I finally decided to watch Gone with the Wind after months of “meaning to” and receiving the movie as a suggestion in an improv show for the umpteenth time. Before I go into my review though, here’s a joke for those of who have seen it:
What’s Scarlett O’Hara’s favorite dessert? Tara-misu
Gone with the Wind
#4 on the AFI’s list of the Top 100 Movies of all time, Gone with the Wind has long been regarded as one of the greatest stories of all time. After finally seeing it, 68 years after it’s original release date, I can see why (sort of). The story is indeed an epic (238 minutes long), but I don’t think the ending was as strong as it could have been. Regardless, it is still a pretty amazing movie considering when it was released.
The strongest aspects of the movie were the acting by the two leads (thank you Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable), and the writing – both for the plot that unfolds, and the dialogue (“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” and 2 others in the top 100). The cinematography is solid, with some shots that I’m sure were ahead of their time in 1939, and the music so fitting for this classic.
Where the movie stumbles, and why I agree that it should be behind such greats as Citizen Kane and Casablanca, is its length. I’m sure that when the movie was released (in which Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. attended – thanks IMDB), the experience of the movie was incredible. But now, watching the movie on DVD, that experience is lost, and the lengthy musical introduction, intermission, and ending just draw out an already long movie. Despite being 4 hours long, it is only at the very end of the movie that you start to think, “Wrap it up, B.”
To me, its shortcomings are minor and the movie is definitely very good – I’m just being picky and comparing it to the two movies mentioned above. In the end, I’d recommend this to anyone who fancies themself as a movie buff. And even if you aren’t, it’s still a great example of storytelling and what movies should be like, just be ready to sit for the long haul.
Acting: 9
Directing: 9
Writing: 9
Entertainment: 9
Overall: 9