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Gone With the Wind

Gone With the Wind

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Poor history
Review: GONE WITH THE WIND the movie is ok as a movie but a lot of people think that out of knee jerk reactions.
The silly remakrs by Rhett about the North being "richer" or having more men to send into battle was FALSE.
4 MILLION BLACK SLAVES (at least half men) were used by the Confederates for the dangerous and/or dirty tasks and the South had a lot of foreign EMPIRES in their pocket including the British one.
Indeed it was Abe Lincolns tender heartedness that let the South advance a little too far -- and see how they paid him back!
Shot him from behind and then rang "church" bells when they heard the news...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Shines...
Review: Dazzling in its eloquency...spans the entire gamut of human emotions while spinning a tale of bygone days...
A must see.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Gone with the Wind's" racism detracts from its greatness
Review: David O. Selznick's 1939 "Gone with the Wind" is a great movie. The production qualities alone far surpass the standards of that long ago era. It was filmed in color, a very expensive and difficult process. The advanced sound quality brought an incomparable realism to the screen. "Gone with the Wind" is admittedly not a meticulous historical study. Martha Mitchell's novel turned to film, though, did highlight the cocky attitude of the agrarian South before it entered into war with the North. There is one early scene that demands our rapt attention. Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) is conversing with some Confederate lads who think that a victory over the hated Yankees will be quick and easy. Not so, says the more realistic Butler. The industrial North is far wealthier and has a larger population of men to send into battle. A fight almost erupts between Rhett Butler and a hotheaded youth who is enraged that he does not also share their reckless confidence. The latter's mind-set clearly dominated the thinking of the South's male leaders who couldn't begin to imagine the horror that imminently lay ahead.

"Gone with the Wind" is built around the self-centered and pampered Scarlett O'Hara. In many ways this aristocratic beauty is a feminist before her time. She is a woman who knows how to deal with the male chauvinists of the business world. She may not have the right to vote, but politicians sit up and take notice of this brash southern belle. Unfortunately, Scarlett's selfishness and mean spirited manipulation of everyone around her is outrageous. Vivien Leigh is superb as a woman deserving of our contempt. She loves Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) but has lost him to another woman. Scarlett goes through a number of wealthy men before marrying Rhett Butler. He adores her, but Scarlett barely gives him the time of day. We view their efforts to conquer adversity and hardship in both the ante and postbellum South. Will they be able to save the Georgian family plantation, Tara? Can they do so and still remain halfway moral and civilized?

The movie's racist overtones cannot be ignored. They are fortunately nowhere as vile as the evil masterpiece "Birth of the Nation." The earlier D.W. Griffith's 1915 production blatantly presented the Ku Klux Klan in a positive light, and portrayed blacks as deceitful and less than fully human. "Gone with the Wind" only indirectly referred to a Klan type group as the savior of the alleged beleaguered white establishment. Hattie McDaniel received an Academy Award for her supporting actresss role as the servant, Mammy. She earned this honor for portraying a black woman who has no real life of her own. Mammy's existential purpose is to give of herself totally to the whims and caprices of her white masters. "Gone with the Wind" deserves a five star rating. Nonetheless, increasingly it is not merely a magnificent work of art---it is also a stark reminder of how far America has progressed in the last sixty three years.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It was Okay!
Review: This is one of my mom's favorite movies and she could watch this one again but though I thought it was good once was enough for me and there are a lot of old classic movies that just appeal to me a lot more!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Greatest Romance Story of All Time
Review: Looking for a movie about the Civil War or Slave Days or even Reconstruction. Then stay away from this movie. You aren't going to see battle scenes or get a history lesson of any sort. This movie isn't about the Civil War. It's a story which just happens to take place during the Civil War. Other than the time period, it has nothing to do with the Civil War.

The story is actually about a young woman who marries twice for all the wrong reasons, is forced to grow up and do a man's job, and finally realizes that while she thought her happiness was just out of her grasp it was right in front of her the whole time. In other words, it's a love story.

