The Great Gatsby (1974)

 Perhaps overly faithful rendering of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name. This 'The Great Gatsby' has a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppolla, who you know, but was directed by Jack Clayton who you probably don't, there is probably a good reason for that. A real mixed bag, at times it works and at times it doesn't. I really liked a young Sam Waterson as the audience surrogate figure Nick Carraway, I also think the beautifully cheekboned Lois Chiles should have been in more movies. Much of the rest of the cast seems too focuse grouped (Robert Redford, Mia Farrow) and the film lacks much sense of emotion or stakes until towards the end. It reminded me in its often lathergic style of story telling of a network television mini series of the period, but with a bigger budget and a cast at prime or on its way up instead of down. Still the source material is strong and the talent manages to muddle through. **