Sweeping entertainment

Rating: 10/10 (7 September 2006)

Based on Margaret Mitchell's epic bestseller, this film captured the imagination of a nation about to embark on a world war and saw itself in the indominatible Scarlett O'Hara played flawlessly by the beautiful Vivien Leigh in an Oscar winning performance. Scarlett takes viewers on a journey from skirt-swishing plantation flirt to the ultimate survivor, saving her family from poverty and starvation through sheer willpower. There's never been another like her. Clark Gable also proved perfect casting as Rhett Butler, Scarlett's equal, although she realizes this way too late. Hattie McDaniel won the Oscar for her indelible turn as Mammy, a slave but one who really runs the household and keeps Scarlett in line.
Maybe it's not the greatest film ever made and maybe, in this age of digital technology, the special effects are starting to look a little creaky, but GWTW remains sweeping entertainment. It is well-worth seeing and when returns are adjusted for inflation it remains the all-time box office champ.