If you want something which is more about the Civil War, yet has side stories going on, I recommend the Blue and the Gray or North and South. Otherwise, go find a documentary.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A brilliant film
Review: I've seen this film several times and I never get tired of watching it. From the brilliant colors and set designs to the characters and costumes, this movie has lost none of what makes it a classic. Vivien Leigh was perfect for the role of Scarlet O'Hara, taking the character from a spoiled youth to a woman, who through war and death, has seen the grimmer aspects of life. Leigh, with those incredible eyes and with wonderful facial expressions is hypnotic through out. Clark Gable, Hattie McDaniel, and Olivia De Havilland perfectly play the roles of Rhett, Mammy, and Melanie but it is Leigh that is really the star of this film. Ashley portrayed by Leslie Howard has always been a character that annoyed me and makes me wonder what Scarlet ever saw in him. You may have to put your politically correct views aside to see the film but by watching it, you will realize what a cinematic classic it really is.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Classic Classic of Classics
Review: How can anyone seriously criticize this film? Well, some people can, but that's not my point. The point is that this is the greatest American film since "Birth of a Nation." Watch in awe as Scarlett and Ashley pine for the bygone days when the soft high sound of Negro laughter rises like the Louisiana marsh mist from the decrepit, rat-infested slave quarters swimming in lice and feces. Chortle with Rhett as he sprays misogyny across Georgia like an alley cat with a urinary tract infection. Pray with the Confederacy as it bravely attempts to defend time-honored traditions of patriarchal subjugation, racist contempt for human life and belligerent arrogance bordering on the psychotic. Boo and hiss as uppity Negroes humiliate the once proud South by asking for things like civil rights and a decent standard of living. Cheer for Scarlett (again) as she pops all her scruples like over-ripe zits in her pathological quest for a goal even she doesn't understand. And finally, share in the triumph of the filmmakers as they achieve the astounding feat of creating sympathy and admiration for one of the most sordid and shameful chapters in American history. Can you think of any reason modern audiences might not be totally pleased with this sugar-coated atavism? I sure can't.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Needs restoration to get 5 star rating
Review: To be honest, I was disappointed with the quality of the DVD version of this film. I've come to expect better quality on a DVD than what I'd see if a film were on television, but I couldn't see much, if any, difference. Maybe someone will undertake a comprehensive restoration like the one done on "My Fair Lady," which is visually "lov-ah-ly" now. Without such a restoration, this version is not tops in my book. Yes, I know it is much older than MFL, but it deserves the top-notch treatment too.

It gets a 4 star rating because the movie itself is so wonderful, you can forgive a lot of other problems. Scarlett is a character you love to hate; Rhett's the racy scoundrel you know will age into a man with more deliberate excitement; Ashley is the passive-but-passionate man who only does what is necessary; and Melanie is the sweet glue that binds all these disparate characters together, even when they don't really want to like each other. A fabulous cast for a fabulous story about an often misunderstood era.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This Movie Will Always Be Immune to Criticism
Review: It's great that people try to write contemporary perceptions of what is arguably our greatest film-what they liked and didn't like-if it held their attention or not etc. Ostensibly it doesn't matter, because GWTW has confounded even its most vicious critics by being so very alive with human emotion.
Is the structure creaky and are the special effects surpassed? Some sophisticated viewers may think so-but I bet there are a lot of effects that they don't realize are studio. Sure, a number of story turns -like real life-aren't even.
The theme is survival of disillusionment of one's heart and values. When will that ever go out of fashion?
Margaret Mitchell took issue with those who wrote critiques of what her story didn't say-the slave viewpoint, the prejudice-because that didn't address what she did say. I have to declare this movie is very post-modern since it still incites those debates. But you might as well say why wasn't the issue Aunt Pitty and her spinsterhood and why not examine her fluttering airs and what her role as a financial burden on her family was? Is she a stereotype?
Let's face it, this concerns a girl whose unrequited love and self-obsession leads her into character forming situations that make for excellent humor and drama. It's her story and no one else's, really. Mammy may not be the focus, but she's really Scarlett's mother-the only one with any insight-and intimacy with Scarlett-that black/white relationship was a first for it's time in its candor and closeness-we get more equality today, but how often do we get a sense of real caring between two women of different races ("Any Day Now" is about it). Melanie is the heart. Rhett the brain. Ashley the (lack of) courage. Like Dorothy, Scarlett will in the end just want to go home. But what a journey back there!
Many men will hate her and not follow her story--let them go to "Casablanca" for their vulnerability factor. Still, it's her viewpoint and her travails that will keep this film evergreen and add to it the perfect performance of Vivien Leigh and the rest of the splendid cast and you've got one critic-proof film. Political in inclusions and omissions? You bet, just like all our lives-we see mostly our way and not too much around us. But, as Winston Churchill said about this film, it would be difficult not to be "pulverised by the force of emotions". For it really is that persistence of vision in Scarlett-as maddening as she might be- that makes this film one for the collective heart.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic tale of the Old South
Review: What's to say? It's Gone With The Wind, a classic Hollywood movie. Unless your favorite food group is bubble gum, you need this in your collection.


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