Gone With The Wind (DVD)

== GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) ==

=== DVD (2006) ===


_"There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this_ _pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights_ _and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave. Look for it only in books, for it is no_
_more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind."_

...PG

Gone With The Wind runs four hours including a brief intermission. It is rated PG, but with its war violence and frightening images it is inappropriate for most kids under 8. And it may not hold any interest for children under 10 or 11.

=== AWARDS ===

The film got 13 nominations for Academy awards and won eight:

=== Won ===

Best Actress in a Leading Role Vivien Leigh ... more

GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)

DVD (2006)

"There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave. Look for it only in books, for it is no
more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind."

The opening words of Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With The Wind"

I have been thinking for several weeks about writing a review of the ultimate classic, 'Gone With The Wind', but kept getting a 'we are not worthy' moment.

I have decided to pick up the courage to attempt to do it justice.

The book, which the film was based on. "Gone With The Wind" by Margaret Mitchell is an over 1,000 pages long but was a bestseller and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Many parts of it are left out of the film, but of course it would be impossible to make a film with the 26 fully developed characters from the book.
The 4-hour drama is long enough. Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable are considered by most people to be exact physical embodiments of the characters in the book.
I think this is due to a combination of Mitchell's phenomenon writing and Selznick's genius casting.

The first time I ever saw the film, it was already thirty years old; it was 1969 and I actually saw it (yes a 30 year old film) at the cinema, with my boyfriend (now hubby of 38 years).

Both mine, and my hubby's memories of the film, and what we both think of immediately it is ever mentioned, are the two women sat behind us during the film.
They were probably as old as I am now (biddies!!), and throughout the film kept shouting things like, 'I love this bit where she dies' etc so pre-warning us of everything that was about to happen. I'll try not to do that in this review!!

It's very rare that any form of entertainments give an authentic, vivid sense of reality and life.
All stories are about exclusive moments of time and places in the characters' lives, but only the truly great ones are able to define their realities well enough so the audience can experience it just as the characters do. Therefore, "Gone With The Wind" (now an incredible seventy years old) deserves praise for its ability to tell the epic story it does, in such a clever, intricate, and entertaining way.

As I'm sure most people know, this classic film takes place in Georgia before, during, and after the American Civil War.

The story starts by setting a background for the viewer to learn a little about the characters, especially the main character, Scarlett O'Hara (Vivienne Leigh).
Scarlett was an extremely beautiful Southern Belle with a will of steel, an astute wit, and a sense of freedom.
Immediately it is obvious that this is one determined lady, who is spoiled and manipulative and WILL have her own way no matter what the price may be.

Scarlett O'Hara is the daughter of an Irish immigrant plantation owner (Thomas Mitchell) she has two sisters, but she is by far the most feisty of the three O'Hara girls.
Her father sees Scarlett as his heir and instils in her the importance of the land. "It's the only thing that lasts... the only thing worth fighting for," he tells her, when they are faced with war.

Scarlett with her beauty and social standing is a much sought-after woman; she uses this to manipulate men (and their women) to ensure she gets her own way.

The man she claims to love is Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), is a modest, gentle man who doesn't seem to feel the same for Scarlett.
He isn't so arrogant and demanding as Scarlett, in fact, he's engaged to a woman with a personality much more like his.
Her name is Melanie (Olivia De Havilland), and she is one of the sweetest, kindest, and most amiable characters you could imagine.

Melanie and Scarlett become close friends, but she never suspects the jealously that Scarlett has for her, and the love she has for her husband.
Her humbleness is both her strongest and weakest characteristic - it defines who she is, but doesn't give her much emotional self-preservation.

It is at a barbecue at the Wilkes's that Scarlet has her first encounter with the dashing Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), an elegant, strong willed, cunning, cocky Southern business and military man.

From the look Butler gives Scarlett, we know he's not going to stop until he has her. He sees right through Scarlett's thin veneer, after an emotional display of anger towards Ashley, though at the time, she is unwilling to face up to her emotions, she can't get past her need for Ashley, Butler realises this and continues to throw it back at Scarlett forever.

And so the story goes on, with Scarlett being thrown obstacle after obstacle in her life.
The conflicts she must overcome range from taking care of her entire family to finding a proper husband.

This gives the film many opportunities to bring in more characters into the epic story. Some are vital for only a few scenes, but their true importance will last throughout the film. In most films only a few characters exist for support in background, but this film is more realistic and believable as it incorporates a supporting cast the size of a small town and everyone has consequence. Even people in the background seem more than just extras wandering the set. The costuming design is outstanding so that the film makes for a real sense of time and place.

The film makers could have easily set more scenes indoors and narrowly focused to avoid having to show the outside, real world, but these types of simple approaches are never taken.

The first half of the film gives a picture of the traumatic experience the South faced at the last days of the Civil War.
Fleming is able to convey the horror of it all by painting an image of destruction and letting the viewer decide just how bad it actually was.

One scene has Scarlett working as a nurse at a military hospital while we hear a soldier in the background screaming, "No! Not my leg! Don't cut off my leg!".

Another scene shows her simply trying to cross a street, but as the camera pulls back, we see that her path is blocked by hundreds of wounded soldiers, it is their moaning that's incredibaly more graphic than any amount of blood and gore could ever .

As the second half begins, the film concentrates more on Scarlett as a completely independent woman who single-handedly takes care of her family and Melanie just to spite the oppression of the North.

