Press release:
Romance and mystery are timeless, but the clash between wealth and poverty seems as timely as today’s news about unemployment and executive bonuses, so F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 85-year-old novel The Great Gatsby is both timeless and timely.
The classic novel is the PeoriaReads! pick for this year, and besides various events at the Peoria Public Library and Common Place, the Apollo Theater on Friday, March 12 will screen one of Hollywood’s most memorable adaptations, 1974’s version with Robert Redford as the title character.
Paramount’s lush, colorful film version also stars Mia Farrow, Sam Waterston, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson and Karen Black in her Golden Globe-winning performance. The Jazz Age story revolves around a mysterious millionaire who crashes Long Island’s upper-class society and hosts lavish parties for the rich while he pines for an impetuous and immature married woman.
Soon, the Roaring Twenties are exposed as a time of new wealth and old habits, as lust, jealousy and infidelity collide in a tragic climax.
With a script by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and a score by Nelson Riddle, the film benefits from superb acting and able direction by Jack Clayton. The novel previously was filmed in a 1926 silent version starring Warner Baxter, in 1949 with Alan Ladd, and a made-for-TV movie on A&E in 2001.
Other PeoriaReads! activities are detailed online at http://www.bigreadpeoriareads.org/
Showtimes are at 7 p.m., and the Apollo’s suggested donation is $5 and $4 for kids, students and seniors. For details call (309) 673-4343.
 |
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
I suppose this is axiomatic, but I'll say it anyway: the book is much better than the movie.
They say, "Paramount’s lush, colorful film version…" Does that mean they've gone back to showing actual film prints at the Apollo? Or are they still showing DVDs on an LCD projector, like a PowerPoint presentation? If they're not showing film, don't waste your money. The Normal Theater in Normal, IL, still shows actual film prints. They're showing Gone With the Wind March 13 & 14!
Do you have the cash to pay for a new projector? Do you have the cash to pay someone to operate it?
The Apollo situation is what it is. Stop casting stones at these volunteers and movie lovers.
And "Gone with the Wind" is hopelessly racist.