The Great Gatsby (2000 film)
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''The Great Gatsby'' is a 2000 British-American romantic
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
, based on the 1925 novel of the same name by
F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
. It was directed by
Robert Markowitz Robert Markowitz (born February 7, 1935, in Irvington, New Jersey) is an American film and television director. He directed episodes of ''Serpico'' (1976), '' Delvecchio'' (1976-1977), and ''Amazing Stories'' (1986), and a number of television ...
, written by John J. McLaughlin, and stars
Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for th ...
in the title role of
Jay Gatsby Jay Gatsby (originally named James Gatz) is the titular fictional character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby''. The character is an enigmatic ''nouveau riche'' millionaire who lives in a luxurious mansion on Long Island whe ...
,
Mira Sorvino Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born September 28, 1967) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's '' Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995). She also starred in the films ...
as
Daisy Buchanan Daisy Fay Buchanan is a fictional character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby''. The character is a wealthy socialite from Louisville, Kentucky who resides in the fashionable town of East Egg on Long Island during the Jazz A ...
,
Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
as Nick Carraway,
Martin Donovan Martin Donovan (born Martin Paul Smith; August 19, 1957) is an American actor. He has had a long collaboration with director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, such as ''Trust'' (1990), '' Surviving Desire'' (1991), '' Simple Men'' (199 ...
as Tom Buchanan,
Francie Swift Francie Swift is an American actress best known for her role as Cynthia in ''Thoroughbreds'' and her recurring roles as Haylie Grimes on '' Outsiders'' and Anne Vanderbilt Archibald on ''Gossip Girl''. Life and career Swift was born in Amarill ...
as Jordan Baker,
Heather Goldenhersh Heather Goldenhersh is an American actress. She has appeared on Broadway, on television, and in feature films. Early life Goldenhersh was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in St. Louis. She has said that she is "half-Jewish Jew ...
as Myrtle Wilson, and
Matt Malloy Matt Malloy (born January 12, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has appeared extensively on television, film, and radio. Malloy's break-out performance was his co-starring role alongside Aaron Eckhart and Stacy Edwards in the 1997 bla ...
as Klipspringer. The film aired on March 29, 2000 in the United Kingdom on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and on January 14, 2001 in the United States on A&E. Hampered by a limited budget of $5 million and hastily filmed in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Canada, in order to reduce costs, this A&E television adaptation suffered from low production values, and the critical response upon its broadcast release was overwhelmingly negative. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' dismissed it as "flat-footed," ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described it as "uninspired," and ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' savaged it as "mediocre". The performances of Toby Stephens as Jay Gatsby and Mira Sorvino as Daisy Buchanan were particularly ill-received by a number of critics, although Paul Rudd's performance as Nick Carraway received positive acclaim.


Plot

Nick Carraway is a young bond salesman who rents a cottage on Long Island, New York, near the mansion of the wealthy and reclusive Jay Gatsby. Nick gets to know Gatsby, who was a poor man named Gatz before he left to fight in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Gatsby fell in love with a beautiful woman from a wealthy family, Daisy. When he returned, Gatz was determined to prove himself worthy to win her hand, even though Daisy had by this time married the socially prominent Tom Buchanan. Gatsby has yet to give up on his romantic dream and enlists Nick, who is distantly related to Daisy, in his plan.


