Jack Clayton was known for being very choosy as a director, and had only directed a few British films (to much acclaim) by the time he was tapped to direct The Great Gatsby. After some early success, Clayton had trouble finishing the films he directed between 1968 and 1982, but Gatsby was an exception.
During filming, Clayton was restricted in how he could shoot Mia Farrow as she was pregnant during filming and had to be shot primarily in closeups. Clayton used high fill and overhead lighting to create a sense of magic in the monied, privileged lives of his characters. He also freely used lighting and ingenious photographic techniques to highlight the interior lives of his characters. Clayton creates a palate and a visual world that is sublime, almost heavenly at times, which illuminates the beautiful lives of the rich and famous, while also contrasting with their tragic ends.
While critics did not take to the film very well, it did well at the box office, and earned the high praise of one of the vanguards of American theatre, Tennessee Williams, who referred to Jack Clayton as a "cinematic master of direction."
