Gone with the Wind - Victor Fleming (1939)

This is one of the first movies I watched that I fell in love with. So it has a special place in my heart. I remember watching this on TV with my Mom when I was probably 14 (or around there somewhere). I thought this was an amazing movie. The love story (I had a crush on Rhett Butler). The colours and the costumes. I remember being mesmerized. I have not watched it since then. So I was interested to see if I still liked it as much viewing it as an adult. And I did. Although it runs long, just shy of 4 hours, I don't think that the story could be told in less time.

This movie was made in a year that some (most film people) believe is the pinnacle of Hollywood movie making. 1939 spawned some of the most popular and best loved movies of all time: Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz (directed by Victor Fleming as well), Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach (the movie that made John Wayne famous), and on and on. I might argue that Gone with the Wind is the pinnacle of that year. It won Best Picture at the Academy Awards that year (not saying that particular honour makes a good movie).

I also think it's important to look at the historical context of 1939. It was just as the Great Depression was ending and WW II was just starting. So a film about the devastating effects of War and the hardships of that would have been particularly relevant in that year. And beyond this being an epic masterpiece of film making, this is maybe why it has such a place in history and in people's hearts. It reflected the times, although it's a story of a events that 'happened' almost a hundred years prior.

Cinematically this is a stunning movie. Acting wise, this was brilliantly cast. Was there anyone else who could have played Rhett Butler other than Clark Gable? No. Was Vivian Leigh the right choice for Scarlett? Absolutely. Does this have some of the most memorable lines in movie history? Duh!!! 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.' (At the time, damn was thought of as being very risque...how times have changed.) Which is, by the way, the #1 quote on AFI's top 100 movie quotes of all time. And, 'As God as my witness, I will never go hungry again.'

Is this movie culturally relevant? Yes. Is this a great movie? Yes.

One word to describe 'Gone with the Wind': Awesome!