The Great Gatsby (1974 film)

The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
Directed by	Jack Clayton
Written by	Francis Ford Coppola ; F. Scott Fitzgerald (novel)
Produced by	David Merrick; Hank Moonjean (associate producer)
Starring	Robert Redford; Mia Farrow; Bruce Dern; Karen Black; Scott Wilson ; Sam Waterston ; Lois Chiles
Cinematography	Douglas Slocombe
Edited by	Tom Priestley
Music by	Nelson Riddle
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	26 March 1974
Running time	144 min
Country	U.S.
Language	English
Budget	US $6,500,000 (estimated)

The Great Gatsby is a 1974 film made by Newdon Productions and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Jack Clayton and produced by David Merrick with Hank Moonjean as associate producer, from a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola based on the novel of the same title by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The music score was by Nelson Riddle and the cinematography by Douglas Slocombe. The production was designed by John Box.

The film stars Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, Scott Wilson and Sam Waterston with Lois Chiles, Howard Da Silva, Roberts Blossom and Edward Herrmann. Patsy Kensit appears in her first film role and Tom Ewell makes an uncredited appearance.

Background and production

The film is the 3rd filmed version of the novel. The previous two, also made by Paramount, were

The Great Gatsby (1926), a silent film, directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Warner Baxter as Gatsby, Lois Wilson as Daisy Buchanan, and William Powell. This film is considered "lost."
The Great Gatsby (1949), directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Alan Ladd as Gatsby, Betty Field as Daisy Buchanan, Shelley Winters, Macdonald Carey, Barry Sullivan, and Howard Da Silva.

The rights to the novel were purchased in 1971 by Robert Evans so that his then-wife, Ali MacGraw could play Daisy. Other actresses considered for the role were Faye Dunaway, Candice Bergen, Katharine Ross, Lois Chiles, and Mia Farrow. After McGraw left Evans for Steve McQueen, Farrow was cast as Daisy and Chiles was given the role of Jordan. Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Steve McQueen were all considered for the role of Gatsby, but they were rejected or declined the offer. Beatty wanted to direct producer Evans as Gatsby, and Nicholson didn't think that McGraw was right for the role of Daisy, who was still attached when he was approached. Farrow was pregnant during the shooting and the film was shot with her wearing loose, flowing dresses and in tight close-ups.

Truman Capote was the original screenwriter, but he was replaced by Francis Ford Coppola. On his commentary track for The Godfather DVD, Coppola makes reference to writing the Gatsby script at the time, though he comments: "Not that the director paid any attention to it. The script that I wrote did not get made."

The Rosecliff and Marble House mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, were used for Gatsby's house, and scenes at the Buchanan's home were filmed at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Other scenes were filmed in New York City.

Relevant Commentary about this Film

Don Wilmot, a film reviewr, believes that this film is not a shortcut for reading the novel if it is assigned by your High School English teacher. He then writes, "Sadly, the movie treats Fitzgerald’s flawless novel as little more than a Jazz-age costume drama, and it goes heavy on the costumes, light on the drama." This comment can be appreciated by anyone wanting a quick comparison of this film with the Fitzgerald novel. However, Wilmott does a good job in presenting the plot and some of the complications of the plot, and "It’s only a matter of time before all their worlds start to fall apart." He points out that the story is multilayered.

Another film reviewer, J. Pucco,writes that the film does not match the novel. He writes,that the earlier film versions of 1926, 1949, this 1974 version and the 2001 TV adaptaion "...were unable adequately to convey the book's poetic vision." Apparently film makers miss the mark as they focused on the romantic elements of the story, missing the alegorical and life themes. The wealth of symbolism, craft, and art in words in the book is lost in this and the other films. On the surface, the story is about the illicit love affair between Daisy and Gatsby. However, the story uses powerful images to protray the elaborate connections of the characters ( in the book) to the corruption of the Amarican Dream. "... what critics of the late forties finally picked up on and declared as a perfect depiction of the corruption of the American Dream" The author offers an insightful view in that the book shows "story is really about the corrosive forces of wealth, class structures in a classless society..." among other themes universal to being human. The film versions, including this one, fail to pick up on the intricate depth of the story and fail to covey its message. Mr. Pucco also gives a brief overview of the plot in his review.

Cast

Robert Redford - Jay Gatsby
Mia Farrow - Daisy Buchanan
Bruce Dern - Tom Buchanan
Karen Black - Myrtle Wilson
Scott Wilson - George Wilson
Sam Waterston - Nick Carraway
Edward Herrmann - Klipspringer
Sammy Smith - Comic
Kathryn Leigh Scott - Catherine
Vincent Schiavelli - Thin Man
Roberts Blossom - Mr. Gatz
Lois Chiles - Jordan Baker
Beth Porter - Mrs. McKee
Howard Da Silva - Meyer Wolfsheim
Tom Ewell - Mourner (uncredited, edited out)
John Devlin - Gatsby's Bodyguard

Awards and nominations

The film won two Academy Awards, for Best Costume Design (Theoni V. Aldredge) and Best Music (Nelson Riddle). It also won three BAFTA Awards for Best Art Direction (John Box), Best Cinematography (Douglas Slocombe) and Best Costume Design (Theoni V. Aldredge). It won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Karen Black) and received three further nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Bruce Dern and Sam Waterston) and Most Promising Newcomer (Sam Waterston).

External links

References