6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's highly acclamed novel set during the Roaring Twenties in 1922. Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, on Long Island. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla FisherPeriod | 100% |
Romance | 59% |
Melodrama | 51% |
Drama | 4% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There's no shortness of irony swirling around Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, a slick but shallow retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name. From Strictly Ballroom to Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! to Australia, the famously ritzy, operatic visionary is known for elevating, even celebrating style over substance. Subtlety be damned. And yet his command of rhythm -- visual, musical or narrative -- is often exhilarating, divisive and uneven as each film has been. Here, though, Luhrmann crafts a debilitatingly decadent drama crippled by filmmaking excess... based on a cautionary tale about the dangers of decadence and excess. Fitzgerald's novel is much more, mind you; something that can't be said of Luhrmann and co-writer Craig Pearce's loud, gaudy adaptation, which doesn't offer much of any cause or consequence for ninety grotesque minutes. Until, that is, it finally discovers a part of itself in its dying third act breaths.
Right back atcha, Gats...
Warner's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer is as dazzling and extravagant as its cinematography, with bountiful colors and exacting detail. Simon Duggan's palette is brassy and brazen, primaries are flashy and shameless, black levels are filthy rich, and contrast is a brightly lit party in and of itself. All of which is precisely as it's intended to be. Skintones are overly lit and prone to pink hues, and sometimes take on a sickly, flushed appearance (Gatsby's initial reunion with Daisy at Nick's house is particularly problematic). But similarly harsh lighting and oversaturation frequented the film's theatrical presentation, making this a matter of intention rather than an issue with the encode. Thankfully, little else gives pause. Edges are razor sharp, refined, and free of ringing. Textures are crisp, clean and exceedingly well-resolved. Delineation is terrific. Significant artifacting, banding and aliasing are nowhere to be found, and brief bursts of noise (most often spotted in the night skies, or when CG or green screening is involved) are really the only distractions to be had, fleeting and minor as each one is.
Whether Craig Armstrong's blend-of-the-centuries fusion score or the film's eclectic hip hop soundtrack works for or against The Great Gatsby is debatable. Whether it works for or against Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is not. With each beat, blare and snare roll, Luhrmann and Armstrong's musical canvas is full of punch, power and presence, with just enough playfulness and flare to make its command of the soundstage well deserved. LFE output is bold and booming, kicking into high gear with every driving downbeat, throaty growl of an engine, or stylistic flourish that calls for low-end oomph. The rear speakers have a blast all their own, with Gatsby's wild parties, the hustle and bustle of New York City, the roar of an underground jazz club, the chaos of a car veering across the road... the soundfield grabs hold of each one and wraps it around the listener, creating a fully enveloping, fully immersive experience as deceptively unruly as Luhrmann's hyper-hypnotic visuals. (The only downside being a handful of scenes that are too front-heavy to compete with the rest of the film's sonics.) Moreover, dialogue is intelligible and precisely prioritized, although some absolutely horrible ADR plagues scenes like Gatsby and Nick's first drive together.
Baz, Baz, Baz. I'm a fan, old sport, I am. Moulin Rouge! still gets me every time. Every. Time. But The Great Gatsby is too much flash and way too much fizzle. It isn't a matter of style over substance either. It's a matter of style without substance. The film is too detached from Fitzgerald's novel, too far removed from reality, and too disconnected from the human or historic elements that might offer filmfans a foothold or anchor point. Instead, DiCaprio and company are amped up to the point of irritation, the script is cranked up to deafening levels, and the splashy visuals and blaring music undermine everything pulsing beneath the surface. Which, I gotta say, isn't very much. The same can't be said of Warner's Blu-ray release, though. With an excellent video transfer, enthralling DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and a decent selection of behind-the-scenes bonus content, The Great Gatsby excels in high definition. It's just a shame the film only excels in excess. I was hoping for so much more.
2013
Alternate Artwork with Bonus Content
2013
VUDU Instawatch
2013
2013
2013
2013
2015
1956
2012
2012
Fox Studio Classics
1946
1978
2019
1997
2016
2017
Warner Archive Collection
1928
2001
2017
1937
2011
Masterpiece Classic
2015
Warner Archive Collection
1954
1932
1949