Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)

Gone with the Wind demands the cinema experience. Now, we argue about films like Gravity and Avatar. But the argument still stands for films including 2001: A Space Odyssey and - with a re-release at the BFI and nationwide - Gone with the Wind. The very definition of Hollywood Epic, Gone with the Wind is one of the most successful films of all-time. Partly due to its longevity, Gone with the Wind, when ticket prices are adjusted for inflation, remains the top of the box-office – followed by Star Wars, The Sound of Music and E.T. Modern viewers, when faced with a four-hour, sprawling civil-war romance, will cringe at the thought. But it must be seen to be believed - Gone with the Wind lives up to its reputation.

Set prior to the American Civil War, we are introduced to spoiled Southerner Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) as she ponders which of two twin brothers she will dance with. Her father’s plantation, Tara, is her home and she is besotted with Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) from the ‘Twelve Oaks’ plantation close-by. Unfortunately for Scarlett, Ashley is due to wed his cousin Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland). Enter Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), a cocky and confident sniper; a friend from Charleston to the Wilkes. His self-serving attitude seems to be the perfect match for Scarlett, but she is not impressed. She seeks Ashley, a man who wants a gentle lady – opposed to the brash, forward and demanding attitude Scarlett has. The civil war takes the men to war – a war Rhett believes is foolhardy for the Southerners – and Scarlett impulsively marries. He dies in the war and this becomes only the beginning of Scarlett’s constant struggle with love. Patiently, Rhett waits in the wings for her to become a woman with a heart – and we wonder whether a destroyed family home, the death of thousands following the war or Rhett’s immoveable presence will change her.

The time-period is fraught with tension as slaves are common-place, and in Gone with the Wind, they only seem awkwardly happy to help. While likeable characters use terms like “darkie” and “white-trash”, there is clearly a contextual issue we need to consider. Written in 1936, Margaret Mitchell’s novel portrays the upper-class white lifestyle in the South, as seen by the upper-class in the South. Though strange to watch, the lack of an honest perspective from others may be the only true concern - I doubt the slaves were as content in their ‘ownership’ as depicted in the Tara homestead. By the same token, the aggressive and expected sexist attitudes need to be put in context. Rhett’s unforgettable expectations of Scarlett as he carries her into the shadows of sex are deeply unsettling: “This is one night you're not turning me out.” he demands. But again, his treatment of her paints darker tones to the story, creating a fascinating conflict between two lead characters that shows how self-serving they are.

Vivien Leigh is flawless in the role and this re-release kicks off a BFI season on Vivien Leigh. Considering the search for Scarlett O’Hara is infamous unto itself, the casting of Leigh and the character she creates could not be more perfect – watch her brief acceptance of her Academy Award to see how different she is in reality. Clark Gable, a fan’s favourite, seems to plays it smug and satisfied which works for the role while Olivia deHavilland holds such sincerity that she is a perfect counterpoint to Leigh’s dastardly ways. Leslie Howard feels underserved, but he truly creates a character besieged by his lust for Scarlett against his upper-class ideals of love with Mellie. Maybe Ashley and Mellie are “right” for each other but he never truly rejects Scarlett.

The first act is clearly the strongest and includes iconic moments including Scarlett walking through thousands of injured and dead soldiers as they are slowly revealed through a steady camera moving higher into the sky. These shots alongside the vivid, burning oranges and red that light up the sky as characters stand in silhouette are almost exclusively attributed to Gone with the Wind. This new 4k restoration of the original 70mm print that, though square, is larger than the cropped widescreen version is simply mesmerising. Combine the awesome scale of the shots and incredible detail with Max Steiner’s unforgettable score, therein are the two additional elements that ensure Gone with the Wind remains a classic.

This is the time to see Gone with the Wind. Spielberg’s Lincoln last year set within the same time-period, both noting the importance of Gettysberg and the outcome of the civil war, would make an epic double-bill. Though the length of time it would take would surely remain a challenge. Returning to cinemas, Gone with the Wind has pace and scale, and an ideal way into the Golden Age of Hollywood. It deserves its praise and accolade. Recently, critics and audiences aggressively argue to others how important it is to watch Gravity at the cinema; Gone with the Wind is equally important to view in the cinema – and this is the moment to watch it.

This post was originally written for Flickering Myth

Again, I wrote a brief analysis on Gone with the Wind in 2010...

Incredible Soundtrack #13: Gone with the Wind (Steiner)

The music attached to a film creates the environment, I believe, moreso than the literal environment depicted through the visuals...

I have been meaning to crack open a classic soundtrack and Max Steiners score for Gone with the Wind, I think is epic and grand enough to continue the soundtrack series with. It was tough to choose the soundtrack because nothing matches the iconic theme tune - but, I did manage to find a couple of tracks that seemed to have some interesting points for discussion.

[I have just found out that the tracks are not available on YouTube! But still ...]

Highlights from the Soundtrack available on itunes:

12. I'll Never Be Hungry Again - small hints of the theme litter this track until the final thirty seconds whereby the strings take second-place to the brass belting out the Main Theme from Gone with the Wind.

