The Great Gatsby

Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the famous novel 'The Great Gatsby' was a blockbuster of 2013 for a number of reasons. Generally when a film is made based on a book, it doesn't flop and is in fact majorly successful. Luhrmann cast Leonardo Di Caprio in his 1995 remake of Romeo + Juliet, this being a successful film ultimately created a definite success for The Great Gatsby prior to its release. It also stars Carey Mulligan who starred in the successful film, along with Ryan Gosling, 'Drive'. The Great Gatsby had a budget of $105 and produced $348.8 at box office.

It is classed as a Romantic Drama however it may also be classed as a Greek Tragedy due to the downfall of nobel characters regarding their harmatia of naive idealism.


It has been certified as a 12A, however Common Sense Media says it's suitable for 14+.

This film was marketed using different images from the film to show all the different angles of the story. The posters focussed on the lavish style of the film and the lifestyles the characters lead to create an image of the main setting of the film and to enforce this amongst the potential viewers. Being that this film is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the trailer and posters do not stray away from this and have kept a similar feel about the visual story as opposed to the literature.

Prior to the film's release, the Brooks Brothers premiered the 'Gatsby Collection', which is a line of men's clothing "inspired by the costumes designed by Catherine Martin for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby". Following this, Tiffany & Co unveiled windows at its Fifth Avenue flagship store "inspired by" Luhrmann's film and created in collaboration with Luhrmann and costumer Catherine Martin. The jewellery store also premiered "The Great Gatsby Collection" line of jewellery designed in anticipation of the film.

It was released May 10th 2013. As May is in summer time, and The Great Gatsby is set in the summer of 1922, this appeals to the audience as they would feel related to it being that they would currently be living in summer time and following the stereotypes of summer times which are highlighted in the film.

It received mainly positive reviews speaking about how Luhrmann portrayed it well whilst keeping the original literature apparent. Although this caused a backfire on some as they felt too much attention on keeping faithful to the novel, it lacked the faithfulness in theme, character and impact. Many did say that Leonardo DiCaprio was a poor choice to portray Jay Gatsby. Many commented on the colour and theme of the riches in the film and how the entire film focussed on the gold element which some appreciated but some surpassed as tacky and stereotypical.