Evolving Annotated Bibliography
Doherty, Thomas. Cinéaste, vol. 38, no. 4, 2013, pp. 45–47. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43500885. Accessed 22 Nov. 2023.
[Review]Doherty’s review of Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby contains critical remarks over the novel’s most recent interpretation. He claims that “amazingly, like its namesake, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby turned out all right in the end” despite the immense pressure remaking an American classic has (Doherty 4). The review elaborates on the scenes that stay truthful to the novella that classic book lovers anticipated when the trailer first came out. The review however does not make notes of the gangster and criminal aspects of the film that the book doesn’t portray in such intensity. Overall the writer was pleased with the remaking and claimed it to be worth watching.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Project Gutenberg. January 27. 2021. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/64317/64317-h/64317-h.htm
[Book]The book in question is the original source for the 2013 film adaptation. The novella is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway about a mysterious and wealthy businessman, Jay Gatsby. The narrative follows Nick reuniting with his cousin Daisy, her husband Tom, and meeting the great Gatsby. It’s a story of the American dream, criminal activity, luxuries, wealth, opulence, and affairs. It’s a novel that shows divided identity, unreliable narration, and carelessness.
Galloway, Stephen. “Baz Luhrmann’s Despair, Drive, and Gamble behind Great Gatsby.” Baz Luhrmann: Interviews, edited by Tom Ryan, University Press of Mississippi, 2014, pp. 131–38. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2017443654&site=ehost-live.
[Book section]Stephen Galloway’s “Baz Luhrmann’s Despair, Drive, and Gamble behind Great Gatsby” features various interviews mainly with Luhrmann himself or those who worked with him. The section highlights Baz Luhrmann’s struggles growing up and how he “once reinvented himself with a name change and new identity” like Gatsby after wanting to leave his home life behind him (Galloway 1). Luhrmann shows a great deal of enthusiasm for his projects, becoming one of “few directors [who] are so willing to go out on a limb; even [more concise to do so] with his peculiar mix of chutzpah and heart” to keep pursuing a passion project (Galloway 8). Baz Luhrmann, regardless of struggling to pull his movie off the ground, continued to pursue his Gatsby remake with persistence and drive.
Giles, Paul. “A Good Gatsby: Baz Luhrmann Undomesticates Fitzgerald.” Commonweal, vol. 140, no. 12, July 2013, pp. 12–15. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2013318014&site=ehost-live.8
[Article]Paul Giles’ “A Good Gatsby: Baz Luhrmann Undomesticates Fitzgerald,” article explains why the Baz Luhrmann adaptation of The Great Gatsby are considered inconsistent with the novel because of the emphasis he puts on the more serious aspects of the book, as well as why it creates a well created film. Giles asserts that “Luhrmann is consciously in touch with contemporary scholarship that understand[s] The Great Gatsby as a text of its time” and “restor[es] the sense of a specific ethnic subtext” and “more sinister elements” (Giles 2, 4). Giles establishes that while the 2013 adaptation is not an exact replica of the novel written in 1925, the film embellishes the darker elements of the movie to fit in with the modern movies and makes a compelling movie regardless of its slight inaccuracies. For example, even though the novel doesn’t place direct emphasis on the ethnicity and race divide, the film makes the plot point more significant in a way that does not subtract from the main story and conflict.
Luhrmann, Baz. The Great Gatsby. Warner Bros., 2013.
[Film]The 2013 The Great Gatsby adaptation takes on the typical Baz Luhrmann style while staying true to most key focuses of the 1925 novel while enhancing the darker undertones of the plot. The cinematic piece features 3D visuals, modern music, and a reframed narrative of the story. While some parts of the adaptation are not quite accurate, the film makes up for it in pure roaring twenties energy and celebration.
