Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind
(1939) [Trailer]
Director: Victor Fleming [IMDB]

I don't know, you may have heard about this movie before, it's kind of a big deal? Gone with the Wind tops many people's 'best of' lists and is considered widely to be one of the greatest movies of all time... so I figured a blind buy on the blu-ray for this may have been acceptable. That's right, I flew into this film blind... as a first timer.... and I was ready to be blown away. The question is... was I?

Synopsis: A story about love, slavery, and civil war down in the Old South.

I knew this film was long, but Jesus-- it's like 4 hours! To use the term epic is completely fitting here. Gone with the Wind really surprised me... it didn't feel like a 4 hour long film and it definitely didn't feel like a typical Hollywood movie of that time. It's really dark and depressing, which I honestly didn't expect. I'm actually really glad I've never read/talked about this movie or had it spoiled for me in anyway.

The performances of the entire cast were memorable, but Clarke Gable and Vivien Leigh own this picture. They are so perfectly cast and their tumultuous relationship unfolds in such an entertaining way... you keep wanting to go on to find out how things will unfold for the two. I think where they end up is very shocking and left me taken aback a little.

The other thing that stands out is the visuals in this bad larry. The sets and use of lighting were extremely impressive for the time. There is a scene where the camera pulls back on a field of dead and wounded soliders that is incredible... I haven't researched it yet, but I'm pretty sure it's probably a very famous scene. The shots of Scarlett (Vivien Leigh) under the tree at Tara (her home) during the sunset were also very striking.

This is a new old favorite of mine and a welcome addition to my blu-ray library.