GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Victor Fleming Writers: Sidney Howard (based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell) Starring: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia De Havilland, Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neill, Caroll Nye, Harry Davenport, Leona Roberts, Everett Brown, Howard C. Hickman, Laura Hope Crews
I've been reading a lot of reviews of the most recent re-release of "Gone With the Wind," the epic Civil War soap opera we've almost no doubt been brought up on by our parents, and I'm actually shocked to find that the words "Gone With the Wind" and "overrated" are used in the same sentence. What do I have to say to this: shame on you. "Gone With the Wind" is not great primarily because it's a classic, or because it merely portrays a civlization that is gradually dying. It's great for many of the same reasons some people complain about: it's too long, it's story's a little dated, and it's melodramatic. And I personally wouldn't have it any other way.
"Gone With the Wind" is the great sentimental view of the South during and following the Civil War, depicting the gradual death of slavery, plantations, and the introduction to segregation and intense capitolism, all seen through the eyes of the film's famous (or infamous) protagonist, Scarlett O'Hara. Played by then-newcomer Vivien Leigh, Scarlett's the classic Souther Belle: selfish, manipulative, egotistical, lovable. We first meet her when she's young, still living on her family's giant plantation of Tara, the symbol of Southern Pride and the place that will go through radical changes as the story progresses.
As the Civil War comes and goes, we don't see battles or carnage, but we see everything from the perpective of Scarlett, who has fallen in love with the suave but shallow Ashely Wilkes (Leslie Howard), a neighbor of hers who has unfortunately fallen in love and proposed to his fragile cousin, Melanie (Olivia De Havilland). While Scarlett plots and plots to steal Ashely from Melanie, mostly by befriending her and doing it that way, she discovers someone else who has affections for her: Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), the blunt, obnoxious, and intelligent lady killer who makes one of the most interesting first impressions on Scarlett towards the beginning, staring at her as she walks up the stairs at a party ("He looks as if he knows what I look like without my shimmy," she remarks to a friend).
As the film progresses, Scarlett will loose everything, including a couple husbands she marries not out of love but out of revenge and financial desperation (in that order), and as the Civil War ends and the North claims the South for its own, we see a battle between Scarlett's obsession with Ashley and her unrequited love for Rhett, the former who loves her in that nice way, the latter who simply adores her ("What a woman," he says once). Since the film runs about four hours or so (with an intermission, of course), a lot happens, and instead of the film ending when Scarlett realizes after she has lost everything that she "will never be hungry again," the film keeps on going, mostly because this film is not about Scarlett coming to the realization that she is an independent woman, but has to come right back to the beginning of the film again. Through four hours of film, everything and nothing has happened.
For the fans of this film, this plot summary will probably be a refreshment of the fun of just watching the events of the film unfold, which perhaps may result in going to see the most recent reissue of this film, a ten million dollar re-enhancement by Ted Turner that is currenly playing in theaters (a weird experience, simply because the aspect ratio is that of a TV - just one of the many older films that I wish had been filmed in widescreen, if it had been around back then). For those of you who've never seen it before, this may be a good reason to actually go see it for your first time. Why? Because of the two reasons many people give for liking this film: because it's a classic and it's a masterpiece. Two reasons to see any film.
I don't consider every old film to be a classic or a masterpiece, mainly because they are two completely different things and not every film made in the past is one of them, let alone both. "Gone With the Wind" is, though. It's a classic because it's not dated at all; it has effortlessly stood the test of time. We watch films like "Forbidden Planet," a great film that is horrifically dated, not because the special effects have been improved, but because of the hokey stench that it wreaks of. "Gone With the Wind" has none of that. There are no unintentional jokes in this film. Many of the laughs in this film (and there are many, believe me) are laughs that we could share with the audience of 1939, who saw this for the first time. Not to mention that Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable have lost none of their appeal: she's still a babe, and he's still the man. Watching them interact is still one of the most engaging and wonderful cinematic experiences of all time (their banter is killer). "Gone With the Wind" is one of the few films that has lost none of its power to entertain in its 60 or so years of being in existence, and that's why it's a classic.
Why it's a masterpiece is a little more complicated. But I can sum that up in just a few words: becuase it tells a great story and it tells it well. There's not one chief character in this film who is not likable and who is not seen in their full dimension. Scarlett, even though she's a manipulative bitch, is a lovable manipulative bitch who we root for and againt without even thinking about it. We all want her to get with Ashley...and we don't because we don't want to see Melanie hurt. And don't tell me that you're not both saddened and satisfied by the film's final scene, where Rhett answers her question of "What am I going to do?" with a hilarious and sarcastically cold, "Frankly, dear, I don't give a damn." She got what she deserved and we're happy she did, but we also feel something for her in that ending, some kind of pathos. It's damn near cathartic.
Scarlett could be seen as the sole tragic character in the story if most of the main characters weren't tragic as well. Rhett Butler is a man who has everything he could possible have except the love of the woman he loves, which ultimately destroys him and leaves him more cynical than in the beginning. Melanie is one of the saddest: a woman who is nice through everything and becomes one of the main reasons for Scarlett's sadness in the end. And Ashely is the inept fool of the film, never realizing his true importance and winding up losing the one woman he loves. The sole voice of reason in the film is Mammy (Hattie McDaniel, who won an Oscar for her performance), the African American nanny to Scarlett, who is faithful to her owners even after the War, and who lends pragmatic advice throughout the film ("It ain't fittin', it ain't fittin', it ain't fittin'!").
And who can deny the scope this film places on its story? We actually see the passage of time contrasted in the story of the characters. We see the Old South die and be reborn, only differently, as we see Scarlett die and be reborn, only differently. We see Atlanta thriving as a busy city, then burned down, and then rebuilt. This film knows what happened during this time, and it effortlessly portrays an accurate history lesson while telling a delightfully absorbing melodramatic story about characters we like.
But none of these reasons are really why "Gone With the Wind" is such a great film, and so worthy of being placed on the same list of great films of all time as "Citizen Kane" and "Lawrence of Arabia." The real reason is because it never bullshits us about its story. It just tells it, and never denies us anything that we should know. The film is about four hours long because it has a long story to tell, and to leave out anything would result in a lesser film. This film is great because it has a great story to tell. Becuase it has amazing acting. Because Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable are the perfect mis-matched couple of all time. Because it has a killer script. Because Victor Fleming (and all the other guest directors, like George Cukor) knows how to set up shots perfectly (my favorite is still the pull back to show Tara at sundown in the beginning - orgasmic). Because it's a bit dated. And because for four hours you can see one of the very few times when Hollywood just got a film right, and wasn't afraid of a lengthy running time or cost. I really don't want to compare "Titanic" to this, because it's just not going to be as great as this film for at least another 30 or 40 years, but when Hollywood really pulls out the stops and is concerned with everything at the same time, including the story, that's when a great film emerges. And "Gone With the Wind," for all its 222 minutes of running time and seeping soap opera structure, is one of the greatest films of all time. That's inarguable.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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