Gone With The Wind

Year: 1939

Grade: C+

Country: USA

Director: Fleming

Review

a very long-winded film. puns aside, this film takes a lot of energy to get through; calling it epic is an understatement. a while back afi produced a list of the top 100 heroes and villains in film history, but i don’t recall scarlett o’hara being on the villains list, so obviously the list is incomplete. they also put travis bickle in the villains category, so fuck afi. in all seriousness, scarlet o’hara is supposed to be a strong willed girl who we grow to love in some half begrudging way, but i don’t really see it. she’s an annoyance and not much more. i guess this is why i liked the ending. when rhett butler says he doesn’t give a damn about what she does, it’s sweet justice. she gets the final shot, though, and declares that she will get his love and that tomorrow is another day. i think this is the line that saves her from the villains list. her resilience and the fact that she finally does sorta “get it,” earns our respect. at least many of us.

the film itself is wonderfully filmed and directed, but i wouldn’t give it 10 academy awards. i thought olivia de havilland did a better job than hattie mcdaniel or vivian leigh, but that’s just me. as stacked a year as 1939 is, it’s remarkable that gone with the wind garnered so many awards. i guess the academy has always been full of suckers. such is life.

it’s an interesting film from a historic/social perspective. of course it tells the story of the civil war and reconstruction from the southern point of view. we see blacks fighting for the south and staying with their slave masters after the emancipation proclamation. it’s interesting to see how everything is portrayed and think about the fact that this remains the highest grossing (when adjusted for inflation) film in history.

i don’t think i want to see this movie for at least another 10 years because it’s so tough to get through and not all that rewarding. that said, it is a well filmed picture so i can’t really give it a bad grade.