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It has been said that there are only two films in American cinema history; Gone With The Wind (1939)...and everything else. A bold statement, indeed, but one worthy of its subject matter. Viewing director Victor Fleming’s GWTW today is like sharing reminiscences about an old friend; historically flawed, overly sentimental perhaps, but ultimately satisfying - an excursion worthy of its gallant reverence for that forgotten land of cavaliers and cotton fields. Gone With The Wind is a colossus - a snapshot from that ancient flowering in American film history when the production line precision of the dream factories manufactured art that has since held up remarkably well. Despite changing times and fickle public tastes, GWTW remains a perennial cornerstone in American film and this is as it should be. The movie is an impeccable creation with arguably few - if any - equals. And frankly, my dear, we do give a damn as the film celebrates its 70th anniversary.
While most film's are largely the personal vision of their director, Gone With The Wind is driven by the blinding ambition of its producer, David O. Selznick. Indeed, Selznick was to curse the day he informed his assistant Kay Brown to buy the rights to Margaret Mitchell’s sprawling epic for $50,000 – a record sum then.
While most film's are largely the personal vision of their director, Gone With The Wind is driven by the blinding ambition of its producer, David O. Selznick. Indeed, Selznick was to curse the day he informed his assistant Kay Brown to buy the rights to Margaret Mitchell’s sprawling epic for $50,000 – a record sum then.
It wasn’t that Selznick had his misgivings about the novel’s popularity. Gone With The Wind was a publishing phenomenon. But what worried Selznick – as a literary purist – was how any film could stay faithful to such an enveloping tapestry of vibrant characters.Without a script that satisfied him, Selznick embarked upon a nation wide search for the most sought after female lead in movie history: Scarlett O’Hara. Without an adequate actress of stature to embody this larger than life heroine, the film would fall into that mire of box office poison that had recently branded all civil war movies as such in Daily Variety.
Today, GWTW remains a tapestry befitting that golden age of affectation in Hollywood and Margaret Mitchell’s own misconceptions about ‘the Southern Way’. Those who continue to lament the film’s racial stereotypes, its tinny ring of spectacle over substance and furthermore, those applying their feminist perspective only to come up short on Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett (she does wakes up with a post-rape smile of considerable elation) are missing the film’s fundamental point and it is this; that despite what we today may perceive as the film’s shortcomings, GWTW is on hell of a good show.
Thanks to producer David O. Selznick’s meticulous planning and execution, the film has remained a vibrant flower from that ancient age in storytelling when cinema equated to spectacle and nowhere did that suspension for quality make-believe evolve with more ripened flair than in Hollywood.
Scarlett O’Hara (Leigh) traipses through four hours of gallantry, demise and reconstruction in Atlanta, while pining for her romantic ideal, Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard). Unfortunately, like most royals, Ashley marries his first cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia DeHavilland) and this sets up what is essentially an awkward lover’s triangle with Northern scallywag Rhett Butler (Clark Gable).
Just too sexy for his ascot, Rhett remains unconvinced of Scarlett’s piety or her romanticized longing for ‘the elegant Mr. Wilkes’, though he finds her sinfulness a genuine turn on.After enduring three hours of romantic manipulation to no avail, Rhett decides he’s been all wrong about Scarlett and is, in fact all wrong for her with a “frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!”
I’m being glib, but the impact of GWTW on American folklore, like the film itself, is epic. After scouring the countryside for an actress to play Scarlett, Selznick settled on fiery English lass – Vivien Leigh; the result - an inspired bit of casting that continues to garner praise and accolades.
Some other facts to consider; GWTW’s author, Margaret Mitchell only wrote her novel to keep her mind nibble while recovering from a horse riding accident. She never intended that the book should be published and steadfastly refused to entertain thoughts about a sequel.
No less than six screen writers lent their craft to the finished film, though only Sidney Howard is given credit. Howard died in a tractor accident on his farm before filming was completed and never saw his labors transcend into Hollywood legend. Leslie Howard, who played Ashley Wilkes was killed in a plane crash shortly after the film was released while flying over Germany.
When Selznick premiered his monster epic in Atlanta it is rumored that more than three million people turned out for the occasion. A week long celebration followed. Today, audiences around the world continue to celebrate the film. It is, and will always be, a masterpiece.