Most of the second half of the film is somehow related to the relationship between Rhett and Scarlett. Each uses the other for personal gain, but at the same time they still feel an intimate connection with each other.

They need each other and know this, yet they never seem truly happy together.

Love and the perception of love are two completely separate things and throughout the final act of the film, we're left wondering if Rhett and Scarlett ever truly loved each other and why.

Gable and Leigh do have great chemistry, always leaving the viewer wondering which emotions were authentic and which were manufactured.

All of them?

None of them?

Either way is possible and it's a mystery that cannot be solved even upon repeated viewings.

WHAT DID I THINK?

It's safe to say most of us won't live such overly dramatic lives as those in "Gone With The Wind," but it's still a masterpiece for its ability to give us a sense that we've just experienced a life's worth of joy and pain.

If we can take anything out of the film, it would be that it, like the novel on which it is based, is all about the American Southern myth of vast plantations, beautiful Southern belles, dapper gentlemen, and how slavery was perceived.

These conceptions have some basis in fact, but the vast majority of American southern whites did not own plantations or own slaves. And slaves wern't treates as depicted in the film.

What we have to remember is that it is a story, it IS a myth, it is NOT fact.
It is still a controversial film as attitudes continue to change regarding race and slavery.

By realising that this film depicts a highly romanticized vision of the South as it never really was, the film becomes incredibly entertaining and can still be enjoyed by people today.

With this epic film we get action, romance, jealousy, betrayal in a comprehensive four hour-plus screen time.
There is even an intermission so as to give the audience a chance to collect its thoughts.

The viewer is treated to one magnificent classic scene after another.
They include Scarlett's initial appearance slowly revealed by two courtly gentlemen, the moment when Scarlett sees Rhett for the first time; the silence between Olivia de Havilland and Vivien Leigh while they are waiting for their husbands to return; Rhett standing at the bottom of the staircase at Twelve Oaks; the shot of Scarlett standing by train tracks where hundreds of wounded soldiers are being nursed only to slowly reveal the Confederate flag; and, of course, the famous "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" line uttered by Rhett during the conclusion.
The burning of Atlanta is also vivid, not to mention the exquisite landscapes showing the mansion Tara, a house, which like Manderley in 'Rebecca', is as much a character as any of the actors.

Obviously this film is a costume epic and tends to have strong appeal to women (the story is told through Vivien Leigh's character). Of course there are people (mainly men) who dislike the movie. Even they though can have no doubt that this is an outstanding film.

If the costumes, the cinematography, and the script aren't enough to convince (which they certainly should be), the leading characters certainly should.

FILM DETAILS

Vivien Leigh: Scarlett O'Hara
Rhett Butler: Clark Gable
Melanie Hamilton: Olivia de Havilland
Ashley Wilkes: Leslie Howard
Mammy: Hattie McDaniel
Suellen O'Hara: Evelyn Keyes
Careen O'Hara: Ann Rutherford
Prissy: Butterfly McQueen
Gerald O'Hara: Thomas Mitchell

Directed by Victor Fleming, with scenes also directed by George Cukor, Sam Wood, William Cameron Menzies and Sidney Franklin.

Produced by David O. Selznick

Screenplay by Sidney Howard, Jo Swerling, Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht and others.

Based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell.

Photographed by Ernest Haller, Lee Garmes and Ray Rennahan.

Music by Max Steiner.

Edited by Hal C. Kern and James E Newcom.

Running time: 222
Classification PG

Gone With The Wind runs four hours including a brief intermission. It is rated PG, but with its war violence and frightening images it is inappropriate for most kids under 8. And it may not hold any interest for children under 10 or 11.

AWARDS

The film got 13 nominations for Academy awards and won eight:

Won

Best Actress in a Leading Role Vivien Leigh
Best Actress in a Supporting RoleHattie McDaniel Became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Oscar.
Best Art Direction Lyle R. Wheeler
Best Cinematography, Colour Ernest Haller, Ray Rennahan
Best Director Victor Fleming
Best Film Editing Hal C. Kern,James E. Newcom
Best Picture
Best Writing, Screenplay Sidney Howard
Technical Achievement Award R.D. Musgrave For pioneering in the use of coordinated equipment in the production Gone with the Wind.

Nominated

Best Actor in a Leading Role Clark Gable
Best Actress in a Supporting Role Olivia de Havilland
Best Effects, Special Effects Jack Cosgrove (photographic) Fred Albin (sound) Arthur Johns (sound)
Best Music, Original Score Max Steiner
Best Sound, Recording Thomas T. Moulton (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)

Honorary Award

William Cameron Menzies For outstanding achievement in the use of colour for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of Gone with the Wind (plaque).

Incidentally this was the first colour film to win the Best Picture Academy Award,

DVD

· Language English
· Subtitles: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
· Region: Region 2
· Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
· Number of discs: 1
· Classification: PG
· Studio: Warner Home Video
· DVD Release Date: 1 Jun 2006
· Run Time: 224 minutes

This DVD gives a great picture and good quality sound,
Apart from a trailer there are no bonus features of any kind.

IN CONCLUSION

If you haven't watched this film, do try it, and then you can decide for yourself what you think.
When you watch it though, please enjoy it as the beautifully made and wonderful romance film it is, with a crowd of commanding performances--but not please, view it as real history.

I give this film 5/5

 

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