bandits is a 1997 german road movie directed by katja von garnier .

the film stars katja riemann , jasmin tabatabai , nicolette krebitz and jutta hoffmann .

both the film and soundtrack album were commercially successful in germany , but bandits grossed less than $ 25,000 in the united states .

much of the soundtrack was written and performed by the actresses themselves .

one track from the soundtrack reached number one in the german charts .

bandits ( 1997 film )

this article is about the 2001 american film . for the 1997 german film , see bandits ( 1997 film ) .
in memory of brian keith : actor , marine , raconteur 1921 - 1997
. ( 2 episodes , 1997 )
not to be confused with the other film called bandits , starring bruce willis and billy bob thornton .
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one of the many film events that are hosted on area campuses is the german film series , presented by the amherst college department of german on irregular thursdays in the school’s stirn auditorium . the series , which brings in a half dozen or so subtitled films each spring and fall season , is starting up again this week , and will screen katja von garnier’s 1997 film bandits on the 14th at 4 and 7 : 30 p . m .
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1984 - 2006 australian film institute awards also nominated for sound awards for unfolding florence : the many lives of florence broadhurst ( in 2006 ) , praise ( 1999 ) , the well ( 1997 ) , children of the revolution ( 1996 ) , map of the human heart ( 1993 ) , the coca - cola kid ( 1985 ) , strikebound and bmx bandits ( both in 1984 ) .
bandits : thursday , sept . 14 , 4 and 7 : 30 p . m . amherst college stirn auditorium , off south pleasant street , amherst .
a hit in germany — where the soundtrack , much of it written and performed by the film’s actresses , was a success in its own right — bandits was little seen here in the states ( although it did have a short run in northampton , at the pleasant street theater where i projected it many years ago ) . for a hit of pop sugar mixed with a bit of escapist fantasy , bandits makes for a fun fable .
filmhouse opened at its current location of 88 lothian road in 1978 and has acted as the hub of the festival ever since . the current front entrance and cinema 1 opened in 1982 before its formal opening in 1985 , with a third screen opening in 1997 .
edinburgh international film festival turns 70 years old in 2017 , and in celebration we are delighted to present some of the many highlights from the world ' s longest continually running film festival .
on the review aggregator website rotten tomatoes , bandits has an approval rating of 64 % based on 140 reviews , with an average rating of 6 . 1 / 10 . the site ' s critical consensus reads ,
the story may not warrant its lengthy running time , but the cast of bandits makes it an enjoyable ride .
[ 2 ] metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 , based on 32 critics , indicating
mixed or average reviews
. [ 3 ] audiences polled by cinemascore gave the film an average grade of
b
on an a + to f scale . [ 4 ]
all the music in the film , incidentally , was written and performed by the actresses themselves .
a crazy film that makes the audience part of the experience . [ full review in spanish ]
this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are . see what’s now showing
set in a post apocalyptic year of 1997 , this retro - futuristic and nostalgic tribute to 80 ' s action - adventure films follows an orphaned teenager who goes on an adventure to save his female - robot companion from the hands of an evil warlord who controls the only water supply .
' time ' bandits : timberlake , seyfried clock some sci - fi a dystopian thriller imagines a world where the rich can buy immortality , and the poor perish if they can ' t find a way to put more minutes on their life clocks .
the midnight screening of alien at the new victoria cinema was attended by director ridley scott , who said of the film ,
i ' ve never been an enthusiast for horror or science fiction , but this was a great script . alien is much more than a horror film . it is a film about terror .
in its opening weekend , the film opened at # 2 , earning $ 13 million . [ 6 ] the film grossed $ 67 . 6 million worldwide , against a budget of $ 75 million . [ 7 ]
early one day , thompson called depp on the phone and asked him if he would consider playing raoul duke if a film was ever made of fear and loathing .
without hesitation , i said , ' you bet ! '
depp recalls . by the spring of 1997 , depp had moved into the basement of owl farm , thompson ' s home in aspen in order to do proper research for the role .
for a few to be immortal , many must die ,
mutters will ' s benefactor before leaping from a bridge , and so it is with movies . but niccol , whose excellent 1997 film gattaca revealed a similar obsession with human genetics , is an above - average filmmaker who may simply lack the daredevil recklessness a project like this requires . are you willing to spend nearly two hours of your life to find out ?
eiff began life as the
international festival of documentary films
in 1947 , founded by the edinburgh film guild , the world ' s oldest film society . and opened by john grierson , founder of the british documentary movement .
however , in 1997 , when gilliam got the call from laila nabulsi , one of the film ' s producers , to direct , the time seemed to be right . gilliam said in an interview ,
she sent me a script , and it reminded me of how funny and good the book was . i didn ' t really care for the script , but it inspired me to go back and read the book again .
we need your memories to help us build our story . become part of the history of edinburgh international film festival .
the festival screened george lucas ' short film , which he made while studying at the university of california ' s film school , as part of its experimental ' 67 strand . it was subsequently developed to become the classic feature thx 1138 .
after the film ' s dismal critical and commercial reception , no other adaptations were completed . many attempts to get a fear and loathing las vegas film going were launched by the likes of martin scorsese and jack nicholson but nothing ever materialized .
when september hits , the kids head back to school — and for film fans , that can be a great thing .
filmmaker alex cox was hired to direct the film on january 1997 . judging by his past efforts , films like repo man ( 1983 ) and straight to hell ( 1987 ) , cox was no stranger to the same kind of gonzo sensibilities evident in thompson ' s books . however , cox ' s idea of the film seemed to differ from everyone else involved . johnny depp remembers that
alex had some dream that he could make thompson ' s work better . he was wrong . he had this idea about animation in the film .
cox and his writing partner , tod davies , met thompson at his home and it was at this point that cox expressed his desire to incorporate animation in the film . thompson took offense to his book being reduced to a cartoon and promptly kicked cox and davies out of his home .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
in 2007 in new york , individuals were prosecuted and convicted for crimes imitative of this film ' s plot . [ 5 ]
bandits is a 2001 american criminal comedy - drama film directed by barry levinson . it stars bruce willis , billy bob thornton , and cate blanchett . filming began in october 2000 and ended in february 2001 . it helped thornton earn a national board of review best actor award for 2001 . thornton and blanchett ' s performances earned praise , as each was nominated for best actor and best actress golden globe awards for their performances in this film , while blanchett was nominated for best supporting actress at the screen actors guild awards . it first opened in theaters on october 12 , 2001 .
i would like a public and i would like a film in which it is possible to exchange and communicate ideas and information .
and so , gilliam scrapped cox and tod davies ' screenplay and had only ten days to write another . gilliam enlisted the help of tony grisoni ( queen of hearts ) and together they hammered out a screenplay at gilliam ' s home in london , england in may of 1997 . as grisoni remembers ,
i ' d sit at the keyboard , and we ' d talk and talk and i ' d keep typing .
gilliam felt that the structure of the film should be organized much in the same way as the book :
eiff screened the premiere of fear and loathing in las vegas with director terry gilliam in attendance . the festival also presented cinema under the stars at the city chambers , closing off the high street to vehicles , turning the area into a traffic - free piazza and screening three of gilliam ' s classics : time bandits , 12 monkeys and brazil .
other important moments in the history of the festival include the women ' s film festival , exclusively for female directors and part of eiff in 1972 . lynda myles , festival director from 1973 - 1980 , was the first woman to occupy such a role at any film festival in the world .
the festival opened with bert haanstra ' s first feature film fanfare on which he had received the help and guidance of one alexander mackendrick after meeting in edinburgh at the 1951 festival . this archive footage shows british pathé winning a prize at the new victoria cinema during the 14th edinburgh film festival .
imagine a hard day’s night crossed with hedwig and the angry inch and you’ll get a bit of the feel of bandits . in it , four inmates at a women’s prison form a band as part of the prison’s professional development program . when they are offered the chance to play a gig outside of the prison walls , they seize their chance at escape . on the run , but suddenly enjoying a kind of bonnie - and - clyde popular following — an opportunistic record producer , looking to cash in on the news of the escape , releases one of the band’s demo recordings to radio stations — the bandits knock around the country on an improvised tour as they plot to escape via a cruise ship gig .
his acting performance in the film was nearly as acclaimed as the screenplay , which opened him up to major hollywood roles , including oliver stone & apos ; s u - turn ( 1997 ) and the sci - fi blockbuster armageddon ( 1998 ) . also in 1998 , he gave a compelling performance in primary colors as richard jemmons , a character based on lively bill clinton adviser james carville . in 1999 , thornton received a best supporting actor oscar nomination for his portrayal of jacob mitchell , the tragic foil in sam raimi & apos ; s a simple plan . the following year , he directed matt damon and penelope cruz in a film adaptation of cormac mccarthy & apos ; s novel all the pretty horses .
a german film , a bit like thelma and louise with music ! four female convicts form a band as part of a criminal rehabilitation program their prison is testing out . the band  the bandits  get a chance to perform at a police event outside the prison , but after one member impulsively attacks the jerk ass cop who rides with them to the ball , they stage an escape . broke and on the run , they ship their demo out to a record company and soon find themselves cult idols .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
wild strawberries by ingmar bergman opened the 12th festival at its new premises at randolph crescent . the most talked about film at the festival however was roman polanski ' s two men and a wardrobe which prompted discussions about the re - birth of polish cinema and the work of the state film school at lodz .
