The Great Gatsby 3D Blu-ray Review
MOVIE REVIEW
The Great Gatsby is a 2013 film by Baz Luhrmann based on the book of the same name. It focuses around a man named Nick Carraway who throughout the film, is in the process of recounting a part of his life in which he lived in New York City right next to a man named Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a very mysterious man whom everyone in town loves to theorize about. But one thing's for sure, on the weekends, he throws some of most excellent parties you'll find on the Eastern seaboard. As time progresses, we see Nick becoming one of Gatsby's closest friends. But even still, he can tell Gatsby's holding some very tight secrets. All that changes, though, when a woman named Daisy walks into Gatsby's life for the first time in five years. And what spirals is a dark tale of adultery, past lives, wishful thinking, and even a bit of crime, all in which Nick finds himself along for ride. Soon enough, he'll come to discover the man hiding behind all the parties, the money, and the hedonism.
To my knowledge, this is the third time the famous novella by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, had been adapted into film (and only the second which can be currently viewed in its entirety). And the common consensus I hear regarding most of these films, especially this one, is that they can't capture the cynical, somewhat satirical tone of the book regarding the characters and the stories surrounding them. This is the only one of the three film adaptions I have seen, so I can't really speak for the others. But having read the book, although it's been a hot minute since I've done so, I can see where many of the film's critics are coming from. The writing of the book is part of, if not the biggest, reason it's remained so popular and memorable even to this day. But while I, too, would like to see an adaptation of the book someday that retains the author's original tone, I also try to make it a point to not judge a movie by what it doesn't give us, but rather by what it does. Personally, I think that being a great book adaptation and being a great movie aren't as hand in hand as most people may think. While true, a good book adaptation should remain faithful to the source material, I believe that an even better movie should take what makes the original story has and put a new, creative spin on it, because otherwise, you're just better off reading the book. That's the reason why I personally believe that this latest rendition of The Great Gatsby is pretty solid movie as well as an entertaining venture.
Director Baz Luhrmann, who also brought us classics like Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, certainly has a lot of fun bringing the world of 1920's urban America to gleaming life through a vision only he can concoct. The film has plenty of vivid colors, sweeping camera shots, polished environments, and well-crafted 3D visuals that give it a real stylized soul. The party scenes you've read about in the book come off as extravagant events. And even in the subtler moments, the film does a great job of establishing the world these characters live in and the grandness of Gatsby's home and lifestyle. It's all done in a confident and sometimes excessive manner that brought me along for an enjoyable ride. I did find it a bit goofy how they'd play contemporary pop songs in a story taking place nearly 100 years before those songs were concocted. But you know what? It still added plenty of fun to the motion picture.
Unsurprisingly, the visual aspect of the film was marvelous. But surprisingly, I was taken aback by the story even in its non-cynical tone. Maybe I was preparing myself for the worst considering the 48% on Rotten Tomatoes where this film currently stands, but still, I found much to appreciate here. The plot points from the book are all still intact along with the various themes. In the novella, it all comes through in a well-paced and consistently engaging manner. That can be a bit tricky to pull off in movie form. But with The Great Gatsby though, they hit the right balance between reveling in its own style and telling the story the book wanted to tell. The film is well-paced with well-written dialogue, though most of the latter comes courtesy of the original book. The new elements that the movie adds, I believe, only serve to enhance the story, developing its characters and emphasizing its themes about societal excesses, moving into the past, and striving for unobtainable goals. The performances throughout are all top notch across the board. The actors absolutely sell their roles, especially with Leonardo DiCaprio selling it as the popular rich guy trying to hide his insecurities. It's a little difficult for me to separate Tobey Maguire from Spider-Man, especially how little his face has changed since that role, but I still think he plays the role of Nick with plenty of his own charm. The score is also superb and the emotional moments really land. This is really a character-driven story and while the film doesn't quite portray everyone as nuanced as they were in the book, it still had me heavily invested in them, even as I know how their stories were ultimately going to end.
