The last time “The Great Gatsby” was interpreted on the big screen was in 1974.  It was directed by Jack Clayton and starred Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway and Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby.  It was the first time F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel was adapted in color film and was one of the most anticipated releases that year.  It was expected to be the best film of the decade. It was awful. 

The script was boring and many of the subtleties that make the book great were ignored.  In fact, this interpretation was so dreadful that it made many question if the original work is overrated. 

Fast forward to present day. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Gatsby in a Baz Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge“) remake of the story– an undertaking that reminds us all why Fitzgerald’s classic is, well, a classic.

Bright colors and extravagant imagery characterize this flick. The elaborate scenery, paired with the incredible cast, make this film appealing to a broad audience.

What was truly revolutionary about the creation of this movie, however, was the choice in music.  During the ’20s, there was an underground movement of sorts with a brand new genre: jazz.  Prohibition was instituted by this time and jazz was squeezing its way to the forefront by infiltrating the speakeasies.  In the roaring ’20s, jazz came to represent everything that was dangerous, intoxicating and thrilling.

Director Baz Luhrmann wanted to convey this feeling in a way that his audience would understand, so he chose to infuse hip-hop music to represent the mood of jazz in this era.  He likened the early stages of jazz to how hip-hop started out 20 years ago. Luhrmann felt modern viewers could relate more to this arrangement. 

Luhrmann sought out JAY Z during a recording session and asked if he would be willing to work with him on this film.  JAY Z loved the idea and was able to let his creativity run wild.

In an interview with MTV, he commented on the role of music in this movie.

“I like to think of it as a character, because it is so interwoven into the storyline,” JAY Z said.

He, along with other popular artists such as Lana Del Ray, will.i.am., Beyonce and Florence and the Machine were able to come together to seamlessly fuse two different generations of music together- a feat that is not easy to achieve. 

Using hip-hop in a movie that was set in a time before it existed was a risky move, but it made the story come alive and added more effect than expected.  The final product is a film that uses an even balance of great writing, acting and music to be exciting, thrilling and unexpected.