Once upon a time, I counted myself a huge fan of Baz Luhrmann.

While I still consider his Red Curtain Trilogy to be a truly stellar collection of films, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth four years ago when he gave us his wannabe epic AUSTRALIA. That’s not to say that I didn’t like AUSTRALIA – I’m actually one of the few who did – just that it didn’t even come close to the vision and imagination I had grown accustomed to since his breakthrough in the early 90’s.

Well, not one to be deterred from an underwhelming response, Mr. Luhrmann has returned – and by the looks of it, he has returned with vigour. This Christmas he will take on one of the greatest novels in the history of literature, and by the looks of it, he’s not coming at it with a subtle hand…

17 Replies to “Baby, You’re a Rich Man – THE GREAT GATSBY Trailer”

  1. I am really excited. Still not fond of the 3D idea because WHYYYY, but it looks gorgeous. I’m a huge Red Curtain Trilogy fan- Moulin Rouge! is my favourite film of all time. Still, I’m kind of on the fence regarding what the music choice can be, just because here period music would be so very sexy too. Also yaay for Leo who’s back to being a pretty boy. Mulligan looks great too, though she’s still not Daisy for me. And I hope Maguire has a bigger role than what the trailer seems to show. And even though I’m not a huge fan, I am a Bollywood gal and yaay for Amitabh Bachchan’s big Hollywood debut!

    1. At the moment, it’s pretty easy for me to track down 2-D screenings of films widely presented in 3-D…but I wonder how long I have before that changes?

      Co-incidence that you mention being a Bollywood gal, because back on the final post of my Anime Syllabus, I mentioned how this coming fall I’d like to move on to a Bollywood Syllabus. Someone (I think it was SDG) suggested that you’d be the one to go to to curate a Bollywood 101 watchlist.

    2. Oh yes! SDG and I will make a list. There are actually a few old Bollywood classics that I haven’t seen myself, so this can give me an incentive too đŸ™‚

  2. I am so excited for The Great Gatsby! It’s refreshing to finally have something grand to be looking forward to again (aside from The Hobbit, of course).
    I was surprised to see Amitabh Bachchan in the trailer (the old man with the beard and hat at the beginning) – the godfather of Hindi cinema.

    By the way, I too liked Australia. It wasn’t a bad film, just a tad too long and melodramatic to be as good as it could’ve been.

    1. I haven’t watched AUSTRALIA since that first screening, but I seem to remember the rogue cattle drive being a truly amazing sequence. If nothing else, the film deserves huge props for that!

      And I know what you’re saying about GATSBY epitomizing Hollywood Grandeur. As much as I can get lost in a low-budget indie, there’s much to be said about drowning in glitzy decadence.

  3. Australia certainly hasn’t soured me on Baz, even if it was only good, not great. I’ve been missing my dose of in your face stylization.

    1. AUSTRALIA didn’t sour me exactly, so much as it turned the volume down a bit after those first three gems – and specifically the fact that it followed his masterpiece.

  4. While I’m not a fan of the Jay Z/Kanye track, I do love this trailer for the way it looks. Plus, it is Baz Luhrmann. I was underwhelmed by Australia as well but I do love his Red Curtain trilogy as I will re-watch and review Moulin Rouge! to close out my Cannes marathon this Sunday.

    1. I actually really dig “No Church in The Wild”, but perhaps not for this clip. It also pales in comparison to the use of the Jack White “Love is Blindness” cover.

      Lookin’ forward to your thoughts on MOULIN ROUGE!

  5. I’m really freaking excited for this. Baz Luhrmann was probably my first real favourite director. I just read the book and it is officially my favourite book of all time. Apart from the 3D (but I hear that’s because he wants the film to have a more theatrical feel – like we were watching this film being performed), I think this could be really good.

    1. I went and picked myself up a copy of the book to replace the one I lost years ago – although the copy I grabbed was so crappy I feel like I want to get a replacement for the replacement! I haven’t read it in fourteen years or so, but I remember really loving it at the time.

      So far I’m all in for this – here’s hoping it lives up to the hype!

    2. He’s just a bit too spastic for me. Weird for the sake of being weird (making Mercutio a cross dresser?) Or long winded (Australia). I don’t hate his films, but I’d never buy them, for instance.

  7. This trailer makes my head spin. Obviously Baz doesn’t do subtle, but this is really over the top, even for him. I’m still optimistic about the movie though, I quite like the cast though I think Leo acts too much w/ his furrowed brows, ahah.

    1. It’s been more than a decade since the last time I read “Gatsby”, so I plan on re-reading it in the coming weeks. But that said, I seem to remember a point of the plot being that Gatsby is forever throwing these lavish parties.

      So in a way, going full-bore over the top might be more suited to the story than first meets the eye!

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