Cast

*
Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
as Nick CarrawayA
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
graduate and World War I veteran from the Midwest. Working as a bond salesman after the war, Carraway moves to West Egg to live near his cousin
Daisy Buchanan Daisy Fay Buchanan is a fictional character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby''. The character is a wealthy socialite from Louisville, Kentucky who resides in the fashionable town of East Egg on Long Island during the Jazz A ...
. In West Egg, Carraway meets his next door neighbour, none other than the movie’s main character, Jay Gatsby. In awe of Gatsby's wealth, history, and lifestyle, Carraway befriends him and immediately becomes even more intrigued with his mysterious neighbor. *
Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for th ...
as
Jay Gatsby Jay Gatsby (originally named James Gatz) is the titular fictional character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby''. The character is an enigmatic ''nouveau riche'' millionaire who lives in a luxurious mansion on Long Island whe ...
Originally born James “Jimmy” Gatz from North Dakota, Gatsby was a major in World War I where he first fell in love with Daisy Buchanan. However being poor and not from a patrician family, Daisy was married to another man, Tom Buchanan. From this point on, Gatsby dedicated to making his life into one suitable enough for Daisy and be able to finally win her love. From being a soldier to a businessman, with his new riches, Gatsby buys a mansion in West Egg directly across the water from Daisy’s home in order to keep a watchful eye on the love of his life. Gatsby is known for throwing elaborate and extravagant parties at his mansion in hopes that one day Daisy might show up and he would be able to win her back with his immense new wealth. Fitzgerald based the character on bootlegger and former World War I officer, Max Gerlach.: "Jay Gatsby was inspired in part by a local figure, Max Gerlach. Near the end of her life
Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald ...
said that Gatsby was based on 'a neighbor named Von Guerlach or something who was said to be General Pershing's nephew and was in trouble over bootlegging'".
A military veteran, Gerlach became a self-made millionaire due to his bootlegging endeavors and was fond of using the phrase "old sport" in his letters to Fitzgerald. *
Mira Sorvino Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born September 28, 1967) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's '' Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995). She also starred in the films ...
as
Daisy Buchanan Daisy Fay Buchanan is a fictional character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby''. The character is a wealthy socialite from Louisville, Kentucky who resides in the fashionable town of East Egg on Long Island during the Jazz A ...
A warm, flirtatious, and selfish married woman from South Kentucky. Daisy’s character is married to a man named Tom Buchanan and they have one daughter together. Being cousins with Nick Carraway who is slowly developing a new friendship with Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan is reunited with her former lover none other than Gatsby himself. Her reunion with Gatsby arouses the jealousy and suspicion of her husband. Fitzgerald based the character on Chicago socialite and heiress Ginevra King.: "Because she's the one who got away, Ginevra—even more than Zelda—is the love who lodged like an irritant in Fitzgerald's imagination, producing the literary pearl that is Daisy Buchanan".: Fitzgerald later confided to
his daughter ''His Daughter'' is a 1911 American short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Edwin August and featuring Blanche Sweet. Cast * Edwin August - William Whittier * Florence Barker - Mary * Linda Arvidson * Wilfred Lucas * Mac ...
that Ginevra King "was the first girl I ever loved" and that he "faithfully avoided seeing her" to "keep the illusion perfect".
*
Martin Donovan Martin Donovan (born Martin Paul Smith; August 19, 1957) is an American actor. He has had a long collaboration with director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, such as ''Trust'' (1990), '' Surviving Desire'' (1991), '' Simple Men'' (199 ...
as Tom BuchananThe husband of Daisy Buchanan. Unlike Jay Gatsby, Thomas Buchanan's family background and riches were enough to win over Daisy and marry her. Despite his relationship with Daisy, Tom becomes involved in an extramarital affair with Myrtle Wilson. Buchanan has certain parallels with William "Bill" Mitchell, the Chicago businessman who married Ginevra King.; ; Buchanan and Mitchell were both Chicagoans with an interest in polo. Also, like Ginevra's father Charles King whom Fitzgerald resented, Buchanan is an imperious Yale man and polo player from Lake Forest, Illinois. *
Francie Swift Francie Swift is an American actress best known for her role as Cynthia in ''Thoroughbreds'' and her recurring roles as Haylie Grimes on '' Outsiders'' and Anne Vanderbilt Archibald on ''Gossip Girl''. Life and career Swift was born in Amarill ...
as Jordan BakerComing from Louisville, the character of Jordan Baker plays the main love interest of Nick Carraway. It is also revealed that she had a past with Daisy Buchanan and was aware of her whole love affair, past and present, with Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald based Jordan on Ginevra King's friend
Edith Cummings Edith Cummings Munson (March 26, 1899 – November 20, 1984), popularly known as The Fairway Flapper, was an American socialite and one of the premier amateur golfers during the Jazz Age. She was one of the Big Four debutantes in Chicago dur ...
, a premier amateur golfer known in the press as "The Fairway Flapper". *
Heather Goldenhersh Heather Goldenhersh is an American actress. She has appeared on Broadway, on television, and in feature films. Early life Goldenhersh was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in St. Louis. She has said that she is "half-Jewish Jew ...
as Myrtle WilsonThe impoverished wife of a car mechanic and garage owner. She desires to be sophisticated and wealthy, coming off as tacky to the narrator Nick Carraway. Being unhappily married to her husband for two years now due to his lack of wealth and social status, Myrtle has an affair with Tom Buchanan.


