Frankly....This Is One Fine Movie

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2005)

I know "Gone with the Wind" has been teased to death, and there seems to be a sort of snob appeal among the film critical community in denegrating this film as overblown Hollywood melodrama. But the thing that impresses me about "Gone with the Wind" after seeing it recently on the big screen is that it's one hell of a good movie. The entire first half moves with a propulsive energy that not many films can match. Victor Fleming (billed as director, though there were at least four director names attached to the project) stages one sensational set piece after another, and hardly a scene goes by without a quotable line or a memorable image.
The success of any adaptation of "Wind" is going to rely greatly on its Scarlett, and here I can't say enough about Vivien Leigh's performance. I quite simply cannot imagine any other actress in this role, so perfectly does Ms. Leigh embody it. She's in virtually every scene, but even after four hours of her, I'm not tired of her, and her ability to captivate the screen while she's on it doesn't lessen for an instant.
Clark Gable is Clark Gable, perfect for his role as well and an able match for Leigh, but his performance plays as window dressing as compared to Leigh's powerhouse work.
I also want to mention Olivia de Havilland. In her own way, she is just as powerful in her role as Leigh is in Scarlett's. Melanie's character is less dynamic and so by sheer necessity de Havilland is frequently upstaged by Leigh. But she holds her own nonetheless. And what struck me is the chemistry the two actresses have when on screen together. The scene in which Scarlett attends a party dressed in bright red, braving the gossip she knows will attend her presence, and Melanie walks slowly forward, determined to prove herself a refined lady by welcoming Scarlett unconditionally, is a tour de force for both actresses.
I take points away for some soap operatic elements in the second half that grind the story to a halt, but otherwise this film deserves its place as one of the greatest achievements in American cinematic history.
Grade: A