co-director “Craig Pearce” I think that they had enough knowledge to know how to delicately transform the haunting novel into a contemporary advanced version. The use of 3D which is common in the new world of cinema, styles the film making it more theatrical which shocks and creates a more in-depth atmosphere and mood during the film. I also feel that the actor Tobey Maguire playing Nick Carraway who is the narrator of the film, uses his imagination to portray the life that F.Scott Fitzgerald has written, Tobey Maguire also lets us see the depth beneath the words in the novel and allows us to appreciate its inherent poetry and message beneath.