Baz Luhrmann The Great Gatsby Essay

From Jazz music which can be heard in both The Great Gatsby and Australia to electro juke-box music which can be hard in the film Romeo+Juliet, music will always be heard in Baz Luhrmanns films. The following essay will critically analyse the above statement through the specific scenes of Baz Luhrmanns movies including The Great Gatsby and Australia and will ultimately show how Baz Luhrmann has been able to smuggle music back into the modern day cinema which has reinvigorated this genre for today’s audiences.

Baz Luhrmann has many ways in which he uses music in his films. One of these being the use of modern music to bring life to what seems an older storyline. In The Great Gatsby the use of modern music is exaggerated due to the fact that Jay-Z is the executive music producer. Jay-Z is well known rapper and has many famous collaboration with artists such as Beyoncé and Fergie, these

collaborations are used in the movie The Great Gatsby.

Another example is in the film Australia where Lady Ashley can be seen singing Nullah a very famous song from the modern day remake of the film The Wizard of Oz. This song is known as Over the Rainbow .Baz Luhrmann uses different genres of music in one film. For example in The Great Gatsby the use of both Jazz and pop music is evident, however in the film Australia it is slightly different because both olden day music and modern music is used in the film. This allows the music in the film to appeal both to the younger generation and the older generation. Baz Luhrmann uses music to manipulate the viewer’s emotions. He does this by using music that has different tempos throughout his films, therefore emphasising a climax or anti-climax in the film. An example of this is in the film Australia where we witness the main characters running away from the fire set by Carney’s men. The music changes to a very fast tempo giving the viewer a hint that something is about to happen. In

the film The Great Gatsby the viewer can notice in one of the very first scene a lavish party hosted by Jay Gatsby is portrayed accompanied by a very upbeat song. For Baz Luhrmann music is a very big part of his films. In an interview held by ABC World news Baz Luhrmann can be heard saying that he writes his scripts while listening to the music that he would ideally want for that specific film. Baz Luhrmann can also be heard saying that he produces an accompanying music album that can be bought with his films.
Baz Luhrmann speaks to his viewers through the music that accompanies his films. He does this by encouraging his main actors to sing in the songs that are played in the films, creating a sort of voice over, this allows the audience to feel as if they are being directly spoken to through song. Baz Luhrmann has smuggled music into his films in many ways especially the film Australia and The Great Gatsby, thus has in turn reinvigorated this genre for a modern audience. With all these ways been explained I therefore agree with the statement.