Gatsbys

The Great Gatsby (1974), the second of three talkie versions of the Fitzgerald novel (a silent version is considered a lost film), playing in Columbus 45 years ago this month. Though this is one of my favorite novels, the movies have yet to do it justice. You'd think that Robert Redford and Mia Farrow would have been just right as Gatsby and Daisy, but they were disappointing. Below is an ad for the 1949 version with Alan Ladd and Betty Field. At times, it's better than the '74 film but has a "happy-ish" ending that goes completely against the spirit of the novel. You can find my full review of this hard-to-find movie here.

The Baz Luhrmann version with Leonardo DiCaprio (below) has its moments, mostly when it's luxuriating in the surface glitter of Gatsby's house and persona, and DiCaprio is a better Gatsby than Redford, but it still doesn't get the novel right. The 3D aspect is wretched excess, but it was effective during the big party scene.