Welcome to the fifth movie of my Oscar marathon! Today, I'll be reviewing what many people consider one of the greatest movies of all time: Gone with the Wind. Earlier in this marathon, I reviewed a movie that went against it in the Best Picture race, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and out of the two, as well as Wizard of Oz, this film, Gone with the Wind, managed to take it home. So, today, I shall be reviewing this film, the 1939 color classic, Gone with the Wind:
Gone with the Wind is an epic film with outstanding memorability. When it ended, I felt as if I watched something of great worth, something that could have blown anyone's mind back in 1939, and even now, if shown to a person who doesn't follow movies, they'd probably say it was made in the 90's or even the 2000's! It was awesome back then, and it's awesome now. Some people complain that it's almost 4 hours long, but that's what makes it feel more like an experience than just another film. It's just an excellent film in general, timeless, entertaining, and groundbreaking. The story of this film is that Scarlett O'Hara, played by Vivien Leigh, hears that her casual beau, Ashley Wilkes, played by Leslie Howard (Both males, despite the female names) plans to marry Melanie Hamilton, played by Olivia de Havilland. She meets up with Ashley, and while with him, she is annoyed by another man, Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable. I won't say any more, as a lot of the movie involves huge twist and turns, and I don't want to ruin a thing. So, as you can tell, I love the plot and all it's surprises, but do I like the characters? Well, it's hard to say. The characters all have developed personalities and are very realistic, but I didn't find a character that I truly liked. Sure, Rhett is cool, and you relate with Scarlett, but they also have annoying parts to them as well. Rhett, while cool and suave, is mean and possibly even sexist, while Scarlett, though you sympathies with her, she whines and complains about EVERYTHING. Sure, that's what makes them more realistic, as nobody's perfect, but I just wish these characters were less annoying. The acting however, was awesome. Clark Gable was outstanding as Rhett, and Vivien Leigh did well as Scarlett. Also, Hattie McDaniel was great, and I really respect the people who helped cast her and the people who wrote her in the script, as this was a time where racism was a big deal, so I really respect her casting. Everyone else in the movie did good to, I didn't see anyone that was not a good actor. Now, it's time for "The Best and Worst of Gone with the Wind". The best of this film is just how... Epic it is. So much happens in it, the characters go through so much, it makes you feel like you know the characters, as you're knowledgeable of how they would react to certain situations. Also, the cinematography and lighting were very well done, and is some of the best of those categories I've seen back then, and of all time. The worst of this film has to be... How seriously it takes itself. I know it sounds like I'm contradicting myself, but hear me out. Whenever a scene involving a step forwards or backwards in romance, the scene immediately goes to a hilltop during a sunset/sunrise where the main character(s) stands, expressing their opinions to either the other person on the hilltop, or to themselves, and sometimes, they just stand there, doing a weird yoga pose of something. I know it's revolutionary for it's time, as no one did it before, but it just seems over-dramatic. However, besides that and a few other minor flaws, this is a great film, and even though, in my opinion, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a better film than this, this film was definitely more revolutionary and even in color, which wouldn't be replicated in a Best Picture winner until 1951! So, overall, it's not perfect, but it's extremely entertaining and very important for film history. You just gotta love it.
4.5/5
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