Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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Scarlett is a woman who can deal with a nation at war, Atlanta burning, the Union Army carrying off everything from her beloved Tara, the carpetbaggers who arrive after the war. Scarlett is beautiful. She has vitality. But Ashley, the man she has wanted for so long, is going to marry his placid cousin, Melanie. Mammy warns Scarlett to behave herself at the party at Twelve Oaks. There is a new man there that day, the day the Civil War begins. Rhett Butler. Scarlett does not know he is in the room when she pleads with Ashley to choose her instead of Melanie.

IMDB: Rating 8.2/10

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Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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My introduction to this epochal motion picture was in one of the early 1970's 70mm stereophonic re-releases. My mother was a huge GWTW fan, and by that I mean both the original novel, which she typically reread once every couple of years or so (one of her proudest book possessions was a pristine first edition of the tome, something I've heard is pretty rare nowadays), as well as the film. When this particular re-release was announced, she simply informed me I was going to go with her and my father. Need I tell you that Gone With the Wind was not exactly at the top of a very young boy's "must see" list? And yet, I was transfixed by this film from the first frame (I was too young to know or care about the butchering the image received by being blown up and rematted to approximate the 70mm format). I still remember sitting with my jaw agape during the famous crane shot of Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) walking amidst the wounded and dead Confederate soldiers. Even at that young, extremely innocent age, I knew that that shot at least was something spectacular. I also fell in love with Max Steiner's incredible score, and in fact I was soon pounding away on the solo piano version of "My Own True Love." I was also schooled by my mom in the many differences between the original novel and the film, as she went into minute, almost page by page, detail of how the film altered and reordered the events in Margaret Mitchell's best seller.

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Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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In fact adapting the novel was one of the biggest nightmares of David O. Selznick's famously obsessive compulsive career. If you've ever read Rudy Behlmer's absolutely fascinating book Memo from David O. Selznick (and you should if you haven't), you're well aware of the micromanaging to which Selznick subjected his underlings (Behlmer in fact contributes the exhaustive commentary to the film, doing his typically excellent job). Selznick was nowhere more putatively in control than during Gone With the Wind, a film he was proud to have optioned from under the noses of all the majors (including of course his father-in-law), and he knew, perhaps instinctively, that this was the film on which his entire reputation would rise or fall. Large swaths of the novel fell by the wayside under the repeated attempts of a truckload of scenarists (including Selznick himself), resulting in what could have been a hodgepodge of styles and approaches. Amazingly, though, the basic premise of the novel, a portrait of that most petulant of Southern Belles, Miss Scarlett O'Hara of the plantation Tara, and her ill advised love affair with dashing ne'er-do-well Rhett Butler (Clark Gable, in a role he was seemingly predestined to play), remained front and center in the final screenplay (credited to Sidney Howard, though a who's who of other screenwriting legends contributed), even while a slew of the novel's supporting characters (including two additional children for Miss Scarlett) never made it to the screen. Howard wisely streamlines the novel's labyrinthine subplots and melts them down into what basically amounts to a quartet of starcrossed relationships.

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Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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Scarlett pines for Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), who marries his beatific cousin, Melanie (Olivia de Havilland). Perhaps in spite, mixed with just the right amount of naked lust, Scarlett, after a brief but tragic dalliance with Melanie's brother, enters into a tempestuous affair, and ultimately an equally tempestuous marriage, with Rhett. Have I forgotten to mention this all plays out against the South's entrance into the Civil War, with the devastating personal and societal repercussions that brought, at least for the white folks. Some historical apologists have in fact accused Gone With the Wind, in both novel and film form, for adhering to, if not outright promoting, racial stereotypes, but I would argue that the film is actually somewhat forward looking in presenting Scarlett's slave maid, Mammy (the resplendent Hattie McDaniel), as a woman with a mind (and voice) or her own, not afraid to put her charge in her place if circumstances warrant. And really how can a film dealing with the end of the horrific slave era not indulge in some racial profiling, as it were, at least to some degree? While the film certainly doesn't really ever take a more politically correct stance abhorring slavery, I think it's unfair to say it glorifies the practice, other than giving it the glossy studio system patina that virtually every major film from that era displays.