the 2002 festival opened with the premiere of lynne ramsey ' s morvern callar at the odeon cinema , with the film ' s star samantha morton in attendance . the actress won a british independent film award for her performance as the title character in the acclaimed adaptation of scottish writer alan warner ' s debut novel .
chloe sevigny attended the festival in support of whit stillman ' s early 1980s - set comedy of manners the last days of disco , the director ' s last film before a 13 year hiatus . a print of the last days of disco resides in the permanent film library of the museum of modern art in new york .
it ' s a good story made by germans . one of my favorite film , good songs a nice chicks . the dvd was ok for a low price .
a then - unknown bill forsyth screened his anti - narrative experimental film waterloo in 1969 . at a party he met samuel fuller , the subject of that year’s retrospective . when forsyth described his film , fuller took a swing at him , shouting ‘what an insult to your audience ! ’ according to forsyth , fuller ‘nudged’ him into narrative cinema .
strap yourself in for one hilarious
action - comedy with great chemistry great one - liners [ and ] expert direction
( new york post ) ! bruce willis
makes all the right moves
( san francisco examiner ) as the man with the perfect bank - robbing planand two imperfect partnersin this
terrific [ film that ' s ] as much fun as you ' ll have at the movies all year ( fox - tv ) ! busting out of prison , joe ( willis ) and terry ( billy bob thornton ) are on the run and out of money . that changes when they devise a scheme to place bank managers under house arrest the night before they rob their banks . but success as the infamous
sleepover bandits
isn ' t the only change in store for them . as they cross state lines and federal laws , they meet kate ( cate blanchett ) , a sexy , eccentrichousewife whose indecision as to which of the two bandits she wants could spoil their partnership for good !
thornton is known for his many marriages . after breaking off his engagement with actress laura dern , in may 2000 he married fellow oscar winner angelina jolie , his onscreen wife in 1999 & apos ; s pushing tin . it was the fifth marriage for thornton , who was sued for spousal abuse by his fourth wife , pietra cherniak , in 1997 . after divorcing jolie in 2003 , thornton began a long - term relationship with special effects artist connie angland . they were secretly married in october 2014 .
frances ha premiered at the 2013 festival with director noah baumbach and star greta gerwig in attendance . baumbach and gerwig wrote the film together , after their collaboration on 2010 ' s greenberg .
after cox was fired , the film ' s producers approached terry gilliam ' s agent . there was an air of desperation because , as patrick cassavetti , one of the film ' s producers , put it ,
the option on the book was about to expire . johnny depp had been waiting around overlong and we had another project going that we had to launch in 1998 .
by submitting this form , you agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the ed film fest memories timeline , including allowing us to reproduce your text and / or image in any publication .
sam raimi attended the 36th festival for the premiere of evil dead and brought with him a suitcase full of props used in the film , including the notorious foot with a pencil stuck in it .
the 2nd festival opened with robert j . flaherty ' s louisiana story . often mistaken for a documentary , it was in fact an early example of docu - fiction filmed in a hyper - realist style which misleads the viewer . in 1949 , virgil thomson won the pulitzer prize for music for his score to the film , which is still the only film score to be bestowed such an honour .
i first saw this film late at night on showtime , and thought noa another subtilted flick , but after about 15 min . i feel into it . it grabed me like a lonly cell mate .
it ' s gloriously gory at times - the film takes pride in its beautifully brutal practical effects - but at heart , turbo kid is a charming little oddity that makes an asset of its low budget .
jane campion ' s palme d ' or winner the piano was the opening gala at the 47th festival . her short film passionless moments screened at the festival in 1984 , discovered amongst hundreds of films submitted that year .
joel edgerton and chiwetel ejiofor attended eiff for the premiere of julian jarrold ' s kinky boots in 2005 . the film was later adapted into the broadway musical of the same name , winning 6 tony awards in 2013 .
curt jürgens and gia scala came to edinburgh for the opening gala of i aim at the stars in which they both starred . they are seen here standing in front of ' film house ' at randolph crescent in 1960 .
the festival premiered the 30th anniversary 4k restoration of russell mulcahy ' s classic highlander , with the film ' s star and michael powell juror clancy brown participating in an extended q & a with a capacity audience at cineworld .
given the inherent intrigue of this so - called
darwinian capitalism
— one can easily imagine spending decades paying off a lamborghini — it ' s astonishing how dreary this all is . even the minutemen , a wandering cadre of time bandits , are so prettily effete they would have been kicked out of alex ' s gang of droogs in a clockwork orange . and poor cillian murphy , playing a cop - like character known as a timekeeper who suspects will of murder , is given little to do but drive . and collect his per diem .
problem is , the movie doesn ' t commit to any of the several directions in which it meanders . is the romantic triangle poignant , or a gimmick ? do the guys joke and make small talk during robberies because this is a comedy , or because they are pathological narcissists ? the flashback structure is an annoyance , and by the time it is justified , it ' s too late : we ' ve already been annoyed . one of the joys of barry levinson ' s “wag the dog” ( 1997 ) was the way he juggled tones , moving from satire to suspense to politics . this time it ' s the audience who feels juggled .
born in 1955 in hot springs , arkansas , billy bob thornton eventually moved to los angeles , determined to make his living as an actor . in 1996 his career took off when he wrote , starred in and directed sling blade , which was awarded an oscar for best adapted screenplay . also earning an acting oscar nod for his role in a simple plan , he later directed all the pretty horses and has co - starred in numerous films , including monster & apos ; s ball , bandits and bad news bears , as well as the tv series fargo .
the 20th festival opened with the uk premiere of david lean ' s dr zhivago starring julie christie and omar sharif at the abc cinema . the film went on to become one of the highest grossing of all time and won five academy awards .
sean penn attended edinburgh in 2001 with his then - wife robin wright to promote his latest film the pledge , an ensemble drama starring jack nicholson , aaron eckhart , helen mirren and mickey rourke , and participate in a reel life onstage interview .
keira knightley and sienna miller attended the opening gala premiere of the edge of love , john maybury ' s film about the complicated love life of the poet dylan thomas . maybury won the michael powell award in 1998 for love is the devil .
i have always been a confirmed believer in the
film festival
as an incentive to higher standards of creative work , and anyone who has been to edinburgh will tell you that every visitor leaves with the resolve to do better things .
the festival ' s theme of the film and the drama in 1963 explored the relationship between the dramatic arts and cinema with a special gala screening of an evening with the royal ballet including filmed performances from sleeping beauty with margot fonteyn and rudolph nureyev .
susannah york attended the festival for the gala screening of country dance , starring york and peter o ' toole , at the playhouse . the screenplay was written by scottish novelist james kennaway , and much of the film was shot in his native perthshire .
thornton starred in a string of movies in 2001 , including the comedy bandits , co - starring bruce willis and cate blanchett ; the offbeat the man who wasn & apos ; t there , made by filmmaking brothers joel and ethan coen and co - starring frances mcdormand and james gandolfini ; and the dark drama monster & apos ; s ball , co - starring halle berry , with thornton playing a hate - filled prison guard who ventures down a more humane path . the latter two films earned thornton twin golden globe nods , for best actor in a comedy and best actor in a drama , respectively .
maurice hatton’s long shot , featuring charles gormley as a producer trying to find sam fuller to direct his next film , was filmed during the 1977 festival and was first screened in 1978 , and again in 2010 as part of the after the wave retrospective .
actor johnny depp first met hunter s . thompson in aspen , colorado just before new year ' s eve , 1995 . depp left that initial meeting wondering why fear and loathing had not been made into a film . the actor subsequently invited thompson to do a one - night gig at the depp ' s nightclub , the viper room on september 29 , 1996 with the intention of asking the writer about doing a film version of his book . the opportunity never materialized but the two began corresponding via faxes .
even so , the film might have earned a grudging pass had seyfried and timberlake possessed one iota of chemistry . instead seyfried , whose enormous wig and abbreviated wardrobe transform her into a goggle - eyed bratz doll , seems as unappealing to her costar as she is to us . wobbling ridiculously on six - inch heels throughout — despite making several pit stops to change clothes and draw breath , sylvia inexplicably never grabs a pair of sneakers — this usually appealing actress is dragged through the film like so much luggage .
after attending the festival in 1954 as honorary president , on his return with fat city in 1972 john huston said , “ i rarely go to film festivals . the only one as such that’s worth a damn is edinburgh . my god , it’s unique . ”
sylvain chomet ' s the illusionist was the opening gala of the 64th festival , celebrating a unique hand - drawn animation set in edinburgh . the film is based on an unproduced script written by jacques tati in 1956 , between mon oncle a nd play time .
depp was given complete access to every memento the writer saved from his 1971 trip to las vegas . the actor read through the writer ' s notebooks ( which included an unpublished chapter entitled ,
the coconut scene ,
which gilliam placed in the film ) only to realize that
the freakiest thing was that it was all real , that the reality was as insane as the book .
