Absolutely breathtaking

Rating: 10/10 (26 June 2003)

What can't I say about one of the greatest movies of all time? Watching this masterpiece makes one long for a time when thought and energy was put into make a good film, when an epic really was epic. When actors were cast not for their looks and their fame rating, but for their talent and - maybe even most importantly - their chemistry with the other actors. Gone With the Wind has the reputation of being one of the best movies of all time, and for good reason.
Now, I had what I initially thought was the misfortune of seeing the movie before reading the book. I always say, Better to read the book first so as the movie doesn't influence your opinion of the writing too much. In the case of Gone With the Wind, I don't think it matters at all. The movie is as close to the 1000+ page book as possible. It's almost impossible to imagine anyone other than Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, and Olivia de Havilland playing the leads. The actors know their characters so well you'd think they actually helped Margaret Mitchell write the novel. Every cast member interacts wonderfully with each other and everything fits together so well. Gable and Leigh especially shine in their respective roles. Gable is so irresistibly handsome and suave, making him the perfect Rhett Butler, and at the same time he proves what a brilliant actor he is by adding subtle emotional depth to the character. Leigh is amazing in the role of Scarlett O'Hara, a difficult feat considering the complexity of a character like this one is often hard to lift out of the pages of a book and slap onto a movie screen. Leigh manages to play Scarlett with the proper amount of overwhelming emotion and underlying vulnerability. Both Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland are stunning in their roles and round out a perfect cast consisting of Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, and the stellar Thomas Mitchell.
Of course, the film has many other qualities that I love about it - the costumes, the set design, the color, the music, and that oh-so-heartbreaking plot. But for me, characters more often than not make a story and Gone With the Wind has got a handful of wonderfully complex characters that are just cast brilliantly. If not for the on-screen chemistry of Gable and Leigh, why else would people watch this movie over and over, always hoping for a different ending?