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Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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This is a film in which virtually everything works, from the magnificent performances to the seamless direction of George Cukor and his replacement Victor Fleming (as well as contributor Sam Wood), to the amazing production design, the impeccable Technicolor cinematography and the unmatched magnificence of Max Steiner's score. It was a foregone conclusion that Clark Gable would play Rhett, and he famously actually didn't want the role as he feared he would never be able to rise to his public's preconceived notions of what it should be. He needn't have been concerned. Playing Rhett with just the right amount of rogueish wit, mixed with a surprisingly menacing undercurrent of bitterness and even menace, this is a textbook example of an actor overcoming his "star" image to actually inhabit the role. Vivien Leigh, of course, was largely unknown stateside at the time of her casting, and therefore had only the novel readers' own mental images of Scarlett to compete with, instead of her own starry façade. She is simply perfection in this role, a scheming coquette with a steel will and flashes of temper that can take a first time viewer's breath away.

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Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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The supporting cast is similarly wonderful, with Howard's Ashley Wilkes a study in noble self denial and tormented passions, and McDaniel's superb Mammy both the comedy relief and, perhaps surprisingly, often the emotional anchor of much of the film. But the two standout acting honors must ultimately go to de Havilland, able to invest a pretty treacly character like Melanie with some grit and nuance, and the incredible Thomas Mitchell as Gerald O'Hara, Scarlett's father, a proud southern plantation owner who pays the ultimate mental price for the south's downfall. But really, one could pretty much single out any supporting actor in this piece and heap praises upon them; this is a film where even bit parts were cast with care and craftiness, offering a superb palette that only proves how deep the "back bench" of Hollywood was in those days. You'll see a truly unmatched panoply of actors in various roles here, from Jane Darwell to future Superman George Reeves to Eddie "Rochester" Anderson to Butterfly McQueen, and they are all brilliant, sometimes in roles that only grant them mere seconds of screentime.

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Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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But the performances are only one part of Gone With the Wind's enduring magic. This is a film which virtually defines the epic, at least as it was at the acme of Hollywood's Golden Era that most heralded year of 1939. Ernest Haller and Lee Garmes brought new splendor to the then still relatively untested medium of three strip Technicolor, offering an eye-popping array of colors that are only more impressive in this new Blu-ray presentation. The legendary William Cameron Menzies was on hand as overall production designer, and along with William Plunkett's impeccable costume designs, the viewer is whisked by their mastery into the Antebellum South as in perhaps no other film. When one considers that this film begins at the height of the south's prestige and extravagance, and then devolves into the horrors and degradations the Civil War brought home to bear, it's an all the more remarkable achievement. Anyone who has seen this film's depiction of Tara pre- and post- battle will know exactly to what I refer.

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Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1939)

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Finally, one must properly acknowledge the unobtrusive yet brilliant direction, largely by Fleming, but with several key scenes helmed by either Cukor or Wood. Obviously the tonally perfect performances are a credit to these directors' mastery, but the epic sweep of this film must really be attributed squarely to their quiet professionalism. In an era when directors love to call attention to their own manic camera work, it's notable to see how thrilling Gone With the Wind is with largely static, or at least non-showy, shots. Fleming simply plants his camera down and lets the actors and the images tell the story. That means when there is some camera movement, as in the famous crane shot, it becomes all the more thrilling and riveting. A lot of younger directors could, in my not so humble opinion, learn a lot from this modus operandi, a component of the director's craft that has, sadly, disappeared a la this particular film's title.

The Antebellum South may indeed have perished with the winds of time, but there's little doubt Gone With the Wind will forever retain its status as one of the greatest films, if not the greatest film, ever made.

EXTRA Featurette, About the Movie, About the Cast

This is a five disc release. Discs 1 & 2 are the movie, and come in a beautiful case with a picture of Scarlet O’Hara on the front. Discs 3, 4, & 5 are the extras.

