The Great Gatsby Comparison

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s well known American novel, The Great Gatsby was transformed into two movies by the directors Jack Clayton and Baz Luhrmann. It is more interesting for American teenagers to watch a summarized movie rather than to read a 9 chapter book, it also helps them to understand the story more easily. Gatsby’s death in the novel symbolized the death of the American dream, Luhrmann’s movie developed this theme more effectively than Clayton’s movie because of the cinematography, sound effects and visual effects. Firstly, the modern version includes different cinematographic techniques to support the scene, in order to make it more realistic and believable to the audience. For instance, the last moment of the movie where Gatsby is swimming…show more content…
For example, the modern version doesn’t have any special music before Gatsby’s shot and the music comes after he knows there is nothing left for him, whereas the other movie is playing the music “When you and I were 17” by Nick Lucas which makes it as if Gatsby is going to miss all the joy and beauty in this world. Thirdly, the visual effects used in the newer version are significantly more, showing that in order to achieve a dream, there must be hard work behind it. For instance where Gatsby farewells Nick, Nick says “You can’t repeat the past” but Gatsby answers him with a confidence “Of course you can, old sport”. Gatsby was at the top of his mansion and Nick below him, it is trying to say that you should’ve worked hard from the beginning not that when you did all of the crimes and trying to change yourself now. The other scene that they used effects is in the pool, Gatsby under the water but the movie shows him swimming in slow motion, this part of the movie is trying to foreshadow the death of the American dream, a dream that Gatsby is trying to achieve with his corruption and the position he has in 1920’s. In conclusion, the modern movie was more effective to show the theme of the end of the American dream, the techniques used in this movie makes it less boring to the audience compared to an older
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