On G List of Movie Reviews
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Gone with the Wind (1939)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
3/05, 2/08, 4/12, 8/15
2/08:
As impressive as it can be, Gone with the Wind is a one-of-a-kind picture although it's an extremely long epic.
It abounds with excellent performances, picturesque cinematography, and a sumptuous story. I'm at an impasse when I try
to decide who gave the best performance: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, or Olivia de Havilland. They're all very good.
However, I say this with no disrespect, but Hattie McDaniel's performance is overrated. Olivia de Havilland is
much better and thus more memorable because her character is the glue that keeps everybody together.
Of course, who can be more dashing than Clark Gable as Captain Rhett Butler or bitchier than Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara?
They're timeless characters. Gone with the Wind has done a very good job of perpetuating the myth about the Old
South which was anything but. It's an outstanding film, but let's not kid ourselves: the blacks were enslaved, beaten, and
maimed against their will, so the Southern culture could be made possible.
All in all, Gone with the Wind is a very long picture to sit through, but its magnificence is undeniable.
4/12:
Although I've long considered Gone with the Wind to be a masterpiece, I'm lowering my rating from '10' to '9'.
The sight of the mythical Southern way of living is too much to put up with. I hate the false message that Southerners
were portrayed as a superior class of people when their way of living was in fact built on the backs of black slaves. Hence,
I'm glad the Union torched the South as a punishment for being ahead of themselves.
Another reason I hate the movie is Scarlett O'Hara who happens to be full of shit. She ruins it by prancing around like
a royal bitch of the highest order. The worst of the ensemble cast is Butterfly McQueen as Prissy. I just
can't stand her. Laura Crews' Pittypat comes in a close second.
Hattie McDaniel's Oscar win sours it for me because Olivia de Havilland is the reason why it's a
highly compelling film. Melanie Hamilton is truly a remarkable character. I also love Clark Gable's performance as
Rhett Butler. He's brilliant and forever a classic. Yet there are six chief problems with Gone with the Wind:
One, it's not racist enough. Thus, how typical it is for Hollywood to gloss over the truth by making the South that
it never was. I mean, this is the Civil War South we're talking about which was made possible by slavery.
Two, there's a scene of women covering for their menfolk who are coming home from a secret meeting. The fact is that their
husbands are members of the Klu Klux Klan although it's not explicitly mentioned. I'll feel better if they
can come out and just say it, but no...Hollywood wanted to make the South look good.
Three, Gone with the Wind is too pretty of a picture. It's impossible. After the South was deservingly burned down,
everybody is still beautiful.
Four, none of the characters, most especially Scarlett O'Hara, ages over time. Everybody looks the same, no matter what
period of time it is.
Five, as mentioned before, Scarlett O'Hara is the worst character. She needs to be taught a lesson by being thrown in the
gutter and left to fend for herself. I can't stand Scarlett for a minute, so it's a wonder how everybody, especially Rhett
Butler, was able to. At least, he finally left her at the end by saying, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
Six, what's so damned special about Tara? It's just a freaking land that's probably ruined by the lack of fallowing with a
rundown house!
All in all, apart from the flaws, almost everything about Gone with the Wind is perfect, but it's way too fucking
long.
8/15:
It's impossible for me to give Gone with the Wind a '10' because the epic is too long.
The first half is quite good, but the second half is full of melodramatic soap opera that kept torturing my eyes. An hour
cut out of the film would've been greatly appreciated. It's the ending that saves it from being a hopeless romantic picture.
As perfect as the ensemble cast is, only two characters whom I like the most are Rhett Butler and Melanie Hamilton. They're
timeless. On the other hand, Scarlett O'Hara is one of the biggest villains who have ever graced the silver screen.
I just hate her and don't give a flying fuck about her, but she's timeless anyway. Listening to Scarlett O'Hara's problems
makes matters worse when I think of the blacks who had been enslaved for over 200 years and, as freemen, tried to pick
up the pieces as they faced new challenges. The Southern way of living couldn't have existed without them, and there's nothing
nostalgic about it.
All in all, I'm glad that the Old South is no more.