Last week, the American Film Institute released its list of the 100 best American films of all time. Not surprisingly, Gone with the Wind placed in the Top 10 (#4, in fact). However, although this epic romantic melodrama is undoubtedly one of the most popular and beloved motion pictures ever to grace the silver screen, it is also arguably the most overrated. Gone with the Wind is a very good movie, perhaps bordering on being great, but its subject matter and running time (which is easily 60 minutes too long) argue against its status as a masterpiece. As for its high placing on the AFI's list... it isn't the only travesty on that roster, but it is one of the most obvious.
Gone with the Wind is, simply put, a tale of two halves. The movie is divided by an intermission into a pair of roughly-equal segments. The first, which is brilliant and consistently captivating, covers the time period of the Civil War, beginning shortly after the election of Abraham Lincoln, and ending during Sherman's march through Atlanta. The post-intermission half, which dishes out the suds, picks up at the end of the Civil War and concludes about eight years later. This portion of Gone with the Wind, while still retaining a degree of appeal and narrative interest, spins its wheels frequently.
Nevertheless, viewing Gone with the Wind on television pales in comparison to seeing it projected on a motion picture screen. New Line Cinema has chosen to re-release the film (which is now in its sixth major revival) for its 59th anniversary. (Why not wait a year for the 60th?) Anyone who loves movies but has only seen this one on TV or video is heartily encouraged to visit the nearest participating venue. Theatrically, Gone with the Wind is an entirely different experience from its small-screen counterpart; some of the second-half narrative tedium is effaced by the glorious visuals. With a restored three-strip Technicolor print that preserves all of the original's deep, vibrant colors and digitally-enhanced sound, this picture has never looked or sounded better.
Gone with the Wind has one of the best-known storylines of any film, due in large part to the popularity of the source material, Margaret Mitchell's best-selling 1936 book. It's essentially a sumptuous soap opera set around Civil War times in the deep South. The main character is Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), the spoiled, manipulative daughter of an Irish immigrant plantation owner (Thomas Mitchell, who would later play Uncle Billy in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life). Scarlett has two sisters, but she is by far the most spirited of the three O'Hara girls, and her father, seeing her as his successor, teaches her lessons about the importance of the land. "It's the only thing that lasts... the only thing worth fighting for," he comments in the face of war.
Scarlett is secretly in love with Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), who is about to marry the gentle, demure Melanie Hamilton (Olivia De Havilland). When Scarlett confesses her love to Ashley, he admits his feelings for her, but notes that Melanie will make a much better wife. Immediately after this meeting, Scarlett has her first encounter with the irrepressible Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), the cynical, smart hero who eventually falls in love with her. They are two headstrong likes who simultaneously repel and attract one another. When Scarlett remarks, "You, Sir, are no gentleman," Rhett's smiling, easy response is, "And you're no lady."
The bulk of the film follows a romantic quadrangle as it unfolds against the backdrop of war and reconstruction in and around Atlanta and the O'Hara plantation, Tara. Scarlett is in love with Ashley, or thinks she is, but he won't leave his wife. Melanie loves both her husband and Scarlett, who improbably becomes her best friend. Rhett is smitten with Scarlett, and she is clearly interested in him, but the real question is how long it will take for her to recognize the depth of her feelings. Ultimately, when Rhett has finally had enough, he walks out of her life after answering "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" to her plaintive query about what she's supposed to do without him.
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