A must-see

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2014)

Gone with the Wind (1939, George Cusak, Victor Fleming, Sam Wood) is a perfect adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's famous novel of the same name. Scarlett and Rhett's twisted romance rising and falling takes place in the heart of a war where any and every win from either side is a Pyrrhic victory, and the groundbreaking use of color was just in time to improve an already beautiful film. I can only assume that without color, this film would be lessened, but still a wonderful depiction of what Mitchell created. This alluring and headstrong woman represents the sheer will of the Southern states in the tumultuous Civil War, and her stubbornness, like the South's, leads to her ultimate failure in achieving happiness. The shots, specifically the extremely wide ones such as the scene where Scarlett is picking her way through the crowd of bodies that embody the dying of the old South, are very interesting to look for. The lighting is normally very bright, and in the scene where Rhett is assisting Scarlett, Melanie, her baby, and Prissy to flee the burning Atlanta, it is so bright and warm that it truly does look like their little Southern world is ablaze. The use of shadows and silhouettes is also very interesting. Several shots in scenes set at Tara, Scarlett's childhood home, often use wide shots that do not completely articulate the in-shot characters' features. Instead, they capture their silhouettes. As for design and costuming, the steady decline in the elegance of living conditions and clothing perfectly exemplifies the fall of class and grace at that time. In my opinion, Gone with the Wind is an absolute must-see. However, I highly recommend reading the book first, as it makes the photography of the film easier to appreciate.