Gone With the Wind

Rating:
Summary: The Blue and the Gray and Scarlett
Review: Recently I looked up in Amazon.com the customer reviews for Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel "Gone With the Wind". There were 308. Next I looked up the customer reviews for Antoine François Prévost's 1732 novel "Manon Lescaut". There were 2. Here's the point: 200 years ago the Abbé Prévosts's book was as tremendously popular, as universally famaliar as Miss Mitchell's novel has been in the second half of the 20th Century. I suspect that, as "Manon Lescaut" is today primarily known through the operatic versions of Massenet and Puccini, by the end of the 21st Century "Gone With the Wind" may well be known to the masses primarily through the cinematic version of David O Selznick. That's why it's important that the film be evaluated on its own terms. Is "Gone With the Wind" a great film? Well, it is permanently absorbing and entertaining (in the elevated sense) like any true work of art, be it the Iliad or Beethoven's Ninth. The story of a spoiled Southern belle living through the horrors of Civil War and the shame of Occupation is still sharply relevant. Read today's news stories. Released at the beginning of World War II in 1939, the annus mirabilis of Hollywood, "GWTW" is certainly the opus mirabilis of that year of wonders. Large, colorful, richly romantic,it is the apogee of Hollywood professionalism. It does not really do much for the auteur theory: at least three directors worked on it. Victor Fleming gets screen credit, though there are cinéasts who think the movie would have been greater had it been completed by its original director George Cukor. But I think this is first and foremost a producer's picture. Every aspect, from the graceful winding of the Twelve Oaks staircase to the famous crane shot of the tragic train depot, says "Selznick". Even Max Steiner's iconic score seems to have been controlled by the producer. The cast, of course, is legendary. Vivien Leigh was the perfect actress to play Scarlett O'Hara. A shrewd woman who realizes she is living in a man's world, Scarlett can be a purring kitten one minute and a snarling tiger the next. Miss Leigh handles both sides with conviction. In Rhett Butler, Clark Gable found the role that might have been written for him. Actually, I've always suspected Miss Mitchell had Gable in mind when she created Captain Butler. The tempestuous relationship between Scarlett and Rhett provides the screen with a sensually cynical dissonance. The scene where Rhett finally proposes to Scarlett -- she's drunk, he's sardonic, wearing a sprig from her late husband's funeral wreath -- is fairly shocking, much more so than the marital abduction up the Atlanta mansion's staircase and Scarlett's morning-after humming. (There is evidently a theory about the leitmotif of staircases in Sidney Howard's screenplay.) Olivia deHavilland is courageously bland as Melanie Hamilton. Her carriage meeting with Belle Watling (the wonderfully garish Ona Munson) is one of the movie's most poignant scenes. The only flaw in the casting is Leslie Howard, much too old to portray Ashley Wilkes. With all the hoopla over finding the right woman to play Scarlett, Selznick couldn't find an appropriate young actor to fill such an important role? The oddest casting is Eddie Anderson as the white-haired, doddering Uncle Peter. In fact, Eddie Anderson was several years younger than Gable. Moving serenely through the whole story is Hattie McDaniel as the bossy but benign Mammy. It is a great tribute to the Academy that she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Vivien Leigh's Scarlett won Best Actress, and the production itself won Best Picture. This is not a kids' picture. This is not a "date movie". This is an adult adventure about conflict on several levels, and as such ... yes, "Gone With the Wind" is a great film.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing movie for it's time.
Review: Gone With the Wind is an amazing movie for the time it was made in. Up until then, no other movie had been made like it and it's still one of the most popular movies ever. Gone With the Wind is an epic and everything about it is outstanding from the direction to the camerawork to the scenery. Such a lot of work went into making it and it certainly paid off. The actors and the characters they played were very good and most of them are very likeable. Clark Gable was very good considering that he didn't even want to be in the movie. And it took forever but they searched and searched and finally found the right person to play Scarlet O'Hara.

