The Great Gatsby: DVD release

First things first, I have a confession to make: I've never read F. Scott Fitzgerald's seminal book. Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby was the first time I'd experienced the whole story.

I know, right?

That's not to say I didn't know the narrative or the characters almost intimately. But it's one thing to be told about something, and another to experience it for yourself. And seeing Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, and Tom and Daisy Buchanan in glorious 3D was like meeting your friend's friends at an insane party.

"So...How do you know Sanjay?"
"Oh, you're a wanted bootlegger. Cool, cool"

For those of you like me who have never read the book, but also missed out on seeing the theatrical release, The Great Gatsby has been released in the last week.

The year is 1922 and budding writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) has moved to New York to work as a bond salesman. He moves into a cottage on Long Island, because a 20 mile commute every day sounds just swell.

I like to imagine this car with Baz Luhrmann's voice. Dunno why.

He knows a couple of people, chiefly Nick's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her husband Tom (Joel Edgerton). Nick also happens to live next door to an obscenely wealthy and enigmatic (whose enigma is also obscene) man called Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Those flowers? OBSCENE.

Turns out Gatsby and Daisy go way back and still have some romantic feels for each other, which is kind of a bummer when you're married. 

"I HAVE FEELS FOR YOU, DAISY!"
"OMG, LOL, I NO RITE!? ME TOO!"

Daisy is weak and self-centered, Tom is a racist dick, their friend Jordan's mood flip flops around that I'm not sure the character isn't played by a set of cartoonish "good" and "evil" twins called Jor and Dan, and Tobey Maguire is a human cornish pasty.

Basically they're a wonderful bunch of people who don't just make pointless drama for the hell of it.

I WILL prove you're a Cornish Pasty, Mr Maguire...

The story plays out with a huge amount of pomp and melodrama, but hey, this is a Baz Luhrmann film. If you wanted to see something with "restraint" go and watch American Beauty or something. It did, however, come off slightly too idealistic for my liking.

American Beauty: number 16 on some IMDB list. RESEARCH.

I really liked the film - when Roadshow Films eventually got around to releasing it in Australia, anyway. The atmosphere was amazing, the music incredible and the cinematography enthralling.

The use of Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful" as the leitmotif (which is a super wanky way to say "reoccurring song") gave me shivers the first time I watched the film. 

No.

Gatsby is like a child of the best works of Baz - mainly stemming from Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet. The setting isn't as surreal as Moulin Rouge and the soundtrack is comparable for the era in which it has been released, but everything most everything story wise, up to and including the framing device, is strongly reminiscent of Baz's musical number.

Having already said film has the subtlety of a dog caught doing a "whoopsy" in the middle of your nanna's favourite rug, I don't think it really translates to the small/computer screen. The combination of the bright colours, party songs and 3D glasses made The Great Gatsby an immersive experience.

Tobey Purr-guire? Nick Cat-away?
There's something here, I'm sure.

Seeing the film on a much smaller medium (because moving house five times in a year is not conducive to owning any sort of large monitor), it becomes much easier to see the flaws of The Great Gatsby. If you're one of those people in a "permanent location" with a "decent sound system" in your "home," you might not have noticed some of the following problems.

The similarities between Moulin Rouge are more noticeable, but not as forgivable because of the lack of sing-along moments. Luhrmann also has significant problems with the narration explaining things that didn't need to be explained. 

As a reviewer, I am legally obligated to use this image for this film.

The Great Gatsby is far from the worst of Baz Luhrmann's films *cough* Australia *unconvincing cough* but is probably best experienced, rather than watched. Find somebody with a giant home entertainment system, get some friends together and have a dress up party.

My DVD features included deleted scenes and an alternative ending, each with an intro from Baz.

This is definitely a DVD pack.

Three stars.