MacLean, Tessa. “PRESERVING UTOPIA: MUSICAL STYLE IN BAZ LUHRMANN’S ‘THE GREAT GATSBY.’” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 2, 2016, pp. 120–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/45037963. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
[Article]Tessa MacLean’s article titled “Preserving Utopia: Musical Style in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ analyzes the use of popular music in the 2013 Gatsby film adaptation. The author asserts that the film “faithfully preserves the musical and social hierarchy of Fitzgerald’s novel, failing to seize the opportunity for valuable social commentary as the […]Romantic scoring ultimately affirms the aspiration and possibility of Gatsby’s utopian dream” throughout (MacLean 3-4). The article comments on how the music soundtrack adds to the overall atmosphere of the roaring twenties in the film while lacking the same social commentary on the current socio economic climate. The article does well to explain how the layering effect of popular music creates the feeling of the roaring twenties that is associated with parties, alcohol, and an overall good time. Overall MacLean provides an in depth look at the 2013 Luhrmann Gatsby adaptation looking at the symbolism and the effect of contemporary music on a modernist novel.
MacLowry, Seth. “THE EXCESS OF BAZ LUHRMANN: TEACHING ‘THE GREAT GATSBY’ IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM.” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, vol. 14, no. 1, 2015, pp. 127–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43903070. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
[Article]MacLowry’s article “The Excess of Baz Luhrmann: Teaching ‘The Great Gatsby’ in the High School Classroom” explains the benefits of showing the novel in class while teaching the novel. While the author agrees that there are downsides wrapped in the alterations made by Luhrmann and his “vision of excess and extravagance does trample on Fitzgerald’s prose and it does replace sophisticated nuance with crude overstatements” they agree that “in a decade of decadence and irreverence, [Luhrmann’s] vision speaks to us all” in a way that draws in an audience (MacLowry 6). The article places emphasis on the intense energy and romance of the story that is displayed in the 2013 film adaptation, including how the rose tinted view of the American star-crossed lovers in nature is alluring to the modern audience. While the film has obvious differences, the film is an artistic work of media and brings new life to the original story.
Shumway, David R. “‘GATSBY’, THE JAZZ AGE, AND LUHRMANN LAND.” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, vol. 14, no. 1, 2015, pp. 132–37. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43903071. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
[Article]Shumway’s article “‘Gatsby’, The Jazz Age, and Luhrmann Land” describes the overall complexity of narration in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as well as how the characters display characteristics of the twenties. Shumway continues to address Luhrmann’s alterations to the original story and “[t]he effect of making Nick a mental patient is to render the moral center of the novel untrustworthy”(Shumway 4). This is typically seen as the most drastic change in the 2013 rendition of The Great Gatsby and further drops Nick’s reliability and makes the entire story close to unbelievable. Luhrmann, who is known for his anti-realism style in Hollywood, created a cinematic piece that was supposed to provide a more internal feel to the story instead of leaning into his typical techniques. The overall purpose of this article is to comment on the differences in the film in comparison to the original text and the alterations that didn’t hit the right mark when attempting to be authentic to the novel.
Ryan, Tom. “Past Is Present in the New Gatsby.” Baz Luhrmann: Interviews, edited by Tom Ryan, University Press of Mississippi, 2014, pp. 139–45. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2017443655&site=ehost-live.[Book Section]Tom Ryan’s “Past Is Present in the New Gatsby” consists of interview statements with Baz Luhrmann that explain why some elements of his 2013 adaptation are the way they are based on the previous attempts at the Gatsby film. Several elements of Luhrmann’s adaptation are taken from the mistakes of prior adaptations or a twist on staying true to the novel. Because of the jazz music present in the novel “Luhrmann ha[d] incorporated hip-hop into his Gatsby mix” as a “form of African American music” to stay true to the text, yet modern (Ryan 2). Luhrmann also “immerses us inside [the] 3D world” focusing “on the dominance of material objects over the characters existence,” a prevalent theme, as well as revealing Gatsby’s backstory in the middle of the film, as odd as it was, to show fidelity to the original book (Ryan 5, 7). Baz Luhrmann put careful thought and planning into how to make his version of The Great Gatsby stand out and accomplished to stay rooted in Fitzgerald’s vision as well as elevate the presentation for his modern viewership.