Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
If you can't wait for the film adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" due in theaters this May, then you've probably watched the trailers numerous times.
Upon several viewings, it becomes apparent just how far director Baz Luhrmann went to make Gatsby's parties look like "the talk of the town," and it's little surprise why.
"The Great Gatsby" takes place in the summer of 1922. During this time, the U.S. was in an economic boom. World War I was over, soldiers returned home to work, and sales of automobiles were on the rise.
(Yes, it's also a Luhrmann film, and this is supposed to be the luxurious life of a mysterious millionaire, so naturally we have to prepare for the strange, the over-the-top, and, the zany.)
However, with rolled back income taxes on the wealthy during both the Harding and Coolidge administrations, the rich lived a life of consumption, one which is captured through the lens of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work.
It's no secret the main character, Gatsby, spares no expense on his lavish lifestyle. For example, the story notes that every Friday his West Egg mansion would receive five crates of oranges and lemons in preparation for the hundreds of guests he expected to cater each weekend.
However, from the trailers, Gatsby's parties contain much more than that.
Here are some of the more extravagent oddities we spotted.
If this is how the rich partied in the '20s, sign us up:
1. Human-sized Moet & Chandon champagne bottles.
Two bottles of the vintage sold for $8,225 at a 2004 Christies' auction in New York. (In case you're wondering, the vintage below was not available until 1936. As we said, the story takes place in the summer of 1922.)
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
2. A zebra (inflatable?) in the pool. We're slightly disappointed it's not real.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
3. A full-blown orchestra, filled with oboes and trombones, saxophones and high drums just like in the novel.
And, if you look closely, you can spot another zebra (or the same one from earlier) in the top right corner.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
4. Giant butterflies ...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
5. Over-sized ice sculptures holding women dressed as merpeople ...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
6. High-flying acrobats
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performed acts through the '20s at Madison Square Garden involving high-wire acts with trapeze artists.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Luhrmann even included the twins dressed like babies with giant pacifiers from the book.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.