There is indeed something new in the wind and its Warner Bros. ultra resolution Blu-Ray transfer of Gone With The Wind. From the moment the screen opens on its lush palette of resplendent Technicolor to the final fade out, I became acutely aware that this was the film presented in a way that would have even pleased the fastidious tinkering of David O. Selznick.
The depth of resolution in this image is so immense that fine detail merely hinted at in previous transfers is now breathtakingly realized. From the minute fibres on the Tarleton twin's powder blue waistcoats to the sumptuous green felt of Scarlett's curtain ensemble, fine detail has been immaculately preserved and presented.
The Technicolor is truly glorious - vibrant and beautifully rendered. Contrast levels are perfect. There remains a hint of edge enhancement, particularly in the opening credit sequence (my displays detected a hint of strobing in the title credit as it swept majestically across my screen; and also briefly glimpsed in the upper tree limbs during the long shot of carriages arriving at Twelve Oaks (actually a matte painting). Otherwise, this is a flawless presentation from start to finish.
Warner's Tru-HD audio master is equally compelling. It has always been the personal mantra of the studio to tamper as little as possible in their preservation efforts. Hence, the 5.1 stereo mix is not so much an upgrade, but a gentle nudge into the future while faithfully preserving the integrity of Selznick's original intent and presentation.
The depth of resolution in this image is so immense that fine detail merely hinted at in previous transfers is now breathtakingly realized. From the minute fibres on the Tarleton twin's powder blue waistcoats to the sumptuous green felt of Scarlett's curtain ensemble, fine detail has been immaculately preserved and presented.
The Technicolor is truly glorious - vibrant and beautifully rendered. Contrast levels are perfect. There remains a hint of edge enhancement, particularly in the opening credit sequence (my displays detected a hint of strobing in the title credit as it swept majestically across my screen; and also briefly glimpsed in the upper tree limbs during the long shot of carriages arriving at Twelve Oaks (actually a matte painting). Otherwise, this is a flawless presentation from start to finish.
Warner's Tru-HD audio master is equally compelling. It has always been the personal mantra of the studio to tamper as little as possible in their preservation efforts. Hence, the 5.1 stereo mix is not so much an upgrade, but a gentle nudge into the future while faithfully preserving the integrity of Selznick's original intent and presentation.
Extras imported directly from Warner's previously issued 4 disc DVD set, include film historian Rudy Behlmer's regurgitation of all of the facts - almost verbatim - featured in the masterful and compelling 2 hr. documentary The Making of A Legend narrated by Christopher Plummer as well as individual vintage documentaries on Gable and Leigh. Olivia DeHavilland participates with a brief featurette – Melanie Remembers, providing insightful commentary with theatrical aplomb. There's also the 2004 Restoring A Legend featurette that explores all too briefly how classic movies like Gone With The Wind are resurrected and returned to their original brilliance.
New extras include the less than comprehensive documentary 1939: The Greatest Year in Movies and the rather lugubrious 1980 made for TV flick: Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara Wars starring Tony Curtis as David O. Selznick. Aside: bad casting, mediocre film. The rest of the extras boil down to some handsome reproductions of art, the original film program and stills, as well as a beautifully rendered hard cover collectable book with many color and B&W production photos.
New extras include the less than comprehensive documentary 1939: The Greatest Year in Movies and the rather lugubrious 1980 made for TV flick: Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara Wars starring Tony Curtis as David O. Selznick. Aside: bad casting, mediocre film. The rest of the extras boil down to some handsome reproductions of art, the original film program and stills, as well as a beautifully rendered hard cover collectable book with many color and B&W production photos.
Also included, presumably as a throw away, is the magnificent bio on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: MGM - When The Lion Roars. At six hours, it's an impressive retrospective of Hollywood's grandest dream factory, and so deserving of an upgrade in image quality that it has yet to receive. Finally, we get an all too brief CD sampler of Max Steiner's mammoth score. Surprisingly, neither Steiner nor the book's author - Margaret Mitchell get the grandiose bio treatment.
The rest of the extras boil down to some screen test footage, stills galleries and the film’s many reissue trailers. All in all, this is an outstanding gift set from the good people at Warner and it comes highly recommended. A MUST OWN EVENT BLU-RAY!
The rest of the extras boil down to some screen test footage, stills galleries and the film’s many reissue trailers. All in all, this is an outstanding gift set from the good people at Warner and it comes highly recommended. A MUST OWN EVENT BLU-RAY!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
5+
VIDEO/AUDIO
4.5
EXTRAS
5
