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Review: The significance of this film, Gone With The Wind, is absolutely overwhelming. The first film to win a significant number of academy awards (9) including Best Picture, a record number in it's time, unchallenged until Ben Hur came along some 20 years later and worth every one of them! Also, the sheer scale of the film was something unrivalled for a long time and is still rarely challenged by any of its contemporary counterparts. The story itself is complex and wonderful to watch over the 4 hours. Right from the start, we meet the central character of Scarlett O'Hara, a spoilt brat, beautiful, wealthy, naive and self-centred. Every man wants her, and the only man she wants is due to be married to another woman. As she has to face her whole world torn apart by war, we see her emerge as a working-class girl, then transfromed into a busineswoman and finally, through some dubious means, restored to the life she lost and feels she needs. These transitions are given a lot of screentime, with many memorable characters between. Notable among these are Mammy, Ashley Wilkes, and of course Rhett Butler, played wonderfully by Clark Gable. The two leads elevate this great film to something approaching what many feel to be cinematic perfection. This is a film you will find in any 'Top 100 movies' list and will only ever read 5 star reviews of it from any source. There's so much to say about this film that can't be covered in this review to do it justice. The brilliant music, the innovative cinematography, the dazzling effects. Thank goodness that Warner Brothers have supplied us with a 4-disc set so we can appreciate not only the film itself, but also the huge undertaking/labour of love that it was for all those involved in the making of it so many years ago. |
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