But to fully appreciate Gone With the Wind, you must see the making of it. After I saw it, I realised that such a lot of unnoticed work had gone into it and everything was so stressed out over. Parts of the script were rewritten time and time again to improve it constantly. Scenes were shot over and over again and the colours of the sky and the horizon were chosen to make the movie seem duller to fit with the depression of the story. A lot of the scenes were combined with painted backgrounds and they're done so well that you would never even know. And they're just a few examples. When you hear about all the work that went into it, it makes Gone With the Wind even better and it also makes you appreciate it even more. (It also makes you wonder how they ever got it finished.) But Gone With the Wind, as well as the making of it, are both very good. I almost can't believe that it was made in 1939.

Rating:
Summary: Forget Citizen Kane, for my money GWTW is #1
Review: Now don't get me wrong, Citizen Kane is not a good movie, it is a great one. But there is NO comparison to Gone With The Wind. The story aside, the cinematography is still the best to date of any film I have ever seen. The color's are so vibrant you think you are going to fall right into the scene. Now, couple that with a story that gives you some of the greatest characters to ever be put to film. I could put pages down just on the characters alone. Vivien Leigh protrays Scarlet with just the right balance of selfish, self centeredness and humanity. Scarlet is the type of character you are supposed to dislike strongly, but you find yourself enamored with her all the same. Much the same can be said of Clark Gable's Rhett. A womanizing so called gentleman, hell bent on self preservation above all else. Yet at the same time, he becomes deeply devoted to Scarlet and Bonnie, wanting only to spoil them rotten. These are the things that give these characters life, making them all the more real for their faults. I won't bog you down with a plot summary since they are readily available to the poor souls who haven't seen the film. The story does bring all your emotions come into play. There are sad times and happy. There are funny moments and somber. All against the back drop of the Civil War (or as we like to call it in the South: "The War of Northern Aggression" haha). Also, the best shot, directed and produced film of all time in my opinion. After you see this film, it will likely be the movie you judge all others by. Pick up a copy today, after all, "Tomorrow's another day".

Rating:
Summary: Can't believe it, What's Old is New Again, BUT IS IT REALLY?
Review: I was so excited, when my wife gave me permission to purchase a new DVD Changer. Finally, after all those years of hearing about the improvements to GONE WITH THE WIND, re-mastering and all that, we would, at last, be able to experience, for ourselves, the greatness of it all. WHEN right in the middle, the movie stops, so we may turn it over. THAT'S RIGHT, can you believe it- ALL that money was spent AND THEY FORGOT TO MAKE IT DUAL LAYER! What a "bummer," this great movie on DVD is a "FLIPPER!" By the way, my copy is the newer version, with extras, and the "keep case." I really think that Turner should offer to make this right. I would GLADLY pay the extra cost, not to have to flip it over in the middle. Hey guys, it is a great movie, HOW ABOUT RELEASING IT AGAIN, this time "dual layer" -OK!

Rating:
Summary: This IS "full screen/widescreen"
Review: (Here's the info from the Internet on why this 1.33:1 DVD of GWTW REALLY IS the "widescreen" version - indeed, the ONLY fullframe version you will get)

"Older" movies (roughly up until the 1950's) used to be shot flat with a ratio very close to 4:3 (1.33:1). Thus, a 1.33:1 DVD of those movies will be perfectly acceptable, since no part of the image is being cropped for the TV display. An example of this would be "Gone With the Wind." It wasn't until TV became more popular that the movie studios had to find a way to draw people into the theaters; one of the ways they did this was by introducing widescreen pictures. In fact, in the case of GWTW, a widescreen version was later released to theaters, but in order to get it they had to crop the top and bottom of the full frame! So, if you want the full picture content as intended by the director, the proper aspect ratio for GWTW is 1.33:1.

Rating:
Summary: Simply A Gem....Perhaps Even THE Gem!!!!!
Review: What can one say of GWTW that has not been said before? It IS the greatest film of all time, the best epic, the best example of supreme storytelling through film.

It has the rare gift that makes it in a league all its own...the Crown Jewel of the Hollywood legend.

The eternal romance of Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) is still capable of drawing the crowds, even though today's somewhat jaded fare is doing its fair share of brainwashing.

The supporting players are all fine too, they are all three-dimensional characterisations that all tell an individual story, like Belle Watling (Ona Munson), India Wilkes (Alicia Rhett), Aunt Pittypatt (Laura Hope Crews) and Prissy (Butterfly McQueen).