he rummaged through thompson ' s wardrobe at the time : hawaiian shirts , a patchwork jacket , a safari hat , and a silver medallion given to him by acosta . thompson graciously allowed depp to wear it all in the film . thompson even let depp borrow the red shark : the giant fire engine red convertible that the author took to vegas , which was also used in the film .
the movie , directed by barry levinson and written by harley peyton ( “twin peaks” ) , is told in a flashback and actually begins with the news that the two men have been shot dead after a failed hostage situation . cut to a tabloid tv show whose host got an exclusive interview shortly before the final shootout ; joe and terry narrate their career , try to justify themselves , and say kate was an innocent hostage and not a fellow criminal . eventually the film works its way back to the fatal robbery it began with , and to the classic line , “the suspects are in a shootout with themselves . ” the film has laughs sprinkled here and there . i liked the way the confused terry asks joe , “what ' s on our mind ? ” and the way kate ' s preoccupied husband , a self - involved hotshot , goes on tv to tell the kidnapped woman : “i ' m going to spain next week . if the kidnappers want to reach me , they can get in touch with my people . ” and i liked the jolly little fireplug of a bank manager who is delighted to meet the “sleepover bandits” in person , but cannot take them seriously .
many filmmakers over the years had tried to make films out of hunter s . thompson ' s books but the first completed effort didn ' t surface until 1980 with where the buffalo roam . art linson ' s film liberally mixed thompson ' s real life with his books and starred bill murray and peter boyle as thompson and oscar acosta ( a . k . a . dr . gonzo ) , respectively . thompson even served as a consultant on the film but this did little to translate the author ' s warped vision to the big screen . while watching buffalo roam , it becomes readily apparent that , despite murray ' s inspired performance , director linson had no idea what thompson ' s books were trying to say . the film seems more like a collection of rather tame highlights from the man ' s work .
edinburgh international film festival was founded in 1947 as the
first international festival of documentary films
. opened with a ceremony at the playhouse cinema , speeches of welcome were made before the very first films : the cumberland story , the seventh age and the festival of youth .
for the opening gala screening of betty blue at the playhouse in 1986 , the festival paid for a new screen to be installed to ensure a flawless image . director jean - jacques beineix , whose groundbreaking diva premiered at eiff in 1981 , was present to support the film .
gilliam also felt that the more surreal parts of the book could be transferred onto film if done right . for example , the imaginary bats that duke sees on the highway at the beginning of the book was one such passage the director felt could be translated into visual terms .
the theme of the festival in 1962 was the film and the literature , in celebration of the inspiration cinema has found in books , featuring screenings of such classic literary adaptations as a streetcar named desire , the innocents , last year at marienbad , wuthering heights and the quiet american .
if you like world cinema or musicals , you might like this . it ' s full of girl power and feminism . the story is unrealistic but if you look at it as a musical you could consider it a fantasy film . i enjoyed it , very different from hollywood films .
in the future ,
this one begins ,
1997
. . . and its off to the excess races after that sublime proclamation in this postcard homage to those popcorn eaters of glorious youth when everything , even eating popcorn , was played bigger , larger than life , especially if it wasn ' t that at all . you ' ll need a raincoat for the buckets of corn syrupy blood splattered everywhere , and there ' s more android love here as a child of the wasteland fighting the corrupt powers that be , discovers a babe robot ( enough with the advertising , i ' m ready for my babe robot right now ! ) in the process . echoes of mad max thunderdome just everywhere , too , especially the souped up hotrods everybody be riding . what ' s not to enjoy ?
when georges franju attended eiff in 1959 with les yeux sans visage ( eyes without a face ) he left intending to make a film in scotland , taking with him copies of confessions of a justified sinner and the house with the green shutters - something which sadly did not come to pass .
the documentary 50 event was hosted during the festival celebrating the founding of the british documentary film movement in 1929 with john grierson ' s the drifters , and with many of the key players in attendance including forsyth hardy , harry watt , edgar anstey , charles oakley and d . a . pennebaker .
david mackenzie ' s young adam screened as the festival ' s opening gala , and won the audience award , in 2003 . based on alexander trocchi ' s novel , the film was a veritable showcase of british talent : it starred ewan mcgregor , emily mortimer , peter mullan and tilda swinton .
fear and loathing contains many funny moments , bits of dialogue , and visual zingers as duke and dr . gonzo make their way through the surreal landscape that is las vegas . the humour in this film is simultaneously disturbing and hilarious - - a pitch - black satire of american culture and excess .
to bad i was not well informed in my youth ! ! ! this movie was phenominal ! not only was the plot very well paced but the music was incredible ( i bought the soundtrack too ! ) . what i found interesting that the movie was done in german and was subtitled in english but all of the songs were done in english . what i also found surprising is that all the songs were done by the actresses and they were not and never were a group ! they could have been a very , very good all girl rock band ! do an imbd search of bandits to get a synopsis of the plot and all i can say is get the movie and find the soundtrack if you can !
newly appointed eiff patron karen gillan attended the 69th festival as a member of the michael powell jury , joining kenny turan and ian hart , and in support of her short film coward . karen was returning to edinburgh after her visit to the festival in 2013 for the closing gala not another happy ending .
this is the kind of film that people will either really love or hate - - there is no middle ground . gilliam ' s film is going to be one of those movies that ' s destined to become an instant cult item . as hunter s . thompson puts it in the book ,
there he goes , one of god ' s own prototypes . a high - powered mutant of some kind , never even considered for mass production . too weird to live , too rare to die .
fear and loathing in las vegas is pure gonzo filmmaking for people who like weird , challenging films .
kelly macdonald attended the rainy european premiere of disney pixar ' s brave , the 2012 closing gala . kelly provided the voice of merida , the film ' s lead . eiff has hosted premieres of many pixar films over the years including wall - e , toy story 3 , inside out and finding dory .
in 1972 lynda myles , laura mulvey and claire johnston programmed a season of films dedicated to women directors that was truly groundbreaking and the first of its kind in europe . the following year , myles was appointed as artistic director of the festival , the first ever female director of a film festival anywhere in the world .
the festival screened hellmuth costard’s football as never before in which several 16mm cameras followed george best in close - up for the whole match between manchester united and coventry city . rarely seen since and thought to be a ‘lost’ film , it was recently unearthed for a screening in dublin on the 10th anniversary of george’s death .
i think that this is indeed some kind of genius film , but in a really demented way that i would have a hard time verbalizing to someone who didn ' t tap into what gilliam is trying to do . i can see why fear and loathing received a critical shellacking from all the usual pundits ( ebert et al . ) . it ' s a very odd film - - a 128 - minute acid trip from beginning to end with no respite , no rest stops , and no objective distance from which to view the whole insane picture safely . you are plunged headlong into this weird , wild world along with the characters .
william friedkin ' s controversial killer joe , starring matthew mcconaughey , juno temple and gina gershon , was the festival ' s opening gala in chris fujiwara ' s first year as artistic director . the exorcist and the french connection director friedkin came to edinburgh with gina gershon to present the film to audiences at the festival theatre .
abel gance ' s 5 hour epic napoleon closed festival director jim hickey ' s first eiff with carl davis ' live score performed to a capacity audience in the playhouse - the largest audience to see the film in britain since it was made in 1927 . the screening was promoted with a parade through the grassmarket in august 1981 .
sigourney weaver was in edinburgh for the festival ' s 60th edition , receiving an eiff diamond award for outstanding contribution to world cinema and attending the premiere of her latest film , snow cake , which also starred alan rickman . tilda swinton , d . a . pennebaker , mike leigh and ken loach were also presented with awards .
the golden thistle award was presented by george singleton to carol reed marking him as one of the most distinguished figures of the british film scene . the festival included a season of his work ; odd man out , the fallen idol , the third man , an outcast of the islands , the man between and our man in havana .
depp ' s research culminated after a week when thompson shaved almost all of the actor ' s hair for the film and entrusted him with the very car he used in the trip . the actor soon became thompson ' s roadie and in charge of security for the proud highway ( a collection of thompson ' s letters ) book tour .
annie hall opened the 31st festival at the abc cinema , beginning a longstanding association with the work of woody allen who , impressed by the faith shown in the film , specifically requested that the festival host the uk premiere of manhattan in 1979 . eiff also premiered broadway danny rose ( 1984 ) and the purple rose of cairo ( 1985 ) .
mark cousins ' first festival as artistic director presented the premiere of the usual suspects , a film that went on to become one of the most iconic of the decade , with kevin spacey winning an oscar for his performance . also screening in 1995 were the basketball diaries , desperado , small faces and eiff audience award winner muriel ' s wedding .
terry gilliam seemed like the perfect choice to direct this film . the theme of insanity had always figured into his films but has since taken a more prominent role with his last couple of projects . as a result , fear and loathing completes an informal trilogy based on madness that includes the fisher king ( 1991 ) and twelve monkeys ( 1995 ) .
as a throwback to a retro 1980s style , it is a pity that it looks so cheap and goofy as if made by someone who had just left film school without a dime in his pocket , but despite its flaws , it is an entertaining pastiche full of energy , with leboeuf and ironside stealing the show and obviously having a lot of fun .
