The splendour of modern cinematography

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Just wanted to see how modern cinematography added colour to this 1925  F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel and remake of 1974 film starring Robert Redford in the lead role. In spite of the many negative reviews about the movie, I found it quite refreshing. Unlike its predecessor, this one did excite me in spite of its lovey dovey and love-conquers-all theme. The main selling point is its costume, the excellent props and visual pleasing mesmerizing cinematography.
There is no change in story line. Nick Halloway (Tony Maguire) narrates to a psychologist when he is treated for alcoholism about a certain neighbour of his, Jay Gatsby who was an interesting character who held boisterous extravagant parties at his palatial palace. He had mysteriously amassed large amounts of money. Leonardo DiCaprio must be born for this role as he just fits perfectly as a suave love stricken millionaire with a shady background. He returns to be together with Nick's cousin whom he had fallen in love just before going to the Great War. The problem is the girl in question had been unhappily married for 5 years during his absence.
The husband, Tom Buchanan, himself has a mistress who herself is his mechanic's wife! The movie played in theatrics manner with flowery dialogue and melodramatically ends with Gatsby being shot by the mechanic who mistakenly thinks he ran with his wife down with his automobile. Actually, in the true masala fashion, the real driver of the vehicle was Lizzie and Gatsby took the blame. Gatsby died a broken man. The fickle minded Lizzie decided to stay with Tom. Tom and Lizzie moved out and did not attend Gatsby's funeral.
A true panoramic extravaganza indeed. Brings one right back to decadent times of the twenties when people thought they knew everything about making money and that the stock market and economic market can never crash, only went one way, up. Oh, how wrong were they!

A peek into the Roaring Twenties

The Great Gatsby (Literary Classic)

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Another coincidence again...
Just as I was about to watch the 1974 edition of The Great Gatsby movie, now that there is a new version of this movie and I cannot seem to download online, my daughter handed me this classical 1925 American literature which is used by many school as their English literature text.

The edition that I read is a 150 odd pages' Penguin edition and is probably abridged for younger readers. It was certainly a much simpler read than the 'King Solomon's mines' and '20,000 leagues under the Sea' that I had to grapple with in my early secondary school days.
GG is a simple story of the  narrator, Nick's neighbour in New York, the mysterious filthy rich Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, with his humble beginning, became miraculously rich through bootlegging alcohol, tries to rekindle his old romantic relationship with Daisy. Unfortunately, Daisy was married to Tom. Tom, on the other hand, has his own extramarital affair with Myrtle, the wife of a mechanic from the poor part of town.
Nick, being Daisy's second cousin and Tom's acquaintance, is the cement that binds all the character together.
It depicts the decadent times of the roaring 20's where some people had lots of money and did not know what to do with it, so they had lots of parties and morality and decency were out of the window. Alcohol was prohibited in America, creating a booming bootleg business. And it was a white man's society.

Now, I will watch the 1974 film 'The Great Gatsby' starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.