hey everybody today I'm going to be
reviewing Gone with the Wind this film
came out in 1939 and it was directed by
several people a little but by a George
Cukor and Sam wood but the majority of
it was directed by Victor Fleming and
I'm sure some of you who saw this review
were probably rolling your eyes because
this movie is a movie that has been
talked about over and over and over
again it is and I caught it classic but
it has a reputation for being one of the
great Hollywood accomplishments at least
in terms of scale and there's a film
like this in every generation
films are similar in so many ways but I
think the key difference between them is
that the romantic leaves and gone with
the wind are actually interesting yeah I
said it this film came out in the Golden
Age of Hollywood where so many films
were just exploding with ambition and
success I mean this still came out the
same year as films like Wizard of Oz mr.
Smith goes to Washington stagecoach etc
and at the time Gone with the Wind was
considered the most expensive film or
one of the most expensive films ever
made and it was based on a very very
popular book of the same name at the
time so it had a lot to live up to for
anyone who doesn't know this film is
about Scarlett O'Hara she's a southern
belle and this film follows her life
through the Civil War and beyond a lot
of the turmoil that's going on in the
country is affecting her directly but
it's also kind of mirroring her own life
in terms of her relationships and you
see her grow through the different men
in her life and just the different
people the friends and the foes so this
is very much a coming-of-age story and
even though this film continues to be a
critical darling I'm not going to say
that it succeeds on every level because
it doesn't I admit that I absolutely
love this movie but there is a lot of it
that does not hold up for me it's a very
melodramatic piece which is fine I mean
that's a style but sometimes that can be
a bit of a detriment there are a few
kind of forced plot devices and some
contrived side characters and so much of
the film is very dated and kind of
cringe-worthy in terms of the way that
it
picks certain priorities but I will say
that what this film does do well it does
extremely well you know take the idea of
racism in the film you know this film
was made in the 1930s which was
basically a terrible time in America to
be anything other than a white male this
really shows in the way that they
depicted slavery in the antebellum south
and I understand that this film
obviously is depicting a period where
racism in America was probably at its
peak but this evokes stereotypes many of
African American characters and in
actors I think very unfairly especially
the character of a prissy which is just
an extremely offensive the character
really just annoying and hard to watch
and
I can understand why the actress who
played her was quite offended by what
she had to do but then there's also the
character mammy who is played by Hattie
McDaniel and she plays the part with a
very wise sensitivity she's not just a
housemaid in the film she is Scarlett's
confidant she is a maternal figure in
her life but she also understands how
Scarlett's mind works and she knows how
to get to her and how to put her in her
place when she needs it and I feel that
the character is somewhat realistic to
the period but it's there's a lot of
nuance in the writing and I think that's
a huge right reason why I McDaniel went
on to win the Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actress and she was the first
African American to do so at that time
there were very few movies that depicted
any sort of minorities any African
Americans with any dimension whatsoever
I think that the character mammy is a
step in the right direction even though
a lot of her a lot of the characters
around her aren't treated with the same
gravitas or disrespect and there are
still some very unforgettable very
powerful moments in this movie that are
iconic images in in Hollywood film and
they really do stay with you part of why
I really admire this film is because
even when I don't think it necessarily
succeeds it does everything with such
bravura and such confidence that you
can't help but be a bit moved by it even
though it's a film that's it becomes a
huge budget and it obviously has tons of
characters and it's on a large scale it
feels very rooted in
motion and in its core themes you never
forget the heart of the story which is
the romantic relationship I think
between red and scarlet scarlet is
played by the remarkable Vivien Leigh
and I think she's absolutely
extraordinary in this film and she's in
almost every scene and this film is
almost four hours long so you have to
have a really really great actress and
she is just that she is absolutely
electrifying in this role she just has
this spark this fire in her eyes and
this grit yet she has that ability to be
vulnerable when she needs to and
scarlett is the kind of person who you
could easily hate and yet you don't
because Vivian is able to show all of
that dimension I mean she is a very
feisty woman but she's also so flawed
she's extremely manipulative she's
immature she's selfish and she'll do
just about anything to get what she
wants but it's that gutsiness in that
determination she has that I think
really resonates with the viewers she
represents that symbol of bravery in
America especially during the Civil War
and that symbol can translate to pretty
much any period of hardship during
American history and it would still have
the same appeal and she's wonderful just
on her own as a character but her
relationship with Rhett
Butler played
with ridiculous charisma by Clark Gable
is what really makes the film juicy and
it's also what helps make the film kind
of modern the first half of the film
covers Scarlett's early years and the
decline of the Civil War which feels
very traditionally made it's a fine it's
a solid opening to the film but it's the
second half of the film which covers the
aftermath of the war as well as as
Scarlett's marriage to red which is
surprisingly complex because you're
really getting into the psychology of
these very dynamic characters and how
even though they are so similar in a lot
of ways they just don't work as a couple
Rhett understands her like nobody else
ever did and he recognizes a lot of who
she is and himself and perhaps that
sense of naivete and that brashness
within her is kind of alluring to him
and maybe he kind of unfairly
romanticizes those characteristics in
her and he gets angry when she tries to
fight that notion Scarlett is such a
stubborn person and her big problem is
that she knows that Rhett
knows her better than anybody else
but
that's why she refuses to expose that
vulnerability any further she never
wants to appear weak and even though he
is more maybe emotionally involved than
she is because he's older and more
mature I think that he has difficulty
with that as well watching a very
intriguing relationship slowly crumble
is difficult to watch it's also just one
of the most interesting Hollywood
couples on-screen that I've seen but the
big conflict of the film is a key reason
why their relationship doesn't work and
that's the fact that ever since Scarlett
was a teenager she was in love with
another man Ashley Wilkes and Ashley
looks as an extremely different person
than Rhett Butler is he's very honorable
and earnest and very kind natured and
she sees in him that image of idealism
that kind of perfect man he unknowingly
stands between Scarlett and any chance
of true happiness just because she is so
obsessed with something that is
completely unattainable an idea that's
another reason why I find the film to be
so appealing it's because this is not
just a story of a woman that's
representing American strength through
turmoil I think that would make it seem
one note it's the fact that she is a
very flawed person like all of us she's
always chasing something that she
doesn't even really understand why she
loves so much
she's always looking towards the prize
rather than appreciating what she has
and when she finally does realize what
she has it's too late and I think that
that in itself is what is so appealing
for me and it's kind of a layered
commentary on the American Way even
though this film has some deep flaws in
it I can't help but really admire it I
do emotionally connect with it it's one
of those movies where if I just happen
to be doing nothing on a weekend and I
see it on TV I just I have to watch the
whole thing I just I just have to
because it's so interesting it's one of
those movies that I think almost anybody
can enjoy on a certain level
