Dora's Corner: Grading The Gatsby's (1-of-2): 1974 and 2013: Rich Girls Don't Marry Poor Boys!

...So I was caught in a bit of a pickle regarding the wonderful and magnificent movie, well, between the two most-known versions: The Great Gatsby (1974) and The Great Gatsby (2013).

The 1974 movie was not the first one made--not the last one made.  There are two previous movie versions of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel prior to the '74 movie, and another one that lives, alone and sad, and in between the 1974 movie and the 2013 movie.  I won't discuss any of the others versions for they did not interest me too much.  You see, this person is a die-hard Robert Redford fanatic so there was no doubt that I would not allow myself to delve into the non-Redford versions...that is...until the 2013 version stirred my interest.

I am not really a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but I am rather fond of Tobey Maguire.  Maguire is why I decided to watch the latter film version of this great, American classic novel turned-film.

Oh, but how did I protest watching the 2013 remake.  Why?  Well, first let me say that I did enjoy the 2013 film, which was directed and co-written (screenplay) by Baz Luhrmann.  It was similar to the 1974 film, but of course, both movies did stray somewhat from the Fitzgerald novel.  Novels always trump their film cousins with the cousins usually left in the dark like a red-headed-orphaned-step-child.  Movies seldom or never do a novel any justice. 
But, I must stress that some stories are too important, and do need to be told.  Movies like The Great Gatsby fall into that category; hence the novel.  However, sad but true, many people's interest is mostly captured through movies.  Hollywood discovered this fact early on, thus came story-telling via the big-screen.  More people are visual than imaginative (hmm?).  ANYWAY...

I read a lot of reviews by experts and by everyday people like myself.  Depending on one's age, I suppose, is what made people choose one over the other, but the 1974 version was decidedly picked time and time again over the 2013 film.  The latter film was torn apart more times and more severely for a variety of reasons; one being the soundtrack; most agreed that it was too modern.  I liked the songs especially "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey, but I did agree that some of the other songs did not add anything to the film, and at times, it detracted from the points the story was trying to tell.

Just one of my takes for the day--continued below...