Baz Luhrmann is pulling out all the stops for his highly anticipated new movie, The Great Gatsby. The newest trailer features legendary, contemporary crooners like Beyonce, Andre 3000, Lana Del Rey, and Florence + the Machines.
Baz LuhrmannWhile these musicians are all present day super stars, their sounds still complement the 20’s set period piece beautifully. Florence Welsh’s stirring voice chanting “I can see the green light” is enough to give anyone the chills, while Beyonce Knowles and Andre 3000’s collaboration on Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black is undeniably powerful. Some critics are concerned that Luhrmann’s use of current music artists might take away from the 20’s feel, however, this something to be expected (and embraced) with the innovative Baz Luhrmann at the helm.
Luhrmann has an uncanny ability to combine the contemporary and period appropriate to make his own hauntingly beautiful interpretation… that also happens to be a huge success at the box office.Just look at his modern take on the Shakespeare classic Romeo + Juliet, or the songs used in Moulin Rouge, a movie set in 1899. Certainly Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit wasn’t a hit in the 1800’s. One of his fan sights, BazTheGreatSite.com, praises the director for “his instinctive talent for tapping into the spirit of the times,” pointing out this technique “has earned him praise from across the world.” And if you’ve ever seen one of his movies, you can’t help but agree.
Some might argue that Luhrman’s adaptations of Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge make it more appropriate for the contemporary feel and Gatsby diehards expect the film to strictly follow the book. While I’m usually one to prefer a book to the movie, I’ve learned to always take the film version with a grain of salt. It’s important to treat a book and a movie as very different entities. Imagine if you were to make a movie based on your interpretation of the novel, wouldn’t it be drastically different than anyone else’s portrayal? That’s the beauty of the imagination. Just something to consider before walking into the theater poised and ready to point out every way the movie veered from the book. I do understand that it’s especially difficult not to compare The Great Gatsby movie and novel since we were all forced to over analyze the book our high school English classes, but it’s worth a shot to fully appreciate the Luhrmann interpretation.
For a full soundtrack listing, and a differing opinion on the new film, check out this article.
The film’s release date has notoriously been pushed back several times, settling finally on May 2013. Take a gander for yourself.
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