I'm not going to act like The Great Gatsby is my favorite film or anything. But for a movie tasked with getting across the themes and characters The Great Gatsby novella brought us while finding a new way to do just that, I think it did a very good job. Though, maybe that's just my taste in film. I do enjoy films that offer up visual styles the director can almost trademark. But I also want those kinds of films to deliver on the substance. As adaptation, yes, it does miss some of the key elements the book was known for. As a movie, though, I honestly find very little to complain about. Baz Luhrmann has simply chosen the right story to adapt and clearly knew how to create an entertaining film out of it. We all have different standards with what makes a film based on a book good. And so I can understand where this film might not be everyone's cup of tea. As for me though, I believe this to be a highly enjoyable, and still somewhat faithful, retelling of Fitzgerald's classic work.
OVERALL FILM RATING: 4/5
3D REVIEW
The Great Gatsby is a pretty interesting 3D film to look over. On one hand, the source material the movie is adapting from doesn't seem like it'd make for a film that needed 3D. But on the other hand, director Baz Luhrmann really does seem to use it to his advantage. The Great Gatsby was shot in native 3D and according to Cinemablend, they even delayed the film a few times to get the 3D just right, and it shows. The director's style lends itself well to plenty of great 3D moments, but it's not quite like Robert Zemeckis's animated movies such as Beowulf and A Christmas Carol where the film looks mind-blowing in 3D but slightly off in 2D. Instead, it's more along the lines of Jurassic Park and Hugo where the 3D is actually quite subtle, but that also makes it highly effective. That's not to say there aren't any good moments of 3D fun, but what the 3D does better is to draw you in and immerse yourself in the world of these characters and even help you to invest in them a bit more.
The film opens on 2D old-timer studio logos that feature a series of organ pipes. After the logos disappear though, the shot of the organ transitions to color and 3D, and the organ gets pushed into the screen similar to the tunnel in Coraline and we move forward through organ pipes until they're out of sight. This one shot sets up how big a part 3D is in seeing the film in its intended fashion. In the screen, there's a solid and consistent amount of depth throughout. When you see a tall building far away, you feel as if you're looking at a building far away. The fact that a good chunk of scenes take place in the city makes use of this advantage quite a bit. What's even better though, are the tracking shots where the camera is either swooping over skyscrapers, going over a large river, or even heading down the side of a building and stopping right over someone's head. One storytelling device the 3D adds to the film is with the famous green light over the horizon that is seen from Gatsby's dock. The 3D helps to emphasize the size and scale of Gatsby's home, from the inside and outside. Inside, we get parties with big crowds, lots of confetti, and an extravagant, shiny environment. But party scenes aside, the rooms are still large and feature windows that look out far into the distance. Outside, we get everything from fireworks to big, lush gardens. Most all the scenes are well-composed for 3D, but in so many ways that to detail them all would make for its own essay.
Besides just in Gatsby's area, there are plenty of other scenes that use 3D impressively. One thing I've tended to notice often when viewing this film in 3D is that while the backgrounds are relatively deep, they become even deeper when the main focus is on someone in the foreground. It seems a little bit weird. But then again, that's close to how our eyes adjust to see people in real life. And actually, it makes the famous Leo DiCaprio meme where he holds a glass of champagne one of the more impressive 3D shots in the movie. I've already mentioned the huge skyscrapers. But also in the city is the construction area where there are hills, people working in the background, and a sign of a man wearing a pair of glasses that has several holes in it you can see through. The latter, just like the green light, plays into the story and the director has composed it solidly for 3D. One very interesting scene occurs in a small room with several people, but it features windows looking out onto the big, deep city. There's another scene that occurs early on that involves a room with a row of white curtains floating in the wind. Nick's home in the forest makes for some nice shots of foliage. There are several scenes involving car rides that are quite fun to watch in 3D, one of them including a flinch-worthy shot of two cars coming towards the camera. And there are a few sequences in which words appear in the sky whether someone is writing them down or reading them, and they come towards the audience in a mesmerizing fashion. One of them even takes place underwater which adds another layer of captivation to the 3D imagery. Other neat scenes include old-timer 1920's footage that used as a flashback to old New York and WWI that's yes, converted to 3D (that WWI footage might be the closest we'll ever come to the 3D version of They Shall Not Grow Old). The last thing here I want to mention before moving on is how the native 3D captures people and their faces with such realism you feel as if you're actually with them. It's an aspect that doesn't really matter all that much in most movies. But for some reason, I found it quite striking here. And it works very well to the story's advantage as it helps you to emphasize with the characters.