Disc 3 – About the Movie:

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind – This is a two hour long making of that is narrated by Christopher Plummer. It outlines the entire process of making this film from obtaining the rights to the book to the Oscar ceremony where the film was nominated for 14 and won 9. (02:03:00)

Restoring a Legend – Here is the restoration doc I mentioned earlier. The film was shot entirely in Technicolor and on three separate film reels, one for red, one for blue, and one for green. Over time, the film had deteriorated and skewed from its original alignment. They have developed software to properly align the RGB to make the film brighter and more clear than ever. (17:43)

Dixie Hails Gone with the Wind – An old news reel of the footage from the premiere in Atlanta. (04:01)

Historical Theatrical Short: The Old South - Although it never mentions the film, this short was created to introduce audiences to the culture of the times depicted in the movie. It is actually a very informative short about cotton production in the South. (11:19)

Atlanta Civil War Centennial – This is footage from the 1961 theatrical re-release of the film, again held in Atlanta. David O. Selznick, Vivien Leigh, and Olivia DeHavilland were in attendence. This is video footage, no audio. (03:41)

International Prologue – This was added to the international release of the film to explain the Civil War to foreign audiences. (01:17)

Foreign Language Versions – Different scenes from the film in French, Italian, and German. (02:27)

Theatrical Trailers – The 1939 Announcement Trailer with no shots from the film, the 1961 Civil War Centennial Trailer, the 1967 70 mm Re-Issue Trailer, the 1968 Re-Issue Trailer, and the 1989 50th Anniversary Trailer

Awards – List of the Academy Awards, and NY Film Critics Circle Awards

Disc 4: About The Cast -

Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia DeHavilland – The famous actress who played Melanie Hamilton gives stories from the film, from auditioning for the part, and decisions she made about how her character was portrayed onscreen. (38:40)

Gable: The King Remembered – A documentary about the actor that chronicles his entire life. His young life, how he became an actor, his marriage to Carol Lombard, and his war efforts. A very nice tribute to the iconic actor. (01:05:00)

Vivien Leigh: Scarlett And Beyond – This documentary about the actresses life is hosted by a very ’80s-looking Jessica Lange. This was very fascinating as it shows more of the films that Leigh did and her affair and marriage to Laurence Olivier. (46:05)

The Supporting Players: short documentaries about each supporting character

At Tara – The O’Hara Plantation in Georgia

- Thomas Mitchel as Gerald O’Hara – (02:41)
- Barbara O’Neill as Ellen – (01:16)

Their Daughters –

- Evelyn Keyes as Suellen – (01:00)
- Ann Rutherford as Carreen – (01:18)

The House Servants –

- Hattie McDaniel as Mammy – (03:01)
- Oscar Polk as Pork – (00:54)
- Butterfly McQueen as Prissy – (02:08)

At Twelve Oaks –

- Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes – (05:25)
- Rand Brooks as Charles Hamilton – (01:11)
- Carroll Nye as Frank Kennedy – (01:38)

In Atlanta –

- Laura Hope Crews as Aunt Pittypat – (01:28)
- Eddie Anderson as Uncle Peter (her coachman) – (01:38)
- Harry Davenport as Dr. Meade – (01:34)
- Jane Darwell as Mrs. Merriweather – (01:14)
- Ona Munson as Belle Watling – (01:33)
- Cammie King as Bonnie Blue Butler – (00:54)

Exit – 0:44

The Polar Express Preview

Disc 5: Extras

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Presents 1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year - Various film critics and historians talk about how the planets and stars aligned just right in 1939 creating an explosion of excellent films, narrated by Kenneth Branaugh. Just a few things they talk about: Mickey Rooney, The Wizard of Oz, The Women, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Dark Victory, Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Son of Frankenstein, Frank Capra, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gunga Din, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Of Mice And Men, Stagecoach. (01:08:20)

Gone With The Wind: The Legend Lives On – This featurette discusses why the film is still so important. Also discusses “Windies”, the GWTW fan club. New for the 70th anniversary release. (32:43)

Moviola: The Scarlett O’Hara War – A movie about casting the movie. Really. The actor who plays Clark Gable is really very good! (01:37:23)

Synopsis in others languages included in DVD
Via Col Vento - Synopsis
Autant en emporte le vent - Synopsis

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