continuing his high - profile work , thornton headlined the 2003 comedy bad santa , and the following year he played davy crockett opposite dennis quaid & apos ; s sam houston in the big - budget feature the alamo . he also starred in the 2005 remake of bad news bears , drawing favorable reviews amid the film & apos ; s otherwise mixed reception .
columbia planned to quietly release the controversial easy rider and were concerned that the 1969 eiff premiere would take place in the 3 , 000 seat playhouse , with peter fonda in attendance . they threatened never to premiere another film at edinburgh . and then they saw the queue - hell’s angels from fife lined the pavement all the way up to the balmoral hotel .
eiff began the tradition of surprise movies in 1989 with peter greenaway’s controversial the cook , the thief , his wife and her lover , revealing the identity of the film only once the audience were in their seats . pulp fiction , la confidential , spirited away , my name is joe and the bourne identity were all screened as surprise movies at the festival .
billy connolly and judi dench both attended eiff in lizzie francke ' s first year as artistic director for the premiere of mrs brown at the dominion cinema . the film was an unexpected smash , transforming the career of hitherto unknown director john madden , who went on to helm shakespeare in love , captain corelli ' s mandolin and the best exotic marigold hotel .
all of these items only enhance depp ' s performance . in the film , he has literally transformed into duke / thompson , complete with the man ' s unusual bow - legged walk , sweeping arm movements , mumbling speech pattern , and the trademark dunhill cigarettes in a holder between clenched teeth . it ' s an incredible performance that transcends simple mimicry .
gilliam found that the american press refused to
even talk about fear and loathing . they won ' t say , ' ban the film ' - - they ' re too liberal for that - - so instead they seem to have adopted this attitude of , oh , maybe if we don ' t talk about it , it ' ll go away . that ' s modern america all over .
and judging by fear and loathing ' s quick demise at the box office and subsequent disappearance from theatres , this strategy worked . while most critics praised depp and del toro ' s performance , most found gilliam ' s film to be a muddled mess with no coherent structure : just one long debauched road trip .
two friends and convicts , joe ( bruce willis ) and terry ( billy bob thornton ) , break out of oregon state penitentiary in a concrete mixing truck and start a bank robbing spree , hoping to fund a dream they share . they become known as the
sleepover bandits
because of their modus operandi : they kidnap the manager of a target bank the night before a planned robbery , then spend the night with the manager ' s family ; early the next morning , they accompany the manager to the bank to get their money . using dim - witted would - be stunt man harvey pollard ( troy garity ) as their getaway driver and lookout , the three successfully pull off a series of robberies that gets them recognition on the fbi ' s ten most wanted list , and ultimately the reward for information leading to their capture is increased to $ 1 million .
lars von trier ' s controversial dancer in the dark opened the festival in 2000 , after winning the palme d ' or at cannes . björk , in her only role to date , won best actress at both cannes and the european film awards . the 54th festival also saw premieres of beautiful creatures , amores perros , audition and eiff audience award winner billy elliot .
while watching movies about music or musicians , i often sympathize with these poor bastards of actors : the script requires them to play - say - a guitar , but they obviously have no clue as to how to even hold this instrument . and then the singing voice sounds so suspiciously different from the one they talk with . . . in this respect , ' bandits ' is a welcome surprise : obviously , these actresses know far more than just the pure basics of their instruments and deliver a convincing performance as a rock band . and sitting through to the end of the credits reveals that they not only did their own singing , but wrote the major part of the music and lyrics by themselves , most notably
luna
jasmin tabatabai . for me , the great music more than compensates for the rather fantastic , sometimes clichéd plot with some minor holes . all in all , a remarkable movie !
bill forsyth , having first attended the festival in 1969 , returned with that sinking feeling in 1979 , and 1984 ' s opening gala , comfort and joy , which screened to a capacity audience at the playhouse . he was back in edinburgh in 1987 for a special screening of his recently completed film housekeeping - so recently that it missed the deadline for eiff ' s printed programme .
ralph steadman , who illustrated the book , was a good friend of gilliam and began to bug him over the years to do a film version of fear and loathing . in 1989 , gilliam remembers a
script turned up which briefly got me excited about the book again , but i was busy with another project and i ultimately decided that the script didn ' t capture the story properly .
the festival , in hannah mcgill ' s first year as artistic director , premiered the feature film debut of acclaimed photographer and music video director anton corbijn , who has photographed bob dylan , r . e . m . , bruce springsteen , björk and u2 . control , a biopic on the life of the late ian curtis , lead singer of joy division , went on to win the michael powell award .
from there , the pace never slackened as gilliam and company shot fear and loathing on location in a fast 56 days on a lean budget ( by hollywood standards ) of $ 18 . 5 million .
one of the reasons i made this film ,
gilliam remembers ,
was to push myself and see if i could still work the way i used to : fast , furiously and cheaply .
around the 3 / 4 - way mark , fear and loathing veers off into some really dark territory as the horror that accompanies chemical dependency rears its ugly head . i was worried that this element would be lost in the transfer from book to film and that it was going to be simply a
straight
comedy . thankfully , the darker edge of the book has been retained and reinforced in spades .
john huston was honorary president of the festival in 1953 , and returned in 1972 when he proclaimed eiff to be “the only film festival as such that’s worth a damn” . gene kelly came to edinburgh in 1956 for the premiere of invitation to the dance at the new victoria cinema , stating ,
i have always been a confirmed believer in the
film festival
as an incentive to higher standards of creative work , and anyone who has been to edinburgh will tell you that every visitor leaves with the resolve to do better things .
clint eastwood , nick nolte , kathryn bigelow , sean connery , ewan mcgregor , chloe sevigny , richard e . grant , sigourney weaver , jennifer lawrence and robert carlyle - – just a few of the many amazing guests to have graced the festival with their presence over the years .
beyond gags about pools tables , behavioural patterns and material possessions , the castle reminds us of the value of small gestures , assuming the best in people , picking your fights and being fiercely loyal to those you love . when offered a tidy packet to sell his home , darryl responds with a line that distills the film ' s emotional essence :
you can ' t buy what i ' ve got .
with the festival ' s title expanded to include ' realist , documentary , experimental ' , the opening gala of jack lee ' s adaptation of eric williams ' book the wooden horse represented another subtle move away from documentary - though based on real experience , the film was a studio picture albeit a low - budget one . sunday times journalist dilys powell described it as having
the poetry of unrehearsed adventure
.
set in an unspecified future where people are genetically programmed to time out at the age of 25 , the film echoes michael anderson ' s 1976 hoot logan ' s run , whose characters were catapulted into the sky at 30 unless they did a runner . but while anderson never lost sight of his film ' s primary pleasures — miniskirts , monorails and a lithe jenny agutter — niccol refuses to lighten up . in his us - versus - them dystopia , time can only be traded , earned or stolen , so the wealthy live forever while the rest of us survive on a minimum wage of 24 hours . credits and debits are transmitted by means of a glowing green bar code on your forearm , and since a bus ride can set you back 2 hours of your life ( and a car around 20 years ) , the poor do a lot of walking .
1994 saw the premiere of shallow grave , with danny boyle , ewan mcgregor , christopher eccleston and kerry fox in attendance . the film was a breakthrough for boyle and mcgregor in particular , both of whom have maintained a close relationship with eiff . clerks , dazed & confused , killing zoe , muriel ' s wedding and the last of england also screened at the 48th festival , the latter in tribute to the recently departed derek jarman .
this was likely achieved intuitively rather than engineered – sitch has spoken about how his father inspired darryl ' s character – and the secret can be found in the proverbial pool room . it is not the gaudy mugs and tacky souvenirs it contains that are in important , but the sentimental value they hold . likewise , it is not the characters ' plebeian behaviour that holds the film ' s focus but the sincere place from which it emerges .
what was it about the castle that connected so strongly with critics and audiences ? the wonderful thing about rob sitch ' s magnum opus ( he also directed the dish , a pleasantly fluffy soufflé of historical recreation , and working dog ' s shamelessly american - brand romcom any questions for ben ? ) aren ' t the jokes , which flow thick and fast , but the way in which the film manages to balance deprecation with tenderness and warmth .


the great gatsby is a 1974 american romantic drama film produced by newdon productions and distributed by paramount pictures .

it was directed by jack clayton and produced by david merrick from a screenplay by francis ford coppola , and was based on f. scott fitzgerald 's 1925 novel of the same name .

the film stars robert redford in the title role of jay gatsby , along with mia farrow , sam waterston , bruce dern , karen black , scott wilson and lois chiles , with howard da silva ( who previously appeared in the 1949 version ) , roberts blossom and edward herrmann .

the great gatsby ( 1974 film )

a detail from the wikipedia page for the 1974 film version of the great gatsby .
anonymous
the great gatsby ( 1974 film ) background
. gradesaver , 20 may 2017 web .
