grim_tales

Sorry about this, I searched the forum and couldnt find a GWTW thread.

I watched the UK R2 4 DVD version this time and think I liked it even more, still a long movie, but its so good, Gable is superb and to call Vivien Leigh's performance a powerhouse is an understatement. Her character is arrogant, manipulative, spoiled, annoying sure (certainly at the start) but seems more complex as the film goes on. She can actually be rather cruel.
The 4 disc set is excellent, WB are awesome at restoration.
(On Disc 2 though, at the shot right after it says "Tara had survived to face the hell and famine of defeat" it looks like the negative has been stamped on

What an ending!
It left me puzzled, how are we supposed to view it?
Scarlett has basically lost everything - her daughter has died, so has Melanie, Rhett has left her (what an exit by Gable!), and Ashley Wilkes doesn't love her. To me there was too much tragedy in the last act. And yet Scarlett is like "I'll think of something, Rhett will come back to me" -- what the?...
Not after the way she has acted he won't.

marty888

It's called "living in denial": the south's denial that they could ever lose the war or that their way of life would ever have to change, Scarlett's denial that Rhett would ever totally abandon her, etc.

grim_tales

Really? Thanks I didnt know that was the point of the film.

Anubis2005X

To begin, please don't take this as a threadcrap, but I just didn't care for the film. I know I'm in the very small majority, but I guess I just didn't get it. The film ended and I'm just like, freakin' A, I want my four hours back. I just wasted four hours putting up with some spoiled, selfish brat for the whole movie. If I wanted to do that I could've just hung out with my ex-girlfriend. Honestly, I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the movie, despite Scarlett's stupidity. Yet the last hour it seemed like the whole film just crapped out and I'm like, this is the resolution? And it's not a matter of needing to have a happy ending. There's plenty of movies I love that have sad endings or whatever. I guess I'm just too ignorant to really like the film. Maybe I would've liked it more if a "real" sequel had been made shortly thereafter. Who knows...

EDIT: Just to clarify, I thought that the original author had written two books. But it appears that the book sequel was just some piece of crap by another author. Bleh, so scratch that "real" sequel comment...

grim_tales

Apparently Selznick didn't want to end with the "I don't give a damn" line and Gable walking off, and the "Tomorrow's another day" ending was written at the 11th hour.
I agree about Scarlett being selfish and annoying, at times I thought "I'm supposed to care for this person?? She's horrible!" you know? Manipulative, bitchy and often cruel to those around her I think.

DVD Josh

This is exactly what a threadcrap is - redirecting the topic of the thread by posting negative and irrelevant opinions.

SteveJKo

Grim, I've always taken this last line as a sign of Scarlett's resilience and strength and most importantly, her growing up. Don't forget, when the film starts she's somewhere around 16 years old, when it ends she still shy of 30. I've always seen the ending as her letting go of the illusions of childhood (suddenly she understands she never really did love Ashley) and coming to grips with reality, and that reality is that all this time she really does love Rhett.

I wouldn't bet on that. Now that she knows what she really wants I don't think anything, even Rhett's "not giving a damn", would stop her.

grim_tales

Thanks SteveJKo I guess at the beginning you can excuse her for being childish, sing-songing "fiddle-dee-dee" and thinking about other girl's boyfriends/beaus/taking them away to make the other girls jealous, because she is a teenager then as you say.
Gable really does sock it to her at various points in the film doesn't he, telling her the only thing she understands is money etc.

Anubis2005X

It's a threadcrap because I didn't like the ending of the movie? Obviously you didn't even bother to read all of my post...

EDIT: You're right, after re-reading my original post it is pretty negative. My apologies...

DVD Josh

Accepted And much respect for keeping your original post instead of deleting it.

eXcentris

The topic is Gone With the Wind and he stated he didn't like the film. I don't see how his post qualifies as a threadcrap or how he "redirected" anything.

Shannon Nutt

You're not in that small of a majority...I dislike the movie as well, as do many of my friends. It's too "theatrical"...too much like a play or stage performance than an actual "movie". It's overlong and drags in parts, and the performances aren't all that great.

"Gone With The Wind" was the "Titanic" of its day...people will be looking at that film 50 years from now and wonder what the big deal was (beacuse the effects will be outdated and the acting won't be any better).

grim_tales

I agree I don't see anything wrong with his post All he did was give his opinion

Groucho

I rented this DVD, after hearing all the raves about this "sweeping epic". Too bad the DVD was fullframe. I sent it back, and sent the studio an angry letter about pan & scan (aka "foolscreen").

Anubis2005X

DVD Josh

That is not correct. The topic is how Scarlett's actions in GWTW were confusing