Gone With the Wind

Rating:
Summary: RACIST TRIPE
Review: Even if one grants that GWTW is a product of its time, it remains a deeply racist (and sexist) movie that inculcates its viewers with a longing for a past that never truly was. In all the positive reviews below, not one person seems willing to step up and defend this shockingly ugly film. GWTW should be viewed not as a wonderful romantic film, but as the racist document that it is. Certainly we can acknowledge the power and historical significance of a film like "Birth of a Naiton" and, at the same time, deplore its racist content. GWTW is a far more offensive film for sugarcoating its racism and making it palatable to generations.

Everyone who loves this film should be required to give a good hard read of 'Cold Mountain', a more representative view of Southern 'gentlemen'.

Now, as far as the paltry 'extras' on the DVD, if I were seeking any extras it would be a documentary about the true nature of the south and slavery, not the fairy tale 'Lost World' presented in this flick. It is sad that far too many people view this film as an accurate reflection of the antebellum South (the filmmakers among them) and not as fantasy with all the realism of the Land of Oz from that other film released in the same year.

That said, the film's other painful flaws involve Vivien Leigh's patented portrayal of a mentally ill woman (see Streetcar Named Desire), without acknowledging that she has deep and serious psychological problems that need to be addressed (not the least of which is her joyful response to having been raped).

Olivia de Havilland's exceptionally bland performance of a 'saint' makes her character appear mentally retarded, but a perfect match for the non-performance of Leslie Howard as Ashley.

I, personally, found Clark Gable's performance the only truly satisfying performance in the film. Although why he is attracted by that ninny, I'll never know.

I put off watching GWTW for many years and now I'm somewhat sorry I have seen it. I'm even more sorry that it doesn't come with a warning label reading "Racist fantasy enclosed" if it need be available at all.

Rating:
Summary: Quite frankly the greatest motion picture ever made
Review: This movie is a classic, a great masterpiece of cinematic genius. This movie has everything, one minute you can be laughing the next crying your eyes out. This a wonderful epic, charting the life of Miss Scarlet O'Hara, Vivien Leigh was beautifully cast in the role and she portrays Margaret Mitchell's character with great talent. This is an excellent movie.

Rating:
Summary: Best Film of All Time
Review: Gone with the Wind is by far my favorite movie of all time. I have seen this film 32 times, and it simply gets better and better. A classic story of the Old South, told from a different viewpoint. Some critics complain of how long this movie is, but it's well worth the four hours. Anyone that views it will instantly fall in love forever with the profound and glorious Gone with the Wind.

Rating:
Summary: defines the word "EPIC"
Review: Still holds up! We take color movies (and TV) for granted today...can you imagine what a splash that movie was SIX DECADES AGO?? Had the opportunity to see it on the big screen in the late '80s; well worth it. My only problem with the movie is Ashley. Are we supposed to believe that Scarlett was in love with this dud all those years? (Haven't read the book...he must have been better there.)

Rating:
Summary: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT
Review: Hey Hey Hey, don't be gay and see this movie like everyone eles. It stunk. Yeah I said it stunk, now leave me alone.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest movies of all time
Review: GWTW is a film one can see time and again. Margaret Mitchell's epic tale sweeps you along in all its majesty. The characters are so well drawn. One feels sympathy for Rhett and one wants to shake Scarlett. As the viewer soon realises Scarlett is really in love with Rhett not Ashley, only she can't see this. Melanie is such a wonderful character and every woman who sees the movie must surely feel she would like the fine loving nature of this star. It would be impossible to remake this movie. All the love and dedication that went into every facet. David Selznick put heart and soul into the making of this film. Determined every detail would be correct. The cost to reproduce it would be prohibitive. It is a film "for all time". Just as beautiful and stirring now as it was 6O years ago. New audiences will enjoy it as others did and continue to do.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie-movie? Yup. Work of art? Hmmm...
Review: "Gone With the Wind" seems beyond criticism, so central is it to the mythos of American filmmaking. It's huge, grand, sweeping, ambitious, diligent, and a little stupid around the edges. But it's certainly an eye- and earful. Consider it a guilty pleasure.

Note to some critics of the DVD: Many have carped that the DVD is short on extras: True enough. But a widescreen version isn't one of them. Like virtually all films of its time, GWTW was shot using an aspect ratio that was pretty close to that of the modern tv screen. In the 1960's the film was rereleased in a widescreen version that was created by lopping off information at the top and the bottom of each frame; in other words, the new version contained less visual info than the old and pretty much wrecked the original's meticulous composition and art direction. It's a joke, and it doesn't belong on the DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Always the best.
Review: Although I do like the book better, the movie of GWTW is probably one of the best of all time. I've been reading all the other reviews on this, and I'd just like to say to all the people who don't like this movie, whose reason is it's too long, Titanic, is almost as long as GWTW. Length is not a good way to rate a movie.

Rating:
Summary: A must-see, movie milestone diminished on video!
Review: GWTW was a watershed event in film history. Released at literally the end of 1939, it proved to be the crowning film achievement of the 1930s and paved the way for later films - especially color - in the 1940s and thereafter. However, the film was made for the wide-screen. Its vastness and scope is greatly diminished on the small screen which also reduces the storyline to a soap-opera quality, especially Part. 2. The limited clarity of video further detracts from the amazing color techniques achieved at the time without use of computer enhancements. At least try DVD!. If it ever is released in theaters again, run to it. You'll appreciate fully why audiences of the day gasped in amazement as the giant film title rolled boldly across the big screen or when the camera boom pulled back to show the dying South's thousands of wounded at the train depot. Scarlett's only redeeming quality, her steely grit, is also lost on the small screen but is amplified fully as she towers like a giant on the wide-screen and declares, "I'll never go hungry again!". The effect is overwhelming, but completely lost on video or TV showings with commercials (further diminishing). Hate to say it viewers, but if you haven't seen GWTW in theaters, you really haven't experienced the full majesty of its power, scope and greatness which is the medium its makers designed it to be seen in.

Rating:
Summary: Very Long Movie
Review: I like this movie a lot.It is the best movie in color.In the 1930s this movie is sad and happy this movie was made in 1939.My mother gave me this movie for Christmas.My stepdad gave me Look Who's Talking Too that is a S-T-U-P-I-D movie.