Disc Reviews
The Great Gatsby DVD Review
The Great Gatsby is absolutely beautiful. There are no two ways about it. It is the lushest, most luxurious, most lavish film I’ve seen in a long time and even if you don’t rate the story, the characters or anything else about it you will have to admit it is truly spectacular viewing. As a result a lot of people will claim this is a whole load of style over substance but it has both, in spades.
Gatsby is the story of would be writer and bond salesman, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire – Spiderman, Seabiscuit) and his time in New York City that led him into depression and alcoholism. It’s the 20s, a time of glittering jazz, big-time bootleggers, loose morals and high rolling gamblers. Nick moves into a cottage across the bay from his beautiful cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan – Shame, Drive) and her blue blooded, womanising husband, Tom (Joel Edgerton – Zero Dark Thirty, Warrior). Nick’s next door neighbour is the mysterious and well renowned, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio – Django Unchained, J. Edgar). Nick is drawn into the exciting world of the extremely rich and their loves, lives and deceptions. It is, essentially, a tragic tale of love and loss and it’s a tale told beautifully.
Just moments into The Great Gatsby it becomes perfectly clear that this is a Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Australia) classic. Even if you weren’t aware that he’d had his magic paws all over this film, if you’ve ever even caught a glimpse of one of his previous productions you’d know this was also from him. It is so stereotypically Luhrmann in every way.
Now being released on DVD the only extras on this disc were some deleted scenes, which was pretty disappointing. I was hoping for a few making of and behind the scenes featurettes at least.
The Great Gatsby is released on Blu-ray and DVD on Monday 11th November.
Laura Johnson