Gone with the Wind

David O. Selznick wanted Gone with the Wind to be somehow more than a movie, a film that would broaden the very idea of what a film could be and do and look like. In many respects he got what he worked so hard to achieve in this 1939 epic (and all-time box-office champ in terms of tickets sold), and in some respects he fell far short of the goal. While the first half of this Civil War drama is taut and suspenseful and nostalgic, the second is ramshackle and arbitrary. But there's no question that the film is an enormous achievement in terms of its every resource--art direction, color, sound, cinematography--being pushed to new limits for the greater glory of telling an American story as fully as possible. Vivien Leigh is still magnificently narcissistic, Olivia de Havilland angelic and lovely, Leslie Howard reckless and aristocratic. As for Clark Gable: we're talking one of the most vital, masculine performances ever committed to film. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Frankly, Mr. Shankly
He came at me, swirling a stem of wheat around in his mouth, eyes blazing under the brim of his hat, hips swiveling in those tight, grass-stained jeans. His name was Mel. Mel Tillis, hot as ever in an excrutiatingly short role as a towtruck driver in this comedic masterpiece. Captain Chaos is my role model. I live fast and I die young and I eat a lot of donuts and I save your momma's poodle. Seriously, though, the character actually closest to the role I have grown into is (the creepy doctor). It's kind of sad but I regularly rub one out and I administer a healthy amount of self-medication. Dean Martin as a priest is pure unadultured genius. Oh, those crazy Japanese, with their gadgets and priceless small talk!! I like to drink whiskey and sit in my underwear in the dark when it's cold and open all the windows and breathe frost clouds all scary-like. I've never actually seen this movie.
--2006-12-15

Best movie of all time.
One summer when I was a young girl, I read the book 8 times. At that time, there weren't VHS or DVDs that you could rent or buy. (Well, there probably were, but we were country folks. LOL) I finally got to see the movie when I was about 17 years old and since then I catch it every time I see it on television.

The extra footage on these discs is wonderful! I learned even more about my beloved film.
--2006-12-10

Scarlet, any gay man's idol
I loved this movie as a kid and also love this movie as an adult. Scarlet is the greatest actress of all time. She can live through a war and still come out looking good. Ok, that was a joke. The acting was wonderful and the settings and the costumes were remarkable. Even in today's movies, this one can not be matched. Highly recommended.
--2006-11-28

Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!
Widely acclaimed as "America's favorite film", Gone With the Wind has stood the test of time for almost seventy years. With the tremendous storyline, award-winning actors, beautiful scenic shots, and the large amount of Civil War history, Gone With the Wind truly is the movie to own. I recently purchsed this four-disc set and I cannot begin to describe how happy I am with it.

The first two discs are the movie. The third and fourth discs are the extra features. [There is well over 5 hours worth!] You also get a reproduction of the original movie booklet. It's a great gift for family or friends. Being from Atlanta personally, it's the perfect movie to watch for some historical content, as well as several underlying plots within the movie.
--2006-11-28

Going, going...gone
Gone With The Wind is, yes, watchable. The acting is terrific. But it is not just the film that romanticizes slavery and the Civil War. Film critics have also romanticized those issues, avoiding them.

Yes, the characters of "Mammy" and "Prissy" were different stereotypes than the Stepin Fetichit type. But think of it. "Mammy"? How is that a better stereotype, really--the African American woman who enjoyed being a slave, who was the pawn of the white people who owned her. And Prissy was a total idiot--hardly complimentary to any person of colour.

I once tried reading "Gone With The Wind" as it had been described as a classic novel. I think I got to page two, when I read Margaret Mitchell's description of the "niggery smells". Put the book down and never opened it again. Why read racist trash?

"Gone With The Wind" is a romanticized view of the South, but a racist view. Let's not forget that the Northerners in the film are universally viewed as evil people expoiting the black people. This is a romanticized view of racism that only an apologist for slavery could possibly accept. Are we supposed to forget that the film portrays the Ku Klux Klan as just plain swell?

The film makers at the time knew what slavery was. They knew the evil of it, and of the Ku Klux Klan. What they really wanted to do was make people forget what the Civil War was all about.

Finally, as some other reviewers on this site acknowledge, in the second half of the film all that wonderful story telling falls apart. The film loses its drive when it leaves behind the glory days of Tara, going from one incident to another. The last half hour of the film totally degenerates into key characters being knocked off. Only the last line is really memorable, and sums up my own feelings about this film: frankly, I don't give a damn!
--2006-11-10

- MGM (Video & DVD)