I just saw that movie a week ago, I loved it the dresses they wore the hats suits. I would definitely like to get it on DVD. I loved TOBEY MAGUIRE and Leo of course
I passed on seeing this. The reviews were not so great and I did see the Robert Redford version back in the last century. Didn't want to sit thru a downer story again.
I was going to see it because I love the book, but I decided not to after my father threw a shit fit about how horrible it was and how it deviated from the source material for no reason. He did say that the acting was fantastic, especially from DiCaprio and Maguire and that the costume and set design were very good. But a lot of horrible movies have great performances and visuals in them, so that doesn't account for much. I tend to take his opinions seriously when he gets like this, because we tend to have very similar tastes in movies. If he hates it, I'll probably hate it too. If I ever see it, it'll be when it comes on HBO or Netflix in a few months so I'm not actually paying specifically to see it.
I actually just remembered that a good chunk of my father's angry shit fit about the movie was about how the soundtrack featured rap music. In a period piece set almost a hundred years ago. I can't even conceive of why someone would think that was a good idea.
I saw this and didn't really care for it too much. The filmmakers felt like they tried to make it too stylized and it almost came off as comic book-ish. And yes there was rap music in it and dance music that is far removed from the time period and only accentuated the comic book surrealism of it. Only a slight use of legitimate jazz in it. Dicaprio was good but his overuse of the term "Old Sport" was a bit unnerving, Carey Mulligan was good as well. Tobey Mcguire's role was interesting, From how the movie starts with him seemingly about to be a primary focus of the movie, to him being sort of an emotionless spectator throughout the majority of the film was kind of odd. I wasn't really a fan of the book either, don't even remember much of it. The general themes of the story are interesting but the film didn't do it for me.
NO WAY!! Seems I made the right choice to not waste time or money on this flick. I'm still pissed at that Marie Antoinette movie in 2006 using modern music.
The thing is that I've seen music from out of the era that a story takes place in work very effectively. The two examples that come to mind are Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds where they play David Bowie's Putting Out Fires. That was a great moment. Another example is a Japanese anime series called Samurai Champloo. There was rap in that, but it wasn't trying to be realistic. It was a stylized sort of Tarantino-esque take on Samurai movies, and it didn't take itself too seriously a lot of the time. My dad said that it felt like it tossed rap music into a 1920's period piece to insultingly pander to a younger audience that probably wouldn't go to see it anyway. To make that kind of thing work, it has to have one foot in the era that it's supposed to take place in and one foot in the present. Otherwise, it doesn't work.
Yeah, pretty much. This is the director of Moulin Rouge we're talking about. That movie was horrendous.
Might more style than substance sum up the Gatsby generation? And I suspect that the use of rap/hip hop is to appeal to younger viewers than those of us who remember the Redford version.
I'm probably within the age range that the rap music thrown in was designed to appeal to, and I personally find that attempt to pander to people my age pretty insulting. I've talked to people younger than myself who listen to a lot of rap music and every single one of them felt the same way about that. That's sort of what you get when a bunch of Hollywood studio executives born in the fifties in sixties try to find ways appeal to younger audiences. It just ends up being unintentionally insulting and shows how little respect they have for the average viewer.
I'm still suspecting some deeper connection. 1920s jazz was as reviled and loved as hip hop is today.
Like everyone said...horrible, horrible music. Rap, pop, electronics...in early 20th century...really? Oo But loved the cast. Leonardo didn't let me down. Too bad the music destroyed it all for me.
