The Great Gatsby (1974) - 4/23/13

[MifuneFan]

Looks like Warner will be releasing The Great Gatsby on 4/23/13, as part of their deal with Paramount.

The Great Gatsby Blu-ray

[octagon]

Is this based on something concrete (a BB releasea date or something?) because this would be pretty cool.

I'm only in half-interested in the title itself but would be very interested in confirmation that Warner will be distributing previously unreleased Paramount titles.

[MifuneFan]

It is listed on Best Buy. It does make sense too since the remake is coming in May.

[octagon]

This just got interesting then.

Edit: The more I think about this the more exciting it gets. I don't want to turn this into a Paramount wishlist thread but if this can just pop up unannounced on a release schedule then pretty much anything is fair game.

[Mr. Cinema]

I found about 20 more titles on Bestbuy.com that are WB re-releases. They are going to be sending out nearly 70 titles next month.

I do hope we get a few more "new" catalog titles like this one for January.

[West E]

This must be the version we all watched in highschool English class in the 90s. I was too busy talking with my best friend in the back of class to know if this was legitimately good. Redford right?

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by West E

This must be the version we all watched in highschool English class in the 90s. I was too busy talking with my best friend in the back of class to know if this was legitimately good. Redford right?

Yes, the Robert Redford version. It's a decent film and if it gets a new master will easily be worth $10 on BD.

[West E]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Yes, the Robert Redford version. It's a decent film and if it gets a new master will easily be worth $10 on BD.

Cool. I'll preorder. Ive been into the 20s culture lately.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by West E

Cool. I'll preorder. Ive been into the 20s culture lately.

I think the film is better if Fitegerald's book is read beforehand. Just my opinion.

[blu-ray_girl_fan]

They wanna cross-promote/cash-in since there's a re-make being released in May.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by West E

This must be the version we all watched in highschool English class in the 90s. I was too busy talking with my best friend in the back of class to know if this was legitimately good. Redford right?

The film famously has a brilliant script by the great Francis Ford Coppola, near-perfect casting with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, stunning production design and then, incomprehensibly, completely pedestrian direction by some no-name Brit who was never heard from again. Shame. A wasted opportunity.

[Arkadin]

Paramount already was planning this bd for this Fall because the remake was coming out. That release then got postponed when the film got pushed back.

[captveg]

With no formal announcement yet, I won't be surprised to see this released in late April/early May instead of January.

[Arkadin]

that's what I'm thinking also.
it will be interesting to see if the UK bd comes out when it is supposed to because it has an actual date and pre-order on amazon.uk I believe.
EDIT: it just shows a generic pre-order now. I swear it had a date at one time.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

Unfortunately I feel we're heading unto similar waters with the upcoming Gatsby.

I agree. I loved MOULIN ROUGE!, but GATSBY looks garish and grating, and DiCaprio looks 10 years too old and 20 pounds too heavy for the role.

[necorbin]

Originally Posted by West E

This must be the version we all watched in highschool English class in the 90s. I was too busy talking with my best friend in the back of class to know if this was legitimately good. Redford right?

LOL... Just seeing the thread title immediately took me back to AP lit in High School. We read the book, and watched the movie. This movie has always had a special place in my heart, along with another HS Lit favorite, Romeo & Juliet (not the Leonardo Dicaprio version)...

Will definitely be adding this one to my wishlist, for $15 or less....

[snipemonkey]

The film famously has a brilliant script by the great Francis Ford Coppola, near-perfect casting with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, stunning production design and then, incomprehensibly, completely pedestrian direction by some no-name Brit who was never heard from again. Shame. A wasted opportunity.

Not to be all schoolmarmish or anything, but Jack Clayton was hardly a "no-name Brit who was never heard from again." Clayton was a quite well-known and respected director with a few classics to his credit (The Innocents, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne).

IMDB

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by snipemonkey

Not to be all schoolmarmish or anything, but Jack Clayton was hardly a "no-name Brit who was never heard from again." Clayton was a quite well-known and respected director with a few classics to his credit (The Innocents, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne).

IMDB

I wouldn't call it being 'schoolmarmish' at all - anyone who dismisses Jack Clayton that way deserves to be corrected, though Clayton does shoulder much of the blame for the movie's failure. The adaptation is also greatly damaged by the terrible casting - Redford plays Gatsby as bland and aloof, Farrow's sex appeal (so central to Daisy's persona) is non-existent, and I'm still scratching my head over the choice of Bruce Dern as Tom.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by snipemonkey

Clayton was a quite well-known and respected director with a few classics to his credit (The Innocents, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne).

Also the highly acclaimed Room at the Top and The Pumpkin Eater. So yeah, I do think a brief cinema history lesson is in order for Mr. Luckard.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by snipemonkey

Not to be all schoolmarmish or anything, but Jack Clayton was hardly a "no-name Brit who was never heard from again." Clayton was a quite well-known and respected director with a few classics to his credit (The Innocents, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne).

IMDB

That's stretching the definition of "classic" quite a bit. Simply being more than 20 years old doesn't make something a "classic". The Innocents is the only one I'd come close to applying that label to.

I grant that a handful of people have heard of him, but I defy you to assemble a group of even knowledgeable film buffs and find many who know of him.

My point is that the greatest American novel, adapted by one of the greatest screenwriters alive at the time, with a perfect cast and flawless design, was entrusted to someone who I have to think was nobody's first choice, who then bungled it.