A glorious cinematic achievement setting the standard for epic movie making

Rating: 10/10 (24 March 2005)

I may be biased, as Gone With The Wind is my favorite movie ever!! I can't count how many times I have seen it, and I still cry every time. What originally touched me when I first saw the film was Scarlett's strength and fearlessness. Rarely has there been a heroine equal to Scarlett O'Hara, and certainly not prior to 1939. She is selfish, ruthless, determined, manipulative and vain, but also courageous, protective, naive, loyal and at times compassionate. Rhett Butler is also selfish, vain and determined, and yet sophisticated with a wit to match and a tongue like a whip, he is Scarlett's perfect verbal sparing partner. To watch their relationship evolve is what has made this film an enduring love story.
Gone With The Wind is an incredible achievement showing us a broad spectrum of human emotions. Confronting war and adjusting to peace, love and hatred, adultery and loyalty are all explored in this vivid masterpiece of Hollywood's golden age
The acting is wonderful, Vivian Leigh brought Scarlett to life just as Margaret Mitchell had written her. Vivian's amazing debut performance won her an Oscar. Not to mention that no one could have played a better Rhett Butler than Clark Gable and Hattie McDaniel was captivating as Mammy, winning best supporting actress for her role (the first for an African American actress).
For those of you who watched the movie and fell in love with it as I did, I strongly encourage you to read the book. Although the film is relatively accurate to the novel, (if they had made the film true to the book, it would have been 8 hours long) the book is magnificent and a milestone in American literature. There are more fascinating characters to discover, great action and humor and a better insight into what's going on between Scarlett, Melanie, Rhett and Ashley. There is so much that happens in the novel that isn't even hinted at in the movie. For an example, in the novel Scarlett has 3 children.
The film is timeless; deserving of it's 10 Oscars, and its place in film history. Don't let the length of the movie or the size of the book turn you off, once you get into the story, you'll be hooked.