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The Great Gatsby

Learn English with this movies English lesson

Date: Jun 24 2013

Themes: Pop Culture

Grammar: Second Conditional

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Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a classic American novel. It tells the story of a wealthy man named Gatsby and his lifelong love of a woman named Daisy. It’s also a story of the American Dream, and the ways in which wealth can corrupt individuals. The story is told from the point of view of Gatsby’s neighbor, Nick Carraway.

Film director Baz Luhrmann has just made a new adaptation of Gatsby. Known for creating surreal and vivid films, Luhrmann has taken a lot of liberties with the text of the original book. Find out what Greta and Lily think about Luhrmann’s film in this movies English lesson.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Greta

Lily

Greta: Lily, have you seen the new Great Gatsby movie?

Lily: Yeah! It was really fun.

Greta: Really?

Lily: Yeah. Lots of different papers and blogs and stuff like that have given it weird reviews because it’s an adaptation, it’s not super 100% faithful to the book.

Greta: I have a little sign in my office that says “The book was better.” Just in general. And I tend to believe that books are generally better than the movies that are made based on those books.

Lily: But I think the director, Baz Luhrmann, did a really fun thing with it and made it really live both in the Roaring 20s and now. It was really fun, I liked it a lot.

Greta: I will say that the commercials for it, the previews… it just looks like eye candy. It’s so beautiful and bright and overwhelming in terms of its visual appeal. So I could see enjoying it if I were able to let go of the fact that it sounds like Baz Luhrmann has taken a lot of liberties with the actual story. And the thing about The Great Gatsby is that it’s a wonderful story.

Lily: That’s very true. It’s a classic American tale, you know.

Greta: Alright. Well, maybe we should see it together.

Lily: Yeah, let’s do it!

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Discussion

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Lily has seen the new movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby, and she really liked it. She realizes that it has not gotten great reviews, but she thinks that’s because Baz Luhrmann took some liberties with his adaptation. She thinks, though, that he did a great job making a movie about the 1920s that is still relevant today.

Greta usually prefers books to the movies that are based on them. Still, she thinks that the new Gatsby movie looks beautiful. She thinks that maybe if she can let go of wishing the movie were just like the book, she could enjoy it.

Both Lily and Greta agree that The Great Gatsby, in movie or book form, is a classic American story. Not even a creative adaptation can change that.

Have you read or seen The Great Gatsby? Do you usually prefer a book or a movie version of something? What are the classic books from your country?

Comments

ola33

Japan

i greatly enjoyed watching Great Gatsby. The movie did’n step away from the book. I’d give the director an Oscar. When read a book, you feel with the main characters, the scenes unfold in your mind, you just step into a new reality and when that wonderful feeling enhances by the movie it’s a real treat.
Unfortunately I couldn’t feel the same watching adaption Theatre by Somerset Maugham. It wasn’t good at all. It was a complete mess.

shaerwan

Syrian Arab Republic

i havnt seen it

and i love the movie version

Stephieee

Poland

I’m going to watch The Great Gatsby, cuz I like some films with Leonardo DiCaprio and the climate of the 20s. And some classic books from Poland, so Sienkiewicz, Mickiewicz, Słowacki – everybody in Poland knows their books. I often prefer reading a book before watching a movie.

hoosan

United States

Would you send yourself to space ?

http://youtu.be/1K2ZA5VIFgM

rara_fe

Indonesia

the truth I haven’t read about the great gatsby. so, I don’t know well about that story, I just know that after read this lesson.

I prefer a movie version of something.

3emma3

Iraq

Reading The Great Getsby is something amazing. The language and the style of the writer captured you till the end of the story. On the surface the novel is romantic but it goes further than romantic scope. The Great Gatsby shows the decadence of social and moral values of that period and the pursuit for false happiness.

I agree with Greta I also like the movie which is a piece of eye candy and the director has taken a lot of liberties with the text plus I like Leonadro Dicapreo. I will tell a secret usually Im not so patient to read long novels and prefer watching movies.

DarknessLight

Germany

I read the book, for my studies, that’s why I didn’t really like it. You know when your read something a thousand times and you consider doing it an obligation you won’t enjoy it. I never liked the books we take in college, because I don’t have a choice, I’m like..forced to read them, and you never enjoy doing what you’re forced to do.

I Always prefer the book, no matter how great the movie was; for two reasons, the first is that I enjoy reading books more than watching movies and the second is that the book is the original version of the story, and in the movie they might change and cut some scenes which could be frustrating! So books FTW! :D

vanessa307

Viet Nam

I’ve read this book in English but have not finished it yet . The book was not really as good as the movie . i’ve seen the trailer of the Great Gatsby. it was good and visual eye candy.

alzhbeta

Belarus

The great Gatsby is a wonderful book! And when I saw the movie i really enjoyed. Buz Luhrmann depicted a great vision of it and showed the main idea. I can’t surely say what I prefer most. Because it always depends on a particular book and on particular movie. But here I like both of them. The book is full of facts and Fitzgerald’s language has to be enjoyed! And the movie is totally great! It is colourful story about the roaring 20s, East Egg and West Egg, about wealthy but spiritless people and american dream in the name of great love but in short.

Some of the greatest classic books in our country are “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy, “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevskiy

drallon

China

I have’t read and seen The Great Gatsby.I like seen the movie which is based on the book,because the movie can give me vision shockcing and visual pictures,but the book can give us imagine and more vivid than the movie though I don’t like the book very much.

merllan

Bulgaria

I haven’t read and seen The Great Gatsby. I usually prefer a book version of something. In my country the best classic books are ” Damned souls”, “Tobacco”, “Mr. Ganyo”, “Gerats” and ” The iron candlestick” .