Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Great Gatsby (1974)
Director: Jack Clayton
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A literary adaptation that continually begs detrimental comparison with the novel, this relies too much on appearance, making little attempt to explore behind the beguiling '20s façade. Given little support, the characters are left scratching the surface, their feverishness expressed in an unfortunately literal manner, as though they're running high temperatures most of the time. Redford occasionally conveys Gatsby's private obsession and his unease, but too often he's merely decorative, certainly no enigmatic figure of gossip. Farrow's Daisy is disastrously lightweight, a cross between squeaky child and flapper hard to imagine as the object of anyone's infatuation. It's sadly logical that their love is celebrated as the ultimate Babycham experience. Although no catastrophe, uneven pacing and length make The Great Gatsby over-schematic and overt, at its best when dealing with the lesser characters, and safely middle-of-the-road.Author:
User reviews of this film
-
- mr.mike said...
- Posted on Mar 01 2008 15:19 Not at all perfect , but the cast makes it watchable.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Jack Clayton
Producer: David Merrick
Cast: Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, Scott Wilson, Sam Waterston, Lois Chiles, Howard da Silva full cast
Duration: 146 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now