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the great gatsby ( 1974 film ) characters
. gradesaver , 22 may 2017 web .
the great gatsby ( 1974 film ) essays are academic essays for citation . these papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the great gatsby ( 1974 film ) , directed by jack clayton .
a great cast . . . a great novel . . . a great motion picture
robert redford , as the great gatsby in the 1974 movie at his west egg mansion .
living the high life . . . the great gatsby ( 1974 ) . photograph : kobal
the question and answer section for the great gatsby ( 1974 film ) is a great resource to ask questions , find answers , and discuss the novel .
wtop film critic jason fraley reviews baz luhrmann ' s
the great gatsby .
baz luhrman ' s great gatsby has kicked off this year ' s cannes film festival .
great gatsby movie ( 1974 ) was not written by vladimir nabokov , philip roth , or thomas pynchon . obviously .
discuss redford ' s performance in the 1974 film version of the great gatsby . with detail , address if the acting added meaning or led the audience . . . | enotes
jay gatsby : robert redford ( 1974 ) vs . leonardo dicaprio ( 2013 )
video sparknotes : gatsby ' s life story from f . scott fitzgerald ' s the great gatsby
a great american director recalls wrestling with the great american novelist in a paris hotel room .
some classics are timeless solely for their quality , but the great gatsby carries remarkable relevancy for today ' s audiences . can baz luhrmann make a film worthy of the great gatsby name ?
hammersmith farm of newport , rhode island was used in 1974 as jay gatsbys mansion .
the great gatsby ( 1974 film ) study guide contains a biography of director jack clayton , literature essays , quiz questions , major themes , characters , and a full summary and analysis .
discuss redford ' s performance in the 1974 film version of the great gatsby . with detail , address if the acting added meaning or led the audience to an altogether different path . where has the . . .
santfe luxury bling 1920s the great gatsby leaf simulated pearls wedding tiara head . . .
great gatsby star leonardo dicaprio opened the 66th cannes film festival ahead of the european premiere of baz luhrmann ' s controversial 3d epic which kicked off the world ' s most prestigious film meet .
in the 1974 great gatsby movie , two mansions were used to portray gatsby’s mansion . in addition to rosecliff , hammersmith farm was used , and to me seems a much better recreation of beacon towers .
pretty average adaptation of the great gatsby but robert redford steals every scene so i guess i’m pleased . the great napsby would probably be the more appropriate title though .
discuss redford ' s performance in the 1974 film version of the great gatsby . with detail , address if the acting added meaning or led the audience to an altogether different path . where has the casting enhanced or detracted from your vision of the characters ?
daisy buchanan : mia farrow ( 1974 ) vs . carey mulligan ( 2013 )
nick carraway : sam waterston ( 1974 ) vs . tobey maguire ( 2013 )
tom buchanan : bruce dern ( 1974 ) vs . joel edgerton ( 2013 )
myrtle wilson : karen black ( 1974 ) vs . isla fisher ( 2013 )
jordan baker : lois chiles ( 1974 ) vs . elizabeth debicki ( 2013 )
as baz luhrmann’s jazz age spectacular the great gatsby hits cinemas , we share some discoveries from the archive of director jack clayton , director of the 1974 version of f . scott fitzgerald’s classic novel .
don’t believe the majority of babyboomer critics on this one . baz luhrmann’s “the great gatsby” is a solid adaptation .
francis ford coppola lived in
west egg ,
aka great neck , former home of f . scott fitzgerald , at the time of writing the screenplay for the great gatsby ,
whoever said that the men’s suits in the 1974 version is a little too modern , i agree .
adapted from the novel of the same name by f . scott fitzgerald , the great gatsby is a 1974 film directed by jack clayton and starring robert redford as jay gatsby . the film features other prominent actors and actresses : mia farrow as daisy buchanan , sam waterston as nick carraway , bruce dern as tom buchanan , and karen black as myrtle wilson . clayton ' s film received mixed reviews , though critics leaned more on the positive side .
i disagree . the 1974 version is not completely faithful . i have yet to see a completely faithful version of “the great gatsby” and i have seen three versions – the two mentioned in this article and the 2000 television version .
this film publicity image released by warner bros . pictures shows tobey maguire as nick carraway and leonardo dicaprio as jay gatsby in a scene from
the great gatsby .
( ap photo / warner bros . pictures )
it is not a great film : but in capturing so much as a glimmer from the iridescence of the original , it becomes well worth seeing .
discover the meaning of three names in the film rosewood . apply the meanings to the characters .
the location for filming of the buchanan house , in the 1974 movie , was actually in england at heatherden hall .
this is a featured event in the one book steamboat 2013 community read of f . scott fitzgeralds ' novel the great gatsby .
luhrmann is the not the sort to be daunted by problems of the past . to his thinking , “ the great gatsby ” remains a great book , its film potential untapped . and as far as the world’s filmgoers are concerned , this will be their first and only gatsby and the power of its style and vivid characters will prevail .
with baz luhrmann’s splashy adaptation of f . scott fitzgerald’s great american novel contender hitting theaters friday , flavorwire is devoting this week to all things great gatsby . click here to follow our coverage .
1974 ! the new version , however , got my son into gatsby , so i can’t complain . but , i did have to tell him , robert redford will always be gatsby to me .
baz luhrman carey mulligan f . scott fitzgerald isla fisher leonardo di caprio mia farrow paul rudd robert redford the great gatsby tobey maguire
nice try ; but , some books should never be made into a movie . the great gatsby is one of those books .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
and f . scott fitzgerald and his fans finally may finally stop cringing at hollywood’s efforts to embellish the “ the great gatsby ” legend .
if you go to the wikipedia page for the 1974 film adaptation of the great gatsby , you may notice something curious . on the upper right - hand side of the page , where the credits are listed , there , below francis ford coppola’s name , is vladimir nabokov’s . the famous russian - american author , the wikipedia page says , did “rewrites” on the script .
this film on blu ray looks great and provides a 70s version of the 20s . it has great actors - robert redford , mia farrow , lois chiles , and a great cameo from kathryn leigh scott ( dark shadows ) . there are no special features . running time is approximately 2 hours 23 minutes .
the film looks as stiff and lifeless as a posh store window .
the above rating is based on a 4 - star scale . follow wtop film critic jason fraley on twitter @ abovethejfray or on his blog the film spectrum .
. it’s hard to top the prestige factor of just his presence in the film , and then you throw in francis ford coppola’s screenplay along with the film’s two oscars .
the folly of the film , lies , i think , in the damage done to the character of the narrator .
the great gatsby is an immortal american tragedy , but the story ' s impact gets completely buried in luhrmann ' s flash and dazzle .
the opening of 1974’s gatsby does a great job of introducing the story in a purely visual way . we see gatsby’s fancy - butt house , his scrapbook of daisy paraphernalia , his monogrammed hairbrush , and a photograph of her on his vanity . a guy with a vanity ? that’s not a normal guy .
an exploration of the acting in clayton ' s version of the great gatsby is going to be rooted in personal reflection . i think that a starting point could be that critical reception of the film revolved around the
lifeless
element present . in his review , new york times film critic vincent canby suggested as much :
the first attempt came just a year after the book’s release with “the great gatsby” ( 1926 ) , starring warner baxter ( “42nd street” ) as gatsby and william powell ( “the thin man” ) as george wilson . sadly , this film is lost to history , like many criminally unpreserved silent films .
great old fashioned love story that has everything in it ! ! just wonderful ! leonardo dicaprio has nothing on robert redford ! robert is the invention of swag . . . lol . . . . love it ! ! great performances ! ! great movie ! !
i had to watch the 1974 gatsby in high school . i say had to because the only thing i remember from that experience is being bored out of my ever loving mind .
it’s interesting to note that both of these film versions of the novel got mixed reviews when they came out . critics and audiences generally complained about a lack of accuracy to the book and overall entertainment level , though the 1974 adaption is generally considered a good historical costume movie . ok , then , let’s compare the characters in the two great gatsby movies , head to head…
when a great book is turned into a film , lots of pedants ( including me ) immediately scrutinise the movie for deviations from the original . we regard the book as sacred , so the film will almost certainly be sacrilegious . we are most reluctant to recognise that a film is , or should be , a work of art in its own right .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
david denby has been a staff writer and film critic at the new yorker since 1998 .
see the third filmed version of f . scott fitzgerald ' s classic 1925 novel – one of the most hyped movies of the summer of 1974 .
with oscar award victories for its score and costumes , the 1974 film stars robert redford , mia farrow , bruce dern and sam waterston , with a screenplay by francis ford coppola . it was directed by jack clayton .
no one’s been able to truly capture the book’s complexity on film , though many have tried .
baz luhrmann took me by surprise four years ago when he confided over lunch that he intended to shoot “the great gatsby” as his next movie — he explained that he had become obsessed with the “gatsby” story . i told him that i , too , admired the great f . scott fitzgerald novel but could never quite [ … ]
most people remember the 1974 version , starring robert redford , mia farrow and bruce dern , written by francis ford coppola the same year he wrote and directed “the conversation” ( 1974 ) and “the godfather : part ii” ( 1974 ) . “gatsby” seems small by comparison , living alone like hackman , but lacking pacino’s ability to see the killer lurking behind blowing curtains . frankly , i’m surprised at the number of folks holding up this “gatsby” as an untouchable classic . even coppola couldn’t save the lack of chemistry between redford and farrow and the lack of imagination by director jack clayton .
