Culture Maven review: "The Great Gatsby" (1974)

By Mel Fisher

Published July 15, 2022 at 1:37 PM EDT

C D K · Culture Maven on Film: "The Great Gatsby" (1974)

Though it has always remained handy, and I’ll pull it down often to read a page or two to savor F. Scott Fitzgerald’s amazing prose, I hadn’t read “The Great Gatsby” all the way through since college.

I did so earlier this week.

Then felt compelled to go back and watch the 1974 cinematic version, available for a small tariff at Amazon Prime.

Robert Redford is featured as Jay Gatsby, Mia Farrow as his long time obsession Daisy Buchanan, Bruce Dern as her husband Tom. Sam Waterston is ably cast as narrator Nick Carraway.

I am loathe to ever compare a film to its source material. I’ve always been of the opinion they stand on their own.

For reasons explained more fully than usual in my podcast above, I do so here.

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Mel Fisher

Mel is the WFPK morning host. Email Mel at mfisher@lpm.org.

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