10. Escape from Atlanta - Only a short track - 2mins 48secs, but the stringed beginning has a incredible fast pace and a strange similarity to the scores Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard completed for Nolan's Batman films. Until it becomes very 'epic' and dated ...

1. Main Title - the only one I could find on YouTube...

A-Z #85: Gone with the Wind

You can pick up hundreds of DVDs for a round-pound each - it doesn't matter. It's never about quantity, it's about quality. A-Z is my way of going through my collection, from A-Z, and understanding why I own the films ... or you can tell me why I should sell 'em

#85 - Gone with the Wind 

Why did I buy it?

Because, in the same way as a bunch of the ones I have bought "How can I call myself a film fan when I haven't seen Gone with the Wind". Well, now I have bought it and I have watched it. So there. Shut your face.

Why do I still own it?

Well I wrote a huge analysis on this post about a year ago so, if you want depth, go there. But ultimately, it is a good film. Brilliant, epic story with two lead characters in Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh that represent an almost flawless time in American Cinema. The soundtrack by Max Steiner is brilliant and the length of the film, though it could be a problem, in fact can be seen as a Part I and a Part II because it is a very clear interval which can separate the film over two nights. As good as people say - and therefore worth the purchase. Alongside all the huge amount of special features on the 4-disc boxset!

Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)

"With enough courage, you can do without a reputation"

Introduction

This is a big bast**d to watch. I purchased this, as I do, with the full intention of watching it quickly but alas - much like the regularly mentioned David Lean collection (2 out of 10 so far...) - it spent a long time sitting on the shelf before being viewed. One thing I do appreciate about Gone with the Wind and Ben-Hur is that, halfway through they have a break - an intermission - whereby you can break the film up. Specifically, as I did with Gone with the Wind, watch one half in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Ben-Hur was over a weekend, two hours a day. Same process with The Lord of the Rings Extended Cuts - two hours at a time please. Thing is, I cant do that with Gandhi and it waits patiently for a three-hour gap I can give it...

All the Boys Love Scarlett O'Hara

I haven't read Margaret Mitchell's novel - and don't really intend to - so I go into this film not knowing how it will end. But it starts with Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) being fawned over by identical twins - are all men the same? - and it shows, following this, that she lives a life of wealth with all men in love with her. Inevitably perhaps, the only man who doesn't is Ashley (Leslie Howard - not Trevor Howard ... don't got them mixed up now...), an obvious gentlemen who himself is married to Mel (Olivia de Havilland). It isn't long before we meet the complete oppostie to Scarlett - a social outcast and misfit in the affluent society Scralett is so dependent on - Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). He is struck by O'Hara, makes his advances - knowing she loves Ashley - and is rebuffed. Picky Scarlett waits for Ashley who, she believes, will eventually fall for her...

Iconic Shots

On this first watch, it was incredible to see the fascinating silhouettes in place - with stunning visuals as the fire burned down and the small horse and carriage trundled across the frame. Many pictures could be reproduced to look like gainsborough. This is only brief, so all the details regarding the multiple directors attached to the project and the fascinating stories behind the scenes, I shall not explain here (maybe on a 'rerelease' of the analysis), suffice to say, these factors inevitably contributed to the production of  Gone with the Wind. What is a fact, is how iconic so many shots are - and how the use of silhouette is highly influential from this cinema, alongside the epic scale of the story, equally fascinating and well handled.

A Final That Cannot Be Reproduced

The thing is with 'classic' cinema is the different types of importance they have - on the one hand you have the films that 'inluenced' others - though now, watched in retrospect, has been made 'better' ever since. Then you have other classics which simply had everything perfectly placed. It canot be remade, it cannot be recast or performed on stage - it simply is what it is with the perfect cast for the perfect story, released at the right time, etc. Gone with the Wind is in the latter - with a finale that can only be acted by Leigh and Gable delivering lines, scripted by Sidney Howard, at that time. The entire film, Rhett loves Scarlett and yet, Scarlett doesn't reciprotcate - constantly waiting for Ashley. The final scene, Scarlett - with everything she has - realises who she should love and who she should have been with all that time telling Rhett that she loves him, but alas he walks out of the door to leave - having now decided he doesn't love her anymore ...

 

Scarlett chases him down the stairway - "Rhett, Rhett... Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?", and he responds: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn".

 

An incredible end to an incredible film. The epic nature of this film cannot be explained in words and I think it helps - you watch this film 'prepared' its not an easy watch, due to its length, so you build yourself up for it. To see how Scarlett falls so far from the pedastool she sat on, as twins fawned over her in the opening scene - to the rebuffed woman, crying on her majestic staircase over Rhett is fascinating. The film ends as Scarlett looks up "after all, tomorrow is another day", knowing that her home of Tara still stands.

 

At least we know that Gone with the Wind will always be there for the biggest, boradest epic romance of all time. And, referring to the reviews chosen quote, it will always holds its reputation for the future - and so it should.