Chose a classic and chances are it has been adapted into a movie or
television show. Some of the adaptations may be exactly as the original
version was and others may take liberties, but it seems as though a
classic untouched by Hollywood is about as common as a movie version of
the SAT. Why are these classics churned in Hollywood again and again?
From straight "remakes" to "inspired by," Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
has seen countless adaptations and is among the most frequently adapted
classics. What is it about stories like Romeo and Juliet that inspire
someone to make a movie that so many want to see? For some classics,
like Romeo and Juliet, it seems like it's the story or concept. For
others it's the interesting or likeable characters. Some classics may be
attractive to Hollywood simply for the unique "world" or location where
the story takes place. In the case of The Great Gatsby, it's all of
these things.
The Great Gatsby has been adapted into several major motion pictures and
there is a new one in the works right now. Writer/director Baz Luhrmann
(Moulin Rouge, Australia, Romeo and Juliet) is shooting his version of
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. Yes, there have been other Gatsby movies,
but this one will be different because it is Baz Luhrmann, and because
it will be… in 3D! So you will be able to go to the movie theater and
see Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, and Daisy in all their three-dimensional
glory. So, why do we see Hollywood making another Great Gatsby movie?
(Especially considering the fact that the 1974 film won many academy
awards.) The story, characters, and setting are all extremely appealing.
The story is Nick Carraway's and we sympathize, relate, and root for
him. We enjoy Nick's journey in this world and we appreciate how he has
changed by the end. He has all the ingredients of a memorable character.
Jay Gatsby and the lengths he goes to for his extreme
love-slash-obsession with the ethereal Daisy Buchanan is both
enthralling and entertaining. We are also taken by the world in which
the story is set. The rich and unique setting, New York and the north
shore of Long Island during the 1920s, is intriguing and exciting.
So what does taking a piece of great literature and turning it into a
movie mean as far as experiencing the story? Writers of novels intend
for them to be a personal, quiet, experience for a reader. As a movie,
the story is being presented in a movie theater, with an audience. It is
no longer the author speaking to one person. Seeing the actors play
characters on a screen and watching the story unfold rather than reading
it, completely changes the experience. We cannot experience it at our
own pace, stopping to consider a moment in the book or going back to see
if we missed something. We are in the hands of the filmmakers, allowing
them to show us how they see the novel. Perhaps this is why so many
people say, "The book is always better than the movie." When we sit down
to read a book we are a bigger part of the experience, we are making
the movie inside our own minds as we sit, with the author, and imagine
what he or she is telling us.
