Review - Gone With The Wind

Gone With The Wind is based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell. It was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, and won eight (including Best Picture, Director, Actress, and Supporting Actress). In addition, it is the longest movie to ever win Best Picture, was voted the #4 movie of all time by the American Film Institute, and when the AFI did their top 100 film quotes of all time, three of them came from Gone With The Wind (#59, #31, and #1).
The movie centers around the South being drawn into the Civil War...and how life and the people who lived in this world both changed and were forced to change. The subplot follows Scarlett O'Hara, as she does whatever is necessary to keep the only way of life she has ever known intact. Scarlett is torn between two men - Ashley Wilkes (whom she truly wishes for) and Rhett Butler (who, in the end, she realizes is the one she is supposed to be with).
Several things make this movie stand out as a cinematic masterpiece. The characters are fascinating, and evoke constant emotion from the audience. The characters continually evolve throughout the movie...from the carefree existance before the war...to their near-zombie state in the war's immediate aftermath...into their hardened shells having survived the war, only to suffer the indignity of the conquering North's interference into their lives. The South itself is one of the stars of this movie...and she shines in all of her splendid glory.
While this is an incredible movie in and of itself...it truly shines when you can see it in a theater. I myself was fortunate enough to have experienced this movie as it truly must be seen...on the big screen. I attended a showing of "GWTW" at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, Tennessee a few years ago...and it was one of the most powerful and moving performances I have ever seen. There are many films that television just cannot do justice, and Gone With The Wind certainly ranks as one of them.
Never mind the fact that almost any movie critic ranks this as one of the greatest films ever made...this is simply a movie that shows how dreams can slip away...no matter how hard you try to cling to them. It is a must-see film for any fan of motion pictures.
Starring - Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, and Hattie McDaniel. Directed by Victor Fleming.
Time - 3 hours, 58 minutes. Rated - G (The movie was re-rated in 1971)