A review of the classic film “Gone With The Wind” (1939)
Everything about this film is epic. It is set at the most transformational period of American history: the civil war and the reconstruction era. It is based on the very long and hugely popular 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. It was the second most expensive film made up to that point, with only “Ben Hur” (1925) having cost more. It has a phenomenal running time of almost four hours (but with an intermission). It obtained what was then a record number of Academy Award nominations (13) and wins (19). Allowing for inflation, it has earned more money than any other film in the history of the cinema. Quite simply, any serious fan of films should see this work at least once; I’ve viewed it four times, twice on the big screen.
Although an historical drama, at its heart it is a powerful, but ill-fated, romance between the suave and wealthy, but complicated, Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and the strong-willed, self-centred daughter of a cotton plantation owner, Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh). The casting of the male lead was never in doubt; producer David O Selznick waited two years for Gable to be available for the charismatic role. By contrast, some 1,400 actresses were considered for the role of Scarlett and the choice of the English Leigh was a surprise.
Historically, the movie presents a highly partisan and politically wrong narrative in which the Southern cause in the civil war is offered as noble and slavery is portrayed as acceptable to white and black. If one can look beyond this, the film is enormously impressive with so many classic scenes, such as the railway station and great fire in Atlanta, and so many memorable quotes, notably Butler’s assertion “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” and O’Hara’s declarations “As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again” and “After all, tomorrow is another day.”