The secondary (and much more valid) romance of Melanie Hamilton (Olivia DeHavilland) and Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) is touching and splendid in its sentimentality and fine in its drama.

Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) is still wonderfully entertaining, especially in the scene the preceeds the Twelve Oaks party, where she is lacing Scarlett and they argue over 'that' dress.

The burning of Atlanta is still a sight to behold, with the flames rich in scarlet, orange and yellow hues.

The film is a perfect vision of Margaret Mitchell's lengthy tome of a civilisation no more....of a time GONE WITH THE WIND.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning!!
Review: This is legendary filmmaking at it's best, folks! One of the greatest films of all time, with a superb cast and amazing cinematography. I think Clark Gable gave the best performance out of the whole cast, yet he didn't win the Academy Award. Gone with the Wind is the work of David O.Selznick instead of the two directors who worked to bring this movie to the screen. Amusing, with both dramatic and comedic scenes.

Rating:
Summary: Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!! What A Laugh!!
Review: How could anyone say this is the geatest movie of all time?! The script is absolutely corny, the whole story in general is VERY unrealistic and dumb, the acting is down right STUPID, got sooooo boring after the first 30 minutes, and speaking of minutes this worthless film is WAY to long! 4 and a half hours?!! Get real people!!! If you want to watch some REAL entertainment check out "The Matrix", "Terminator 2", "Blade", "Gladiator", or "Independence Day". Some advice from a 15 year-old.

Rating:
Summary: A true epic! A true classic! Ya gotta see this one.
Review: There are few movies that rate a 5 from me. This is one.

This is a classic. A terrific masterpiece beyond compare.

Loves lost, lives wasted, futile wars, brutality, death, birth, life... Love.

An incredibly powerful and moving work.

The stars, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Haviland, Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen... they're all fabulous and this work truly shows the best of their skills.

Made at a time just before we went to war again (1939) its timeliness was incredible.

If you're serious about showing something awesome in your collection, this is a must have.

Get it.

Rating:
Summary: A Movie About Misery
Review: The one fault with this beautiful movie is that the music, drama, and adventure carries one so far away from the underlying themes. It's a movie about two men who dispise themselves and a total brat (Scarlett was 20 when Tara was ruined by Union soldiers). Buy this movie and watch it again. Especially watch Rhett's expression at the end when Scarlett realizes that Ashley will be free of Melanie now that she has died. It is not a look of "Frankly, I don't give a damn." It's a look of hurt. Ala, I'm leaving but I'll be back. And Scarlett goes to Tara where her power lays. The late Vivian Leigh was asked if Scarlett would ever get Rhett back. She replied, "No. But I think that she would be a better person." This is suprising of Ms. Leigh since she read the book several times before starring in this masterpiece. Leigh's portrayal of Scarlett is about the best I've ever seen. She doesn't hesitate like the rest of the characters! She just behaves. It's really incredible. Ashley is a man of the past. Rhett is a man of the future. Both lost in time. Rhett has been casted out by his family. His adventurous urges are not of a gentleman of the South. And despite his charm, he hates himself for what he is. Ashley has created a complete dream world of the past in which he lives. And he admits it! Scarlett is incredibly non-well-meaning! I have nearly gagged when she bought slave labor consisting of Confederate prisoners. Brrrrrr. Nevertheless, Rhet really loves her because she is a "selfish rascal like himself". Which is sort of like telling a woman, "I love you because you're ugly like me." Melanie is the heroine. As Rhett states in the book, "Her eyes are like two good deeds looking out on a dark world." She is unselfish. The others are, well... Only Rhett really spots this. And Gable plays his part brillantly (and without enough credit). Howard is a bit stagey but gets away with it. DeHavilland pours the syrup a bit thick but also manages to pull off her portrayal of Melanie brillantly. All in all, this is a superb film. Buy it and try to "feel" what the characters are really going through. Forget all the music and all the fluff and pay attention. The character portrayals are great. But realize what you are watching. Except for Melanie, these are not happy people. Watch it again but get under the skin of these characters. It's really a different movie when you do so.