David O. Selznick's 1939 production of Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize winner 'Gone with the Wind' is an epic in every sense of the word! An American classic in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction. This sweeping Civil war-era romance won an impressive 10 Academy Awards (including Best Picture), and it's immortal characters Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) captain a rollercoaster story of enduring appeal across generations.
Things did not start well when I sat down to watch this saga. First I notice the running time of the film...3 Hours and 45 Minutes! The DVD disc itself is spread over both sides! Is this movie really gonna be worth it?
The film opens with a single title card that reads - Musical Overture. I sit through a boring 2 and a half minutes of cheesy Hollywood music. Thank God I have popcorn to stuff my face with!
We then get introduced to one of our main characters, Scarlett and it doesn't take long for us to realise she is a major slut! Like OMG! She is so annoying and just flings her affections from one guy to the next without batting an eyelid! Then Rhett comes in with a cheesy intro shot from above...I'm starting to think, classic or not...I'm not gonna like this movie.
Suddenly the Civil war starts and the film does a complete back flip and becomes absolutely riveting! Both Gable and Leigh captivate the audience with their performances, Gable especially. The scenes between the two of them are fantastic and each one is a real screen gem. Some scenes are overacted; the ones between Scarlett and Ashley (Leslie Howard) come to mind. But these are tolerated because the story and the dialogue are so rich and fulfilling.
The famous scene in which Clark Gable turns to Leigh and utters those legendary words "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!” is great and can be found in the last 4 minutes of the 3 hours and 41 minutes previous.
On a side note this was the first colour film to win the Best Picture Oscar. On another side note this has to be the most politically correct film ever! I LOL'd at the scene towards the beginning of the film in which young black slave girls are fanning the young white girls as they take their afternoon naps! I can see only one problem with this...how do you stop these rudimentary fans from stealing themselves all the time?
I didn't think I would like this film and for the first half an hour of it I really didn't but towards the end I was caught; hook, line and sinker! And as much as Scarlett is an evil, scheming, lil' spoilt rich girl...I did feel sorry for her in the end. It is an end of tragedy and heartbreak but it leaves us with the truth...There is no place like home!
Read the book, watched the film... still hate Scarlett.
ReplyDelete