Gone With the Wind directed by Victor Fleming

During the mid-1930s, the Great Depression was still haunting America, however a new riveting and inevitable classic film was in production, Gone With the Wind. This dramatic and romantic film was directed by Victor Fleming, George Cukor and Sam Wood. Featuring Vivien Leigh (as Scarlett OHara), Clark Gable (as Rhett Butler, Scarletts love interest), Olivia de Havilland (as Melanie, Scarletts nemesis and friend) and Hattie McDaniel (as Mammy, Scarletts maid and confidant), the story spotlights the transformation of the wealthy, yet spoiled, Southern beauty, Scarlett OHara during the Civil War Era. The movie is filmed from the perspective of Scarlett OHara and covers the time period before, during, and after the Civil War.

Over the years, Gone With the Wind has snatched up many Oscar nominations, earning a total of ten wins, as well as an Academy Award for Best Picture. The movie was released in 1939 by MGM Pictures, based on a fictional book of the same title, with a budget of 3.9 million dollars.

Hollywood is known for either exaggerating, downplaying, or falsifying historical events in movies, however, the film Gone With the Wind experienced only a few historical inaccuracies. One topic that was extremely downplayed in the film was the subject matter of slavery. Although the OHara family appear to have slaves, the main ones being Mammy and Prissy, they dont really emphasize the slaves who worked in the OHara fields. The movie merely implies that there were field slaves, however when the war ended Scarlett was left tending to the fields alone. Other than the slavery exclusions, the film appeared to stay on track historically. The setting of the story is authentic, especially since real Georgian plantation homes were utilized in the making of the film. The dresses that Scarlett wore were elaborate and did an amazing job of expressing the time period. One example of the fashion displaying the time, was near the beginning of the movie when Scarlett was preparing for the barbeque, and she had to be fastened into her corset. At the point in the film where Scarlett was helping to tend to the wounded Confederate soldiers, an important historical moment occurred, which is known as the March to the Sea. As Sherman led his men through the town burning everything in their way, Scarlett is seen fleeing the burning city.

I first saw Gone With the Wind on Thanksgiving a few years ago while channel surfing with my father. I admit that this classic film has maneuvered its way onto my list of favorite movies. The main reason being that a strong, enabled, and interesting female protagonist is featured in the timeless film. While watching the film, I made Scarlett out to be the female version of a womanizer, which I believe was not the most popular way for a Southern lady to act during the time period. At the beginning of the film, Scarlett attends a barbecue with her family that all the Southern elites are attending. When Scarlett arrives, all eyes find their way to her, even the married men, all without her trying. I find that this alone causes many women to be jealous of Scarletts beauty and bold personality. Scarlett, on the other hand, seeks the one man who seems to not be interested in a romantic relationship with her, Ashley Wilkes. She tries to make advances on him, but he turns her away while informing her of his engagement to his cousin Melanie. Scarlett follows her rejection with the rash decision to marry one of her many suitors, who immediately dies in the Civil War. This gives us insight into Scarletts capricious personality and gives headway into a storyline that follows a capturing protagonist.

Gone With the Wind has three main parts: Scarlett before the war, during the war, and after the war. As the sections of the movie come to a close, the film utilizes cinematic devices, to give the movie a more dramatic effect. One of my personal favorite parts in the film, is when Scarlett is standing behind the OHara home, declaring in a passionate monologue, God is my witness... Ill never go hungry again. In this scene, Scarlett is outside during the sunset and dramatically rising from the ground covered in dirt, then after her speech, the camera slowly draws away from her. The camera draws far enough away to see Scarletts setting, along with her standing with determination, and then the picture fades away. After watching this film, I was able to gain some knowledge on the Souths perspective during the Civil War, while also experiencing a ladys position in the South.

Overall, the actors were very convincing in their roles, specifically the lead character Vivien Leigh as she truly immersed herself as the perfect embodiment of the true Southern Belle. Clark Gable was not far behind in his portrayal of a Southern playboy vying for the eye of the one who continued to reject him.

Gone with the Wind is a beloved movie that continues to be enjoyed by old and new viewers of all ages.

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