So all that's well and good. But does anything protrude the screen? Thankfully, yes. Like I said before, this isn't like A Christmas Carol or Gravity with its pop outs. But a lot like Hugo, many of them are done in a way that feel natural and draw little attention to themselves. A lot of them deal with pieces of the environment such as people, car windows, flowers, snow and more. But the most memorable ones I can think of off the top of my head include shots where Jay Gatsby's logo comes towards the audience, the aforementioned shot of the two cars coming at you, the also aforementioned words floating in the sky, a person sticking his cane out of the screen, some fabrics floating down from a balcony, leaves flying, and SPOILER WARNING Jay Gatsby himself floating in a swimming pool END SPOILERS. Now when it comes to the parties, the pop outs feel all the more fun. You get girls jumping up at you, confetti flying everywhere, people holding glasses of champagne out at you such as in the aforementioned meme, and in general, crowds of people.
The Great Gatsby stands as an example of how much 3D milage you can get out of virtually any story when it's envisioned in 3D from the ground. Baz Luhrmann has taken every opportunity he can to make sure you get the bang for your buck when it comes to the 3D experience. It's not quite as impressive in the slower moments. But even then, they don't let up on the depth. Is the film must-watch 3D material? Probably not. The story still gets along fine even in the 2D version. But the third dimension adds only so much to this piece of eye-candy that it'd be a borderline sin not to recommend it. If you want to get the most out of this visually stylized venture, 3D is certainly the way to go. Besides, it's not every movie where you get to see Leonardo DiCaprio's face in 3D glory (I mean, Titanic 3D exists, but that film's 25 years old now).
3D RATING: GREAT
OTHER MOVIES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D:
Cinemablend's To 3D or Not Review: https://www.cinemablend.com/new/3D-Or-3D-Buy-Right-Great-Gatsby-Ticket-37471.html
High-Def Digest's Review: https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/9501/great_gatsby_2013_3d.html
Tommy Boy 3D's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHljrVag6Gw
Team Coco's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo9Pf7adQkE
FINAL THOUGHTS
Maybe I'm not quite as strict of a critic on films as I should be, but I personally found Baz Luhrmann's rendition of The Great Gatsby to be a "great" film as well as a visual spectacle. While I can't say that I don't see where many of this movie's criticisms come from, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't honestly find them to be problems. If anything, I think that just like Disney's A Christmas Carol, the points of deviations from the book help it to stand on its own as a unique, but highly effective film, only without the motion capture animation. The visuals are the biggest standout. But the story itself is still engaging, the performances are mesmerizing, and the themes come through in a thoughtful and emotional fashion. True, it's not quite as cynical as the book is. But for what we got, I still greatly enjoyed this film and I find it a shame more people don't. If you're planning to check the movie out, I suggest doing so. And while doing so, pick up the 3D version. Just like Hugo and Coraline, this is a film where the 3D had just about as much work put into it as the film itself. And the result not only enhances the film's visual quality, but also it's overall story quality. The 3D brings the world of The Great Gatsby to life in a way you won't get in the 2D version. True, the shiny environment is still shiny even in 2D. But in 3D, you're immersed in it, and you'll get plenty of stylized 3D composition you'll seldom see anywhere else. I can't guarantee you'll enjoy this film as much as I did. But I still say if you get the chance, do watch it and watch it in 3D the way Baz Luhrmann intended. It'll be an experience you won't soon forget.
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