The Great Gatsby — "You can't repeat the past"

The Great Gatsby (1974 film); directed by Jack Clayton; based on the novel by Franis Scott Fitzgerald; screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola; Robert Redford, Mia Farrow.

• Category

  Film & Animation

[projectbrownman]

Lovely moment when the light goes out on Gatsby - his dream (and whole life) is a a powerfully consuming delusion. He's basically victim to his own capacity to dream.

[Kishore Daggupati]

I just repeated the past...

[lindseywagners]

Good analysis. I think Gatsby's delusions are better than the rest of our normalcies.

[MisterMattLad]

..no?

[holmbjerg]

Oh, the production design. So obvious this was shot on a soundstage.

[Skarloe]

doesnt he repeat the past by saying "you can't repeat the past"?

[emofolkie]

Well I'm sorry to disagree again. I enjoyed this movie, esp. when I watched it in the cinema. Everything felt so real and right to me, not when compared to the book, but on its own it made me wish I was born back then and I was Gatsby's Daisy, or rather that I was Redford's leading lady. LOL

[Jake Shore]

Of course he played him as someone "with his head in the clouds over Daisy," that's who Gatsby is! I mean, you're sort of just pointing out the obvious holmes. But anyway, I thought all around the acting was pretty bad. The movie as a whole wasn't very good. Especially Tom Buchanan, the guy who played him was hilarious. He looked like Ron Jeremy in his hay day, acted like him too.

[emofolkie]

I disagree. I think he played the role perfectly, without showing much of what Gatsby's true character is, hence making him seem bland and leaving people little choice but to speculate and gossip about him. I thought at first that he should have just played himself since the real Redford is a big mystery, but he's not the type to get obsessive over one woman, so it's right that he played him as someone with his head in the clouds over Daisy.

[Jake Shore]

why was robert redford exponentially worse in this film than any other film he's ever done. this might even be the only movie he's terrible in. i dunno.

[TheStockwell]

Yep - and that's the point. He's in love with what he thinks she is; HER heart is touched when she sees how many shirts he can afford.