A New Year's Resolution is Completed with Gone with the Wind (1939)

For my final movie of the year, I saved another classic for last. Today's film is the 4 hour epic Gone with the Wind. About a spoiled girl who always gets her way when the American Civil War comes to her home lands of the south. Starring Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind is one of the biggest classics in all of film history. I wasn't entirely sure what I would think of it, especially after being disappointed with Magnolia. I expected something similar in scale to Doctor Zhivago (which I liked) since that was also an old classic, but then again, this film is quite a bit older than that. To put it another way, I had some ideas of what to expect, but my expectations still weren't that high. You'll find my thoughts on this 1939 classic on the other side of the jump. And with this, I have completed my goal to watch one new movie everyday, for the whole year. Have a Happy New Year everyone!


I had a few images in my head I would always think of whenever I would hear the name of this movie. It only took minutes into Gone with the Wind before I realized that those images were not from this movie at all, and that I had no idea what it was really about. After some short brain searching, I realized that I've always been confusing Gone with the Wind with The Sound of Music, another movie I never got around to seeing. It was partly because of that mistake that I was not really looking forward to watching this film. The idea of singing in the hills, while also a classic, wasn't really my idea of fun. That also accounts for my confusion when I would keep hearing that Gone with the Wind was a depressing watch.

Scarlett O'Hara is a scheming beauty

Even though I had this film completely mixed up with another completely different one, this is a classic nonetheless. In fact, the mix up worked in my advantage as I ended up liking it quite a bit. The characters are deep and over the gigantic run time of 4 hours, you really feel you get to know them. At first I really hated Scarlett O'Hara because she's so selfish and bitchy, but it's that lively spirit that keeps her alive through the war and also saves the life of her sister-in-law, Melanie (Olivia de Havilland) and her new born baby. Not that Scarlett's actions always work out for the best of those around her. She marries several men throughout the course of the story just because it will benefit her in one way or another. Needless to say, things don't work out very well for those men. In fact, Scarlett is like a venom that poisons pretty much every single person around her.

Mammy tries her best to squeeze the vain Scarlett

I really enjoyed the story and character arcs for all the characters in the film. I liked seeing how their lives changed so drastically from how it was before the war, to during, to immediately afterwards and even to how they prospered long afterwards. You really get to see their lives in full, and you even see a number of the characters grow old and grey, like one of my favorite characters Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) the house servant of Scarlett. While some of the portrayals of black characters is pretty bad, I have to remember that it fits the times, and we do see the progress of black people's rights even within the film. As for Mammy, I found her to be a strong character, often quite funny and I was glad to see her throughout the whole film.

Clark Gable sweeps her of her feet

Another thing that was really cool to see was Clark Gable in action. He was cool and smooth and really made Rhett Butler come to life. I've never seen a movie with Clark Gable, so that was pretty awesome to see an actor of his caliber. I also really liked his character who was just as scheming as Scarlett and really makes the perfect match for her. Too bad it takes her so long to realize.

Gable also gets to say on of those ever famous lines I love hearing so much: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Speaking of famous lines, another cool line to see crop up was when Scarlett returns to her home land after starving for so long after the war and she stands up and says "As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again!" Awesome!

Plenty of amazing cinematography fills this classic film

I can't finish talking about this movie without mentioning some of the amazing shots in it. There are so many good shots, that it was really hard picking out just one image that would capture it all in one. There are lots of cool shots of silhouettes backed by bright scenes, either by flaming doom of falling Atlanta like the shot above, or amazing sunsets which backs that famous Scarlett line I just quoted. The cinematography wasn't limited to only great shots of scenery and landscapes though, it was great for depicting the war, or the characters throughout the movie too.

Scarlett is probably one of the most memorable characters in film history

While the movie was 4 hours long, and there were some slower points in the film, I rarely found myself actually bored. The slow points where usually well placed, like after all the stress of the war and the escape from burning Atlanta. The length does make it a massive time commitment if you're going to watch it, but I felt it was well worth it to see such a classic, but also be entertained by a great story, rich characters, and wonderful cinematography. The film can be quite depressing, but I did find myself really liking a lot of the characters, even Scarlett by the end, so the drama aspects of the film worked well for me.

I was happy I saw this classic, and it made a great way to finish this whole commitment off. It's been a long year, and watching a movie everyday, and especially writing about them certainly hasn't been easy. I would recommend this movie for viewing, but I can understand that it's also not a film for everyone. The views of the old south aren't always comfortable to see, especially all the slavery, but it's a good window into the past, especially what the war was like for the losing side.

And with that, I thank everyone who has gone to all the trouble of reading my silly writings. I know I'm not a writer, and I'm sure I've made plenty of mistakes, but I enjoyed documenting my thoughts on everything I've watched this year. I enjoyed watching all these movies I got to watch over the year. So many of them were films I've meant to see for so long, but never got around to watching. If it wasn't for this blog, I may never have. I hope everyone who read this site has enjoyed their time with it as we have. Thanks again, and have a happy new year!