the great gatsby is a standout novel that is brilliantly written with a simple story . this book adaptation captures the feel and tone of f . scott fitzgerald ' s classic work . i did enjoy the new version of the great gatsby , but i felt that this one was of course a superior film , a film that boasted some terrific performances and brilliant direction with wonderful storytelling . what makes the great gatsby such a great story is that it ' s a simple plot that is both poignant and dramatic , and these elements combine perfectly to create something quite wonderful . this is a superb picture , a film that is captivating from start to finish , and it ' s easily a classic . i really enjoyed the book , and it ' s one of my favorites as well , and with this adaptation , i felt that they managed to keep plenty of elements intact that has made the book so good . there are several great performances , and each actor brings something unique to the screen , which elevate the film significantly . if you ' ve enjoyed the book , then by all means , this adaptation is by far the best take on fitzgerald ' s material , and it ' s a film well worth your time if you ' ve enjoyed the book or if you ' re looking for a finely crafted drama with some fine performances . like i said , i did enjoy the current retelling of the great gatsby , and i do believe it ' s a bit underrated ; however , this is the film version to watch of f . scott fitzgerald ' s literary classic . give this film a shot , it ' s well worth your time , and it ' s a brilliantly acted and directed film that tells a great story .
the australian director ' s adaptation targets a younger generation who have never seen the 1974 version , which starred robert redford and mia farrow in the leading roles .
leitch’s piece is a good example of how this sort of misinformation can affect discussion of the film in question . expressing his displeasure with the news that baz lurhmann would be adapting fitzgerald’s novel , leitch wrote : “the following three people worked on the script for the 1974 version of the great gatsby : francis ford coppola , philip roth , and vladimir nabokov . you’re telling us that baz freaking lurhmann ' s the one who figured it out ? ”
the problem with the great gatsby in the united states is rather like the problem with brideshead revisited in england . people who film either story pick up , in each case , on the author’s half - hidden attraction towards the excesses he depicts . what they miss is both his satirical and his tragic sense .
the film is faithful to the letter of f . scott fitzgerald ' s novel but entirely misses its spirit .
soundtrack . it makes the film infinitely more marketable , especially to the coveted younger crowds filling multiplexes this summer .
explain how the tension in james cameron ' s film ' titanic ' developed and contributed to the . . .
the film , which is not in competition at cannes , came in second behind the blockbuster iron man 3 .
elizabeth debicki plays golf star jordan baker in the most recent gatsby , and she rocks that role out . i love jordan now ! lois chiles opens her mouth and blinks a few times in her portrayal of the character . you could honestly cut jordan out of the 1974 film altogether and no one would notice .
has there ever been a truly great film made from a truly great novel ? i liked the recent anna karenina with keira knightley even if no one else did , but i wouldn’t call it great . maybe the ice storm , if we’re talking contemporary classics ? ( an oxymoron , but you know what i mean . ) generally , first - rank movies are built on pulpier foundations , like the godfather or gone with the wind or goldfinger .
to paraphrase fitzgerald , luhrmann’s gatsby dream seemed so close , but he did not know that it was already behind him . he believed in the flickering projector light , the orgastic film future that year by year recedes before us . it eluded us then , but that’s no matter . tomorrow we will run faster , stretch out our arms farther , paint our pictures brighter . and so we beat on , gatsby film after gatsby film , boats against cinema’s current , borne back ceaselessly into the past .
the sense of place is as pervasive as a character in “moss , ” a film by daniel peddle .
filmed for a mere $ 6 . 5 million — perhaps one - twentieth of the current film’s budget — the film overcame its flaccid reviews and rolled up solid numbers at the box office . vincent canby of the new york times wrote that the film was “as lifeless as a body that had been too long at the bottom of a swimming pool . ”
even though the look and location of this house may have inspired f . scott fitzgerald , it was not used in the 1974 film starring robert redford and mia farrow , as jay gatsby and daisy buchanan . lands end would have served as inspiration for tom and daisy buchanan’s house on east egg , where the “old money” lived .
also provided the dock with the flashing green light that gatsby is so obsessed with .
roger ebert echoed similar sentiments with his assertion that
clayton fails to give us a gatsby we care about .
these sentiments point to challenges within the acting in the film .
and yet filmmakers continue to tackle the big ones , beating on like boats against the current ( or whatever ) ; enter baz luhrmann’s the great gatsby , the marketing campaign for which is now careening down the turnpike like gatsby’s “gorgeous . . . monstrous” cream - colored death car . but what of hollywood’s most recent attempt to film fitzgerald’s novel : the unloved 1974 version starring robert redford and mia farrow ? ( i’m ignoring a tv version made in 2000 for a & e that starred the british actor toby stephens as gatsby , mira sorvino as daisy , and paul rudd— ! ! —as nick carraway . )
other critics echo these sentiments in various ways , making it safe to say the critical reception of 1974’s the great gatsby was far less cordial than that of the novel . it’s too early to say whether or not baz luhrmann’s version will be held in a higher regard , but it’s certainly safe to say he’s not trodding on holy ground .
this hungarian film is a careful , compassionate and beautifully acted character drama with a social conscience .
in the past seven days , i’ve seen two film versions of the great gatsby : first i went to see baz luhrmann’s cinematic spectacular ! —i feel like every luhrmann film title should be prefaced with circus ring leader - esque embellishment—in the theaters ( this is a big deal , guys , the last time i went to a movie theater it cost four dollars ) , and then my mom asked me if i wanted to watch the 1974 version starring robert redford and mia farrow . the two films are actually fascinating in contrast , and if anything each made me appreciated the other more .
this film has that classic feeling . even though it isn ' t as well received as you might believe , you could almost imagine this being a criterion release sort of film . the production design is one…
the film will be something of a swansong for the 50 - year - old soderbergh , who has announced his retirement .
yesterday , the mansion that likely inspired f . scott fitzgerald to write the great gatsby , in 1925 , was demolished . the possibility of demolition has had journalists and bloggers talking for a few months now .
extract from 10 - page letter to jack clayton from francis ' scottie ' smith , daughter of f . scott fitzgerald , undated c . 1974
explain how the atmosphere and mood of james cameron ' s film ' titanic ' developed and contributed . . .
a film for the ages may appear an impossible task . just look at gatsby himself : an in - his - prime robert redford coming off his first academy award nomination for
look , neither of these movies are the definitive version of the great gatsby . that’s still the book . on the colbert report , luhrmann said the difficulty in filming the great gatsby was capturing nick’s inner monologue , but i have to disagree . movies are told from a single character’s perspective all the time . no , what makes great gatsby adaptations difficult is that , like another one of my favorite books , jane eyre , it’s about what the narrator’s not seeing , all the stuff that happens off the page . it’s not about the parties , it’s about what built the parties . even worse , it’s about what people don’t want to see , because then the parties would stop .
if f . scott fitzgerald had directed film . . . . . . . . . . .
does he have the track record of a fincher , anderson ( wes or paul thomas ) , the coen brothers or other modern masters ? no . the great gatsby will be just his fifth feature , and only one of his previous four could be considered a masterpiece ( moulin rouge ! ) . i think even the most cynical luhrmann - basher , though , would admit he has the capabilities to make great films , and the attributes we’ve seen him display so far line up perfectly with those needed to make a truly great gatsby .
baz luhrmann took me by surprise four years ago when he confided over lunch that he intended to shoot “ the great gatsby” as his next movie — he explained that he had become obsessed with the “gatsby” story . i told him that i , too , admired the great f . scott fitzgerald novel but could never quite figure out its story — nor could the three directors who’d made previous “gatsbys . ”
it’s smart positioning ; i lived through paramount’s 1974 effort to capture the “gatsby” magic — a project that turned out to be a new york fashion show in search of a movie . luhrmann clearly has a different “gatsby” in mind ( indeed , he built a period new york in australia ) .
f . scott fitzgerald ' s classic novel is my favorite book of all time . it ' s been adapted for a summer release starring leonardo dicaprio , who i think is really miscast by the way . it doesn ' t help that i absolutely hate the director of the film . i ' m pretty worried for when the film comes out , but thankfully , the 1974 version seems like the most successful adaptation to date .
