A Director’s Tall Task
Many films have been adapted from literature with much
success. 1 However, adapting a novel as beloved as The
Great Gatsby has proved to be a great challenge. F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s iconic tale of 1920s excess 2 have been taken
on by Hollywood four times: in 1926, 1949, 1974, and 2013.
None met with widespread critical or popular success. As a
novel, The Great Gatsby has become a mainstay of American
popular culture, so when readers go to the movies to see
Jay Gatsby come to life, their expectations are high. Viewers
should keep in mind, though, that adapting a novel into a
film is more complicated than it seems, and literary film
adaptations should be evaluated on their own merits.
The issue of fidelity is the first thing that stands in
the way of fairly 3 negotiating a film adaptation. Many
viewers want to see the literary source portrayed on screen
exactly as it was written, especially when the plot and
characters are as memorable as 4 that of The Great Gatsby.
The 1974 film adaptation was recognized for following
Fitzgerald’s novel to the 5 letter, however, the movie
was also criticized for being lifeless and dull. 6 A film is
limited to the length of time that the production is allowed
to run, and the director must use this time to create an
immediate, sensory impact, not a visual retelling of a book.
7 Because Fitzgerald had unlimited space in The
Great Gatsby to create as many characters, plots, and
subplots as he desired, the directors of film adaptations
have the advantages of theatrical performance, the spoken
word, music, sound effects, and photographic images.
The director of the most recent film adaptation of The
Great Gatsby was credited for shaping Fitzgerald’s material
to fit his own artistic sensibility and 8 also his own
contemporary perspective. Although the inclusion of hip-hop
culture and high-end consumerism in this latest film
surprised some critics and probably some faithful readers
of the novel, at least the director 9 made the movie using
the tools of his own medium.
10 People love movies. This is the hard reality that
must be faced when viewing the film version of a beloved
book. Though it may be difficult, The Great Gatsby must
be taken off its literary pedestal before one goes to see its
filmic counterpart. Books are capable of inspiring countless
interpretations. Film adaptations deserve the same creative
space. 11
Many films have been adapted from literature with much
success. 1 However, adapting a novel as beloved as The
Great Gatsby has proved to be a great challenge. F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s iconic tale of 1920s excess 2 have been taken
on by Hollywood four times: in 1926, 1949, 1974, and 2013.
None met with widespread critical or popular success. As a
novel, The Great Gatsby has become a mainstay of American
popular culture, so when readers go to the movies to see
Jay Gatsby come to life, their expectations are high. Viewers
should keep in mind, though, that adapting a novel into a
film is more complicated than it seems, and literary film
adaptations should be evaluated on their own merits.
The issue of fidelity is the first thing that stands in
the way of fairly 3 negotiating a film adaptation. Many
viewers want to see the literary source portrayed on screen
exactly as it was written, especially when the plot and
characters are as memorable as 4 that of The Great Gatsby.
The 1974 film adaptation was recognized for following
Fitzgerald’s novel to the 5 letter, however, the movie
was also criticized for being lifeless and dull. 6 A film is
limited to the length of time that the production is allowed
to run, and the director must use this time to create an
immediate, sensory impact, not a visual retelling of a book.
7 Because Fitzgerald had unlimited space in The
Great Gatsby to create as many characters, plots, and
subplots as he desired, the directors of film adaptations
have the advantages of theatrical performance, the spoken
word, music, sound effects, and photographic images.
The director of the most recent film adaptation of The
Great Gatsby was credited for shaping Fitzgerald’s material
to fit his own artistic sensibility and 8 also his own
contemporary perspective. Although the inclusion of hip-hop
culture and high-end consumerism in this latest film
surprised some critics and probably some faithful readers
of the novel, at least the director 9 made the movie using
the tools of his own medium.
10 People love movies. This is the hard reality that
must be faced when viewing the film version of a beloved
book. Though it may be difficult, The Great Gatsby must
be taken off its literary pedestal before one goes to see its
filmic counterpart. Books are capable of inspiring countless
interpretations. Film adaptations deserve the same creative
space. 11