Excellent but NOT as good as the book!

Rating: Null/10 (3 June 1999)

Based on it's majesty, scope, color and overall brilliance, it must rank as one of the greatest of all American films however it is NOT as good as Margaret Mitchell's book which must be the greatest of all American novels. To understand the complexities of Scarlett's nature, one should have seen all three of her children in the film and her resentment of all but the one from Rhett Butler She had absolutley no use for her offspring from her husbands Charles and then after his death, Frank, which went to prove what a beast she had become. This was omitted in the film. In the film, the burning of Atlanta was just about on par with the book's description but to be honest. Mitchell let you smell the smoke and cringe from the flames. The casting was superb because as one reads the novel, there could have been only one Rhett Butler, Clark Gable; one Scarlett,Vivian Leigh; one Ashley Wilkes,Leslie Howard and one Melanie Griffith,Olivia DeHavilland. Read it first and then see the film a