[ video essay ] widely trashed by a cabal of critics who didn ' t know a good film when they saw it , jack clayton ' s 1974 rendition of f . scott fitzgerald ' s novel beautifully captures its romantic essence and caustic social indictments .
further investigation shows the cracks in the film’s seemingly - fine foundation . the two oscars it won were for costume design and music , and they were the only nominations the film received . coppola—a staple of cinema and the oscars throughout the 1970s—was nowhere to be found . redford was also missing from the nominations’ list .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
but it’s the cinematic quality of the book that is exactly why we can’t come up with a totally satisfactory gatsby movie , a great film to match the great book . because the fact of the matter is , fitzgerald’s words paint the pictures and play the scenes so vividly that most readers have already seen the movie , in their heads . thanks to the skill of the prose , we’ve already brought the story of gatsby and daisy to life , perfectly designed and impeccably cast and splendidly performed . and any movie version , hamstrung by unforgivable exclusions or peculiar additions or miscast actors or stylistic overindulgence , can only disappoint .
it’s hard to go too far off the rails with a story this true . it may not be a “great” gatsby , but it’s at least a good gatsby , arguably better than the mediocre versions that preceded it and worth seeing if only to rediscover this powerful novel . as of 9 a . m . friday , “gatsby” was the top - selling ibook .
however , the house that was chosen for the film as jay gatsby’s mansion , was rosecliff , a mansion commissioned by nevada silver heiress theresa fair oelrichs , was completed in 1902 by architect stanford white .
i think the film should have a golden look… i intend to keep going through the film a constant feeling of extreme heat… i want people to perspire all the time and i want even to see stains on people’s dresses . it is a part of the story , the heat .
an unexpected collaboration between joseph arthur and peter buck produces a great summer record of noisy , dark garage - pop .
more importantly , those who saw the film were less than ecstatic . it’s metascore ( via metacritic . com ) comes in at 43 , implying mixed reviews ( but only three points away from being “generally unfavorable” ) . the great gatsby ’s tomatometer is a woeful 34 percent , and none of the “top critics” give it a positive review .
john box production sketch for the pool at gatsby ' s mansion , c . 1972
perhaps the oddest thing about the film is that it makes so little of the other subject of the book – america itself . it aspires to make a great american film of a great american novel , but does not locate itself observantly in the culture that fascinated and appalled fitzgerald . in the end , this is just a film about rich people behaving unpleasantly . secretly , it seems to me , it is surprisingly uncritical about that . it thinks that if you have enough waiters in tailcoats simultaneously opening french windows with a flourish , or carrying white telephones so that your boss can answer them by the swimming pool , you are being jolly stylish . it is crass .
we’ve been cataloguing director jack clayton ’s papers since last year and they will soon be made available to researchers for the first time via the bfi reuben library . the scripts , letters , notes and other production papers that make up the archive offer fascinating insights into clayton’s struggle to film f . scott fitzgerald’s the great gatsby in 1974 – there had already been two previous attempts in 1926 and 1948 – and hints at why even the talents of robert redford , mia farrow and a script by francis ford coppola had trouble making it third time lucky .
this is surely no coincidence , being built in the same year and by the same architect as lands end . but , i do wonder why the production designer , john box , of the 1974 film chose not to , or was unable to use lands end . another oddity is that while lands end was in “east egg , ” jay gatsby lived in the nouveau riche “west egg . ” somehow , i think , the house chosen to portray gatsby’s mansion would have been an even better replica of the buchanan mansion .
luhrmann also ups the ante in depicting myrtle’s car crash . the 1949 film cross - cuts the crash in a dated special effect collision , showing right away that it’s daisy driving with gatsby in the passenger seat , missing an opportunity for the mystery of the driver . the 1974 version admirably keeps the mystery of the driver , but does so by avoiding the scene entirely , only showing the aftermath . now , luhrmann takes the best of both , showing the suspense of the crash in slow - motion horror , while maintaining the mystery of the driver by controlling what we see .
if you choose to ignore all that or baz somehow botches the retelling , the misunderstood romance at the film’s center should still resonate with lovelorn theater patrons everywhere .
critics praised how the novel stayed true to its novel roots , though said it lacked the passion and emotion of the 1920 ' s age which it set in . there is also a 2013 remake of the great gatsby , the study guide for which can be found here .
leonardo dicaprio and his gatsby co - star carey mulligan on the red carpet at cannes .
my only casting quibble with the great gatsby 1974 is bruce dern as tom buchanan . he’s supposed to be an former polo star , not necessarily burly , but sturdy and a strong contrast to gatsby . bruce dern isn’t as typically handsome as redford ( at least here ) , but otherwise , dern’s tom is just another guy in a tux . that said , his acting is top - notch , especially during the uncomfortable confrontations . those are straight from the book , and just as intense .
this list collects every film from the starting list that became they shoot pictures don ' t they ' s 1000 greatest films . this…
again , just to be sure , i wrote to someone who would know , emailing authorized philip roth biographer blake bailey to ask if the novelist was involved with the 1974 film . “actually it was roth who advised baz luhrmann to shoot it in 3 - d , ” bailey told me . “kidding . the answer is no . ”
stands in for the body of water separating the fictional long island peninsulas , east and west egg ( great neck and port washington peninsulas in real life . )
clayton gave coppola copious notes and suggestions , including his idea that the pool at gatsby’s house should play a more prominent role . he wanted to introduce a love scene there between gatsby and daisy , memories of which would later pre - occupy gatsby .
in addition to the non - period costuming , the 2013 great gatsby seems to think the audience is kind of stupid . everything must be spelled out in big , bold letters , underlined three times , with an exclamation point . not that anyone who’s seen another baz luhrmann film might expect layered subtlety , but jayzuz , this great gatsby knocks you over the head with every point . nick carraway is telling the story with words . jay gatsby is magnetic but makes his money illegally . daisy is sad about her marriage . tom is a jerk and cheating on his wife . myrtle is a tramp who will end tragically . this movie hits you over the head with the plot again and again so much i got a headache .
with baz luhrmann ' s gatsby on the way , coppola tells how the last one came together on paper .
when nick meets gatsby in his private office , the cord to the lamp on the desk changes location between shots . in shots facing gatsby , the cord goes from the lamp to the end of the desk to his right . in shots facing nick , the cord goes from the lamp to the side of the desk facing nick .
like many of the best comedies and tragedies , this weimar - era silent film understands how each mode is often a hair ' s breadth from the other .
the 2013 version seems to be little more than an mtv music video complete . tries way too hard . the 1974 is not perfect but it’s a lot better even though mia farrow can’t act to save her life .
nick is played by sam waterston in the 1974 version and tobey maguire in 2013 , and i swear to god they look exactly alike . seriously . are they related ? because they definitely could be .
the great gatsby is narrated by nick carraway , neighbor to jay gatsby , a wealthy businessman who is known for the extravagant parties he throws . nick becomes enamored with the lavish life gatsby leads , seeking to decode his personality and lifestyle . nick gradually begins to realize there is much more beneath gatsby ' s successful , confident exterior , revealing a complicated past and secret love for daisy buchanan , nick ' s cousin who is married to tom buchanan . throughout the movie , nick observes the events and complex relationships of the socialites , and becomes deeply entrenched in their matters .
marlon brando turned down the role of jay gatsby because producers would not submit to his salary demands .
q : in the great gatsby ( 1949 ) did alan ladd wear lifts or stand on raised platforms to increase his height ? he appears to be a similar height to other male characters but we know he was very small in real life .
wilson who believes redford has run over black on the road when it was actually farrow . the film is really a disgrace to fitzgerald ' s wonderful novel . director clayton was all wrong for this film , a british helmsman whose sole thrust was to cover the story with a heavy blanket of hot jazz , bootleg
although the picture chokes a bit in the clutch ( you don’t wanna know what luhrmann does with 3d in that auto accident scene ) , truth be told , this may well be the best gatsby adaptation we’ve yet had . but that’s rather a low bar , and the fact that a film with this many problems is still at the top of the heap speaks volumes about the trouble with making a good gatsby movie .
pal is a sponsor of the upcoming ri preservation celebration & rhody awards being held at rosecliff in newport , rhode island on sunday october 16 , 2016 from 4 : 00 - 6 : 30 pm . hosted by preserve rhode island and the rhode island historical preservation and heritage commission , the event honors people who make a difference by protecting rhode island ' s historic places . this year ' s venue is the historic rosecliff one of the gilded age mansions of newport . it ' s ballroom was used to film scenes for the 1974 version of the great gatsby , the betsy , high society , [ 9 ] true lies , and amistad . for more information on the celebration , please go to urltoken .
tale ; coppola completely fails to develop gatsby ' s character . fitzgerald ' s daughter scottie smith was paid a whopping $ 350 , 000 for the rights to the novel and redford jumped at the part of gatsby when paramount offered it , later stating :
i wanted gatsby badly .
there was trouble right from the
i was going to conclude this without addressing the party scenes , but then i realized that was the crazy talking . no director can resist the lure of a party ! i swear the opportunity to film a gatsby party is the only reason this book has been made into a movie so many times .
on april 10 , 1925 , f . scott fitzgerald’s novel the great gastby was first published . it’s a story of the roaring ’20s , the jazz age , and prohibition , revolving around two adulterous affairs , one towering over the other , all told by a sometimes unreliable narrator who’s enamored of his subjects . at least five film or tv adaptions of the novel have been made , but the two most well - known are undoubtedly the 1974 movie directed by jack clayton and the 2013 movie directed by baz luhrmann . pour yourself a cocktail , slip into something more comfortable , and let’s compare the two films , shall we ?
i usually haven’t liked dicaprio until he got older & out grew his baby faced looks . the great gatsby is one hell of a depressing story , even tho i’m a sucker for depressing period pieces a la anna karenina , wuthering heights , etc .
