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All Movie Info
Directed By
Victor Fleming
Written By:
Sidney Howard
Cast:
Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, George Reeves, Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, Victor Jory
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Gone with the Wind (1939)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
May 31st, 2008
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'Gone with the Wind' is probably the most famous of all American films, and it is indeed one of the great epics of American cinema, and one of its most enduring romances. Adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, 'Gone with the Wind' essentially mourns the defeat of the Confederacy in the Civil War, and the gradual decline and eventual disappearance of traditional southern society. Mitchell was a native of Atlanta, the city Sherman destroyed large sections of during his famous "March to the Sea". The Civil War did tear families apart, as assuredly as it divided the nation, over the issue of slavery more than anything else. Prominent statesmen like John C Calhoun argued for the economic necessity of slavery, how it should continue because it was a divinely ordained institution that had the best interests of Africans at heart. This movie, very much a product of its time, shows slaves (and domestic servants) who seem to be happy with their status, remaining loyal to their masters, and following them everywhere. This is certainly the case with Mammy (Hattie MacDonald) and Prissy (Butterfly McQueen), who live on the O'Hara plantation and watch over the children, prepare meals, and other such tasks. The film is not as openly or as grotesquely racist as Griffith's Birth of a Nation, but it does have racist elements to it, in the way it portrays its black characters, none of whom can exist apart from those they serve.
However, the Hollywood that produced this movie also awarded an Oscar to Hattie MacDonald for her extraordinary and lively performance, she was the first black thespian to win an Oscar, and would be followed by Sidney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, and Denzel Washington. That is a significant observation to make. One reason 'Gone with the Wind' endures is because of its characters, notably Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), whose stormy relationship lies at the center of the later portions, before then, Scarlett is chasing after Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), and also fostering a deep dislike for Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland), the sweet woman who ends up with Ashley. Scarlett is an often insufferable, self-centered brat, spoiled by her wealthy parents, walking around in opulent dresses (parodied brilliantly by Carol Burnett in one of her classic skits), attending banquets, pouting when she doesn't get her way. Enter the dashing Rhett, who is not intimidated by Scarlett and is willing to set her straight, not give in to her every whim, as evidenced by his legendary line "Frankly me dear I don't give a damn", which was shocking to audiences in 1939, but laughably tame by today's standards.
To call the performances of Leigh and Gable iconic would be an understatement. Leigh won an Oscar; Gable did not, but he should have (he had won in 1934 for It Happened One Night). The two of them are magical together, and Gable was among the magnetic and charming of actors. Leigh, so good at playing neurotic shrews, brings that quality to Scarlett, though it would be even more apparent when she played Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (for which she won her second Oscar in 1951). Scarlett is trapped somewhat in a fragile, child-like state of mind; she craves attention, and usually gets it, from her father Gerald (Thomas Mitchell) if from no one else. She has no problem attracting men; Rhett is different, poses a challenge, he does things on his terms rather than hers. She pursues Ashley with single-minded determination, refusing to accept the fact that he belongs to someone else.
The film works as a sweeping romance, but also a terrific war drama, with scenes of devastation, and that incredible shot where the camera pulls back to reveal what must be thousands of bodies, of wounded and dead soldiers, lying on the ground, with Scarlett checking them to see if Ashley is among their numbers. The Oscar-winning cinematography is consistently awe-inspiring, and Technicolor was rarely used so well. The sweeping score from Max Steiner adds to emotional resonance and texture to many key scenes. This gets us into the undeniable fact that the movie is nearly four hours long; but then its source material is over 1000 pages long. As much as I admire and appreciate this movie as a stunning achievement, I simply cannot sit through much of it; the pacing is off, the editing could have been tighter, there is a tendency to ramble, and turn into a soap opera, even though the verbal exchanges between Rhett and Scarlett are sharply and cleverly written.
The second half, following the intermission, is where the film threatens to run out of steam, as much of the story unfolds in the first half, and that is where some of the most memorable stuff occurs. I think 'Gone with the Wind' is overrated, but that still does not mean that I do not regard the film as a classic. It is a classic, a visual spectacle, and I can imagine the reception it got from those bands of viewers seeing it for the first time upon its original release, at a time when color photography was still quite rare, and uncommon in movies. This and The Wizard of Oz changed all that, both released the same year, both directed by Victor Fleming. What magnificent contributions to the American cinematic landscape.
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