Production

Initially planned to be shot in Ottawa, the production ended up shooting in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Quebec, as Ottawa was not equipped to handle the production on short notice. The television film was shot in less than thirty days in September 1999 with a budget of $5 million. The film was made in collaboration by the A&E Cable Network in the United States, and
Granada Productions ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...
in Great Britain. It was directed by
Robert Markowitz Robert Markowitz (born February 7, 1935, in Irvington, New Jersey) is an American film and television director. He directed episodes of ''Serpico'' (1976), '' Delvecchio'' (1976-1977), and ''Amazing Stories'' (1986), and a number of television ...
from a
teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...
by John J. McLaughlin. The music score was by
Carl Davis Carl Davis, (born October 28, 1936) is an American-born conductor and composer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1961. He has written music for more than 100 television programmes, but is best known for creating music to accompany si ...
and the cinematography by
Guy Dufaux Guy Dufaux (; born July 18, 1943, in Lille, France) is a French-born Canadian cinematographer. The majority of his works have been in Canadian cinema; he immigrated to Canada in 1965 and became a Canadian citizen in 1971. He is also the father of ...
. The production was designed by Taavo Soodor.


Marketing

A&E Network launched a widespread marketing campaign for their 2001 programming, with a major focus on ''The Great Gatsby''. For ''Gatsby'', they hosted national and local sweepstakes sponsored by
US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...
and
Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the ...
and tied them into high schools, colleges, and libraries. Displays were reportedly placed in 12,000 libraries nationwide, and A&E held acting contests at 23,000 high schools and colleges. An in-flight featurette, ''The Making of the Great Gatsby'', played on US Airways during the holiday season.


Reception

''The Great Gatsby'' television adaptation received negative reviews upon its broadcast debut. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 27% approval rating, and on
IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
it has a score of 5.7/10. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' dismissed it as "flat-footed," ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described it as "uninspired," and ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' savaged it as "mediocre". In his review in ''The Boston Globe'', critic Matthew Gilbert described the film as a crass attempt by "television execs hoping to mine yet another literary classic for its built-in audience."
Caryn James Caryn A. James (born Caryn A. Fuoroli) is an American film critic, journalist, university lecturer and writer. Biography James is one of at least three children born to James M. Fuoroli Sr. and Joan A. Ford. A native of Providence, Rhode Isla ...
of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' praised Paul Rudd as "brilliant" in the role of Nick Carraway, but dismissed the film as disappointing and wrote the "film might have survived its pedestrian style, but it can't survive a leaden Gatsby." In her review, James criticized Toby Stephens' performance as "so rough around the edges, so patently an up-from-the-street poseur that no one could fall for his stories for a second" and his "blunt performance turns Gatsby's entrancing smile into a suspicious smirk". Mira Sorvino's performance as Daisy Buchanan was roundly criticized. Natasha Joffe of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote that Sorvino was an abysmal Daisy "whose voice is supposed to be full of money, but is just moany. Why would Gatsby love her? She looks like a drowned goose and her hats are like they've been made out of old pants." Similarly, John Crook of '' The Fremont Tribune'' wrote that Sorvino was "seriously miscast as Daisy".


References


Citations


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

*
Ratings at RottenTomatoes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Gatsby (2000 film), The 2000 films 2000 romantic drama films 2000s American films 2000s British films 2000s English-language films A&E (TV network) original films American drama television films American romantic drama films BBC Film films British drama television films British romantic drama films Films based on The Great Gatsby Films directed by Robert Markowitz Films scored by Carl Davis Films shot in Montreal Romance television films Television films based on books