Classics Review: Gone With The Wind

Fellow movie goers from around the globe. Thank you for supporting my website. Today’s article is a special one for my 100th post. A Four Hour Long Epic Film called Gone With The Wind which came out in 1939, the same year as The Wizard Of Oz. What do these two have in common? They are cornerstones of cinematic history and it’s directed by Victor Fleming. He got lucky making two masterpieces for the price of one.

The Premise for Gone With The Wind stars Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, a young woman trying to survive and support her family during The Civil War, while having affairs with two men, one of them is Rhett Butler, played by box office superstar of the 1930’s, Clark Gable.

Gone With The Wind premiered in December, 1939. Earning critical acclaim from critics and movie goers alike. At the time, it was the most expensive film of the year with an estimated budget of $3,900,000. (equivalent of $68,000,000 in today’s money) Due to its critical reputation, the movie was also a commercial success earning a grand total revenue of $400,000,000. (equivalent of $7,000,000,000 in today’s money) GOOD LORD! THAT’S A LOT OF GREEN! You thought James Cameron made a bunch of big bucks? Well guess again!

This timeless classic went on to become an eligble nominee at The 12th Academy Awards. Taking home Best Actress, (Vivien Leigh) Best Supporting Actress, (Hattie McDaniel) Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, (Victor Fleming) and the biggest one out of all of them, Best Picture.

Fun Fact: Many famous actors including Ted Turner, (founder of TBS) Doris Roberts, (the mom from Everybody Loves Raymond) Dakota Fanning, Vin Diesel, and Jackie Chan. Yep I’m not kidding, the last two stated that this film is one of their personal favorite movies. Diesel said that Clark Gable is his favorite actor. Ted Turner managed to acquire the rights to air Gone With The Wind on TNT.

The following article doesn’t contain no SPOILERS, just in case if you haven’t read the book or seen the film. I’m giving some people a chance to see it.

Pros & Cons

Pros: Vivien Leigh & Clark Gable, both did an outstanding job for their respective performances as Scarlett O’Hara & Rhett Butler, who are the two main characters.

Chemistry between Scarlett & Rhett was the main highlight for the movie.

Character Development involving Scarlett who starts out as a young spirited southern belle, to a strong no nonsense independent woman struggling to survive.

Primary Themes are Survival, Loss, and Love.

You can skip the intermission now that we live in the modern age of technology.

Cinematography looked perfect without any technical issues.

Costumes and Set Pieces were constructed by hand.

The Best Line in my opinion is, “The cause of living in the past is dying right in front of us.”

Time Period for The Civil War/The Reconstruction Era, was spot on accurate.

Cons: Before Green Screen were introduced many decades later, a looking Rear Projection Effect is used often. I’m gonna give this con an excuse, because I’m the 1930’s, they didn’t have digital technology back then.

Racist caricatures of black characters and I swear to god, Prissy, one of the O’Hara servants sounded like Minnie Mouse. Don’t get me started on a debate involving this PC nonsense. This was back when Hollywood didn’t properly portray minorities in a lighthearted way. I’ll give this flaw a pass because the film was the first to allow black actors for participating in a motion picture.

For a four-hour long movie, it can be a drab sometimes, but if you pay close attention and become invested with Scarlet’s character arc, you won’t get bored at all. Once the intermission starts, you can take a break if necessary.

A lot of supporting characters are kinda forgettable. I couldn’t even remember who’s who.

The Final Verdict: B-

In my opinion, I thought the film was average. I’ll have to admit, it’s not definitely on the same level as The Wizard of O.  If you want to give this it shot, go ahead if you have what it takes to endure a four-hour Epic Film. Make sure you plan on watching it, in case you don’t have any plans for the weekend.

I can’t believe I’ve made it to 100! I’ll continue to write more films to see what’s good or what’s bad about a specific picture. Thank you for supporting my website.

Like most journeys, The Adventure Continues.