as for the 2013 gatsby , i’d forgotten that luhrmann’s films always overwhelm me when i first see them . i left the theater with a massive headache and a general reaction of “meh , ” but i’ll probably like it more when i rewatch it . and it does have its redeeming qualities , especially in comparison to the 1974 version .
nick’s reaction to gatsby the man echoes my reaction to “gatsby” the movie , “representing everything for which i have an unaffected scorn ( style over substance ) , but ( the film ) turned out alright in the end , it’s what preyed on ( luhrmann ) , what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams ( pomp , circumstance , 3d glasses ) , that temporarily turned out my interest . ”
the film won oscars for costume ( theoni v . aldredge ) and music ( nelson riddle ) and did well at the box office , but critical reaction on both sides of the atlantic was mixed . there was praise for clayton’s direction , for his actors and for the film’s exquisite ‘look’ , but it was widely felt there was just something missing .
that’s why , even though clayton and coppola made more of an effort to turn the great gatsby into an actual movie , it winds up being boring , because the meaning of the book isn’t in it . despite luhrmann’s comment , i think he does he understand what the book is about ; and even though his version feels at times more like a recreation of the novel than a film adaptation of it , i can appreciate that he tried to show the things that are only alluded to in the book . i loved how he preserved the absolute awkwardness of the novel and , even though the line about daisy’s voice sounding like money isn’t in the film , luhrmann shows us that gatsby doesn’t just want daisy . he wants daisy , and the house , and the car , and the pool , and the shirts . so many shirts ! and daisy damn well knows it .
it ' s hard to adapt a novel as fantastic and classic as the great gatsby . there ' s so much to analyze in that novel , as my grade 12 english class showed me , and it ' s just so much fun to do so .
the great gatsby is a clunky adaptation of f . scott fitzgerald ' s classic high school reading list novel that really lacks any sort of inspiration . though handsomely shot with excellent costume design , while capturing the extravagance of gatsby ' s lifestyle , as well as nicely handling its portrayal of high society and the green light , there are flaws here . from being stodgily paced and being over - written , as well as some sketchy acting , jack clayton ' s take on the great gatsby lacks the impact that the novel has and , as a result , is largely quite dull to watch unfold and feels simultaneously rushed and too drawn out . this is an odd feeling and the end result is an odd…
director jack clayton seems overawed by the opulence of the production as well as by the mythic presence of fitzgerald - - and the result is a film of shimmering surface brilliance and almost complete lack of focus or substance .
anywho , i think we all know baz luhrmann can direct a party . but i have to disagree with kit ( from her post am i the only person on the internet who liked the great gatsby movie ? ) that he nailed the party scenes here . they seemed more disneyland than debauchery . although the party scenes in the 1974 version weren’t a spectacle by any stretch of the imagination , i could believe the people in them were actually partying . they were very nights - at - max’s - kansas - city . like i said , no one’s jumping into a pool , but they were convincingly bacchanal .
[ the film ] moves spaniel - like through f . scott fitzgerald’s text , sniffing and staring at events and objects very close up with wide , mopey . . .
this is the best movie of gatsby . i use it in my teaching and it correctly portrays the characters and the time period that fitzgerald wrote about .
beyond casting or direction , the 1974 film’s biggest fault lies in treating gatsby as a grand , doomed romance when the novel is really a shrewd , streamlined near satire about a group of characters who are either nasty pieces of work or foolish or both . it’s wised up and funny and tough , more neil labute than nicholas sparks . true , there’s a bruised heart at the bottom of it all , but it’s fitzgerald’s , not gatsby’s ; the tragedy is almost outside the story , in inference . francis coppola , then at the height of his powers , is credited with the screenplay , but he and the former paramount executive peter bart both say his script was paved over during the shoot ; i’d love to read the original someday and see what he really made of the book .
from hollywood’s point of view , the great gatsby might be as emptily , ruinously alluring as the title character’s parties . it’s got a great setting , big emotions , bad behavior , and a lurid ending , but its essence might be unfilmable , or at least uncommerical . i like baz luhrmann’s films , but i wonder if the director of romeo + juliet and moulin rouge ! will capture the anti - romantic shiver at the heart of gatsby’s romance . judging from the trailer , he seems to be going for something pop - operatic , which doesn’t bode well . frankly , i’m also worried about dicaprio’s accent—and more acutely , his “old sports . ”
“the great gatsby” was published , on april 10 , 1925 , f . scott fitzgerald , living high in france after his early success , cabled max perkins , his editor at scribners , and demanded to know if the news was good . mostly , it was not . the book received some reviews that were dismissive ( “
in roger ebert’s two - and - a - half star critique , the late legend says the great gatsby is “a superficially beautiful hunk of a movie with nothing much in common with the spirit of f . scott fitzgerald’s novel . ” vincent canby of the new york times writes , “nothing . . . comes close to catching the spirit of fitzgerald’s impatient brilliance . ”
i probably first saw this version soon after reading the great gatsby in high school , and i’ve seen the movie a few times since . when i realized it was on netflix , i had to watch this gatsby again ( a few times ) because it so perfectly captures the novel , the language , the mood , everything . also , it’s vintage robert redford at his dreamiest ( and he’s not usually my type ! but damn , those blue eyes ! ) .
the 1974 film , like the new one , arrived amid a gusher of hype , especially surrounding the genuinely gorgeous costumes , designed by theoni v . aldredge ( who won an oscar ) , with assistance from then tyro ralph lauren . a paramount marketing executive bragged that “the entire country will be gatsby - ized . ” and it might have been , but then the movie itself was released . like many films that are extravagantly promoted , it did well enough at the box office , though no one was particularly enthusiastic about it—critics or audiences . vincent canby , writing in the new york times , offered a pretty good summary :
clayton admired fitzgerald , but felt the great gatsby had some flaws in its dramatic construction . he thought truman capote’s first draft screenplay – by faithfully adhering to the book – was overlong and needed variety of pace . it lacked detail about daisy and gatsby’s past relationship and crammed too much action into its final pages . “it is like a great fish that is all head and no tail” , he told capote in his notes . capote was replaced by francis ford coppola – who had already won a screenwriting oscar for patton ( 1969 ) and was about to release his directorial masterpiece the godfather ( 1972 ) .
what is the most reliably unfilmable novel of the 20th century ? some might argue for joyce ' s ulysses , or nabokov ' s pale fire ; pynchon ' s the crying of lot 49 or burroughs ' the naked lunch ( although cronenberg made a decent fist of that one ) . me , i ' m tempted to go for the great gatsby , if only because it looks so straightforward , so reassuringly high concept when it is actually a fiendish will - o - the - wisp ; a deadly honey - trap for all but the shrewdest , most sensitive film - maker .
at its heart , the great gatsby is a ruthless attack on materialism and corruption brought on by devotion to the almighty dollar . anyone thinking these inapplicable to modern day american living isn’t taking part in it . gatsby’s gaudy get - togethers will never appear as wasteful or hollow , while his misunderstanding of requisite social conventions will be more endearing than ever . the divisions between his new , illegitimate money and the buchanans’ old , inherited wealth should spark vital conversation about the distribution of wealth today .
luhrmann ' s gatsby has left critics in the united states and britain divided on whether it amounts to inspiration or a turkey .
over the many months leading up to this week’s release of baz luhrmann’s hotly - anticipated literary adaptation of the great gatsby , much has been made about the anticipated accommodations , additions , and outright alterations to f . scott fitzgerald’s classic story . has mr . luhrmann’s obsession with modernization gone awry , or is he aptly adjusting an 88 - year - old book ( and a 39 - year - old film ) for the very different expectations of today’s audiences ? we won’t know for sure until friday , but here’s why at least one writer thinks he’s the perfect man for the job .
nick carraway , a young midwesterner now living on long island , finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor , the nouveau riche jay gatsby . he is drawn into gatsby ' s circle , becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy .
nick carraway , a young midwesterner now living on long island , finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifetyle of his landlord , the nouveau riche jay gatsby . he is drawn into gatsby ' s circle , becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy .
what is it that makes gatsby such a difficult book to adapt ? part of the problem , i suppose , is the old tone - and - content conundrum : the task of marrying the author ' s cool , refined style with his wild , ritzy settings . the most obvious hurdle , however , is gatsby himself .
director reportedly worked on the script . the film cost $ 13 million to produce and vanished with box office receipts that barely inched over the break - even point . winner of two academy awards : best scoring and best costume design .
so what of this 3d fourth screen version of the great gatsby ? it is , you might say , a story of three eggs . the mysterious central character is the self - made jay gatsby , a millionaire bootlegger who in the summer of 1922 lives at west egg , the township outside manhattan on long island sound where the nouveaux riches have built their mansions . across the bay at east egg are the grand houses of the old - money people , among them the rich , brutal , ivy league philistine tom buchanan , husband of the southern belle daisy , whom gatsby courted as an officer and temporary gentleman in the first world war . after losing her to buchanan because he was penniless , he now seeks to recapture her . the third egg is baz luhrmann ' s curate ' s egg of a film , good and bad in parts , but mainly a misconceived venture . luhrmann is a cheerful vulgarian and his movie suggestive of proust directed by michael winner .