An all-time great, Civil War and all.

Rating: 10/10 (13 July 2015)

It's rare for a movie to earn a 10 in these quarters, but the scope and breadth of Gone With the Wind earn it top marks in virtually every category.
Vivian Leigh shines as the selfish, spoiled Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable is her perfect foil as the suave and dangerous Rhett Butler. Our story begins in 1861 on the O'Hara farm, where Scarlett pines for Ashley, who is about to marry her cousin Melanie. She loves Ashley and is indifferent to her cousin. Wanting to be the centre of attention, Vivian heads to the Twelve Oaks barbecue where she throws men away as so many kerchiefs. She eventually confronts Ashley in the library and he rebuffs her, to her anger and to Rhett Butler's unending amusement. Rhett had been hiding behind a couch and starts his dance of seduction with Scarlett.
As the movie progresses, we see Georgia embroiled in the progressing Civil War. Atlanta burns (impressively!) and the homestead of Tara is razed and barely able to produce the food necessary for its subsistence. The carpetbaggers take over, Scarlett is forced to sell the mill and to seek Rhett for money to pay the usurious taxes. Meanwhile, Melanie has a child, Ashley dodges more advances from Scarlett and Scarlett's emotionless marriage to a suitor prior ends as he is killed in action.
It all leads to a climax where Scarlett and Rhett wed, their wills clash and he kidnaps their daughter, their poor daughter who dies riding a horse sidesaddle, and their next child is stillborn after Rhett and Scarlett argue on the stairs of Tara. Rhett's famous line: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" resonates his frustration and we see a broken but ultimately self-delusional and hopeful Scarlett looking forward to tomorrow.
All that said, the treatment of African American slaves is polished to a grotesque degree and at least merits some consideration. They are all shown as happy and servile and Ashley and others referencing them as "Darkies" does the movie a disservice, even if it may have been more accurate than the other portrayals.
All said though, this is an epic romance and one that stands the test of time.