Sunday, January 29, 2012

126. Gone With the Wind

Gone With the Wind
1939
Directed by Victor Fleming

As far as morals go, this is like Birth of a Nation 2.  Though I disapprove of the showing the Ku Klux Klan being heroic or glorifying the plantation slave, I will try to judge the movie for its other...um...accomplishments.

Anyway, I am a huge Gone With the Wind fan, I have also read the novel.  You have to love the Scarlett character; she kind of reminds me of Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair.  Clark Gable is the perfect cad though I do believe that she should have ended up with Ashley.


The acting is amazing which is pretty much a guarantee when you cast that many quality actors in one movie.  Although it is nearly four hours long, it still is amazing and Clark Gable deserved to win Best Actor, dammit!  Truly amazing and you will find yourself rooting for the antiheroes and hating Melanie.

RATING: *****


Interesting Facts:

Gary Cooper turned down the role of Rhett, saying that this film will be the biggest flop in history.  Oops.

#6 in AFI's top 100.

There are too many!  I can't handle the pressure; click here.


12 comments:

  1. I loved this movie and now I have to watch it again. Thanks for the reminder. I still love Rhett Butler. What a sexy,sexy cad. :)

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  2. OMG Diana I agree. Rhett is so hot. Is it weird that every other girl my age has a crush on Ryan Gosling and I love Clark Gable? Hmmmm.... And Amanda, Ashley is super lame. This movie is amazing though...just reading this review makes me want to watch it again. Dat music....damn.

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  3. Ah yes I bet Clark Gable would smell amazing, too. Ahem...

    Ashley was not lame. Well, he was a bit in the movie but not in the book!

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  4. Gosh, Amanda, I'm rather surprised you going for the Clark Gable type. He's a bit.. Well, an ex of mine always thought he was rather 'oily' was the word she used.. a bit smarmy, creepy.. far too slick. smooth, and .. well, I saw what she meant by 'Oily'.

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    1. Haha okay I get what she means too. I would probably complain to him about it and he would reply that I am no lady and it would be magical.

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  5. You cannot be unimpressed with the achievement GWTW is. Technically and the format is way above anything until at least the mid fifties. However, and here you can start throwing things at me, I did not like Scarlett. Not one bit. I do not see an empowered woman but a selfish ass who was willing to throw away what she did not even deserve for a dream that could and should never happen. That does not mean I dislike the movie. Gable's final salute is enough satisfaction to sit through four hour. Only regret is that it took so long, but man, it felt good.

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  6. TS .. I agree. As much as Rett is a slimy creep (sorry Amanda), Scarlet is as much an Empowered Woman, as the Spice Girls were 'girl power'. No, she's a selfish, self centered brat. Whilst seeing your point about the 'final salute' as you put it, something in me wanted them to be stuck in the hell of each others company - they deserved it.

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  7. Agreed about Scarlett

    If it helps you kick the Clark Gable fixation, remember that he had a mouth full of dentures giving him an awful case of halitosis, according to Vivien Leigh.

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  8. I don't think Scarlett is a good person, but I think she is an excellent character. Anyway, her brattiness annoys me less than Melanie's "goodness." Not sure what that says about me. The information about Rhett is...disappointing. I always imagined he would smell like whiskey and cigars.

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  9. .. and snogging a guy reeking of tobacco and stale booze is a better option?
    Sorry, cheap contrived jibe.. I get what you were trying to say.
    And i totally agree that Scarlet is a fantastic character, much more engaging / entertaining in the film / book than Melanie. Whist I sort of agree that Mel's goodness can get more than a little cloying at times,, I'd rather have her around than the others.

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  10. Oh yes, a world of difference between a justifiably-'good' character and one who makes an engaging film. Although I did sense that we were supposed to be rooting for Scarlett a little more than I was.

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  11. Everyone is always trying to keep Clark and I apart. I felt like her marriage to Rhett was her "comeuppance" but I really ended up feeling sorry for her, more than I did for any of the other characters.

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