Blu-ray

Baz Luhrmann was asking for trouble when he decided to throw his hat in the ring as the latest filmmaker to try and adapt F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary, but rather short, classic for the big screen. Could a director best known for showmanship and emotions writ large really get to grips with the poetry and nuances of Fitzgerald's Jazz Age cautionary tale?

For the most part he succeeds. The cast (particularly DiCaprio as Gatsby) is exceptional and the lavish staging absolutely captures the soulless extravagance at the heart of Fitzgerald's story. Yet Luhrmann's 'theatrical' handling of the material also serves to keep viewers removed from the emotional core of the characters, skimming over the surface.

Picture: The Great Gatsby? Pah! It's more like The Flippin' Spectacular Gatsby when it comes to this 3D Blu-ray's sumptuous stereoscopic visuals.

As the lattice of golden-hued metal in the film's Art Deco opening titles starts to extend back into the screen, the disc's MVC 2.40:1 1080p 3D encode draws you into the heart of Luhrmann's opulent vision of the 1920s. Rarely does a scene go by that doesn't make some eye-catching use of the format, layering images and text across one another.

Both presentations of The Great Gatsby (the 'flat' AVC 2.40:1 1080p version gets its own platter in the set) work hard to reproduce the film's faux two-strip-Technicolor aesthetics. To this end, pinks and blues are pushed up in the palette, which tends to give the cast a fairly ruddy complexion. However, this isn't done to the detriment of the rest of the palette or the limitless depth of the blacks on show. An absolute stonker.
Picture rating: 5/5

Audio: Both Blu-ray presentations of the film feature the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix – and it sounds fantastic.

The Great Gatsby's blend of '20s music and contemporary hip hop (courtesy of megastar Jay-Z) might not suit everyone, but Warner's Blu-ray recreates this musical mashup astutely in your home, with pulsating beats and insistent instrumentation. And when the soundstage isn't awash with music, its superbly deployed to bring the film's East Coast locations to life.

Against all of this, you might expect some dialogue to get lost in the aural maelstrom. But the soundtrack's tight control of the entire soundstage ensures that dialogue is prioritised at all times and remains intelligible.
Audio rating: 5/5

Extras:In the absence of a commentary track it falls to 11 featurettes to explore the making of the film. Five of the these (collected together under Gatsby Revealed) focus on the making of key scenes. The other six deal with the origins of the project, Tobey Maguire's on-set videos, the music, the fashion, a look back at the 'roaring 20s' and how the challenge of bringing Fitzgerald's writing to the screen inspired the film's stereoscopic 'visual poetry'.

Also included are four deleted scenes and a trailer for a lost 1926 film adaptation of the book. Overall, it's a middling selection.
Extras rating: 3/5

We say: Baz Luhrmann's Gatsby truly is 'great' - at least as far as picture and sound are concerned

The Great Gatsby 3D, Warner Home Video, All-region BD, £28 Approx
HCC VERDICT: 4/5