In 1939, a movie was released that to this day, when adjusted for inflation, still holds the record for the biggest box office. That movie of course is “Gone With the Wind.” The movie would end up winning 10 academy awards, a record at the time, including Best Picture. It was also the longest running film with sound at the time of its release. It was a big movie. One of the biggest from that era and it is still looked upon fondly by critics and audiences alike.
I remember when I was younger that “Gone With the Wind” being on television was an event. It seemed like it was on for days and I wanted no part of it. To a boy, that movie was like a punishment. It was long, had girls talking about dresses, romantic and just plain boring. With that attitude I had never sat down and watched the entire thing. Sure I knew about the burning of Atlanta and Rhett Butler’s famous line, but the thought of watching the movie had no appeal to me. There are more movies like this that I will come across as I make my way through this list (I’m looking at you “Sound of Music”), and hopefully with each of them I will have an enjoyable experience as I had with this movie.
Based on the novel of the same name and directed by Victor Flemming, “Gone With the Wind” tackles the Civil War from the view point of the South. A direction that is not explored too often. The story takes us from the beginning of the Civil War and straight through to the reconstruction period. With a tale spanning so many years, it is impressive that the director was able to capture all of the different feelings that were present before, during and after the Civil War in what I felt to be an accurate representation of the time period. And he managed to do that while not detracting from the main storyline, which is very impressive. The movie may be a little long, but I certainly didn’t feel as if I had just watched a 4 hour movie by the time I was done with it.
Of course the acting was great as well. Vivian Leigh did a good job playing Scarlett, but I just can’t help but find that character completely annoying. I wanted to slap her every time she came on screen. And of course Clark Gable was fantastic. That guy was truly amazing and it would be interesting to see what he would do with some of the roles available to men today.
I thought most of the movie was great, but then the ending came along and it didn’t end. I felt like Scarlett was still in the middle of her journey and that I was still in the middle of a movie. If this was shown today, we would be waiting for a sequel (a made for TV one was made, but most people hate it). That said, out of all the movies I have watched so far this movie felt closest to the movies of today. With a few little tweaks and edits, this movie could be successful at the box office. It wouldn’t break any records but it would be a success. A success that I give 4 out of 5 stars.
I remember when I was younger that “Gone With the Wind” being on television was an event. It seemed like it was on for days and I wanted no part of it. To a boy, that movie was like a punishment. It was long, had girls talking about dresses, romantic and just plain boring. With that attitude I had never sat down and watched the entire thing. Sure I knew about the burning of Atlanta and Rhett Butler’s famous line, but the thought of watching the movie had no appeal to me. There are more movies like this that I will come across as I make my way through this list (I’m looking at you “Sound of Music”), and hopefully with each of them I will have an enjoyable experience as I had with this movie.
Based on the novel of the same name and directed by Victor Flemming, “Gone With the Wind” tackles the Civil War from the view point of the South. A direction that is not explored too often. The story takes us from the beginning of the Civil War and straight through to the reconstruction period. With a tale spanning so many years, it is impressive that the director was able to capture all of the different feelings that were present before, during and after the Civil War in what I felt to be an accurate representation of the time period. And he managed to do that while not detracting from the main storyline, which is very impressive. The movie may be a little long, but I certainly didn’t feel as if I had just watched a 4 hour movie by the time I was done with it.
Of course the acting was great as well. Vivian Leigh did a good job playing Scarlett, but I just can’t help but find that character completely annoying. I wanted to slap her every time she came on screen. And of course Clark Gable was fantastic. That guy was truly amazing and it would be interesting to see what he would do with some of the roles available to men today.
I thought most of the movie was great, but then the ending came along and it didn’t end. I felt like Scarlett was still in the middle of her journey and that I was still in the middle of a movie. If this was shown today, we would be waiting for a sequel (a made for TV one was made, but most people hate it). That said, out of all the movies I have watched so far this movie felt closest to the movies of today. With a few little tweaks and edits, this movie could be successful at the box office. It wouldn’t break any records but it would be a success. A success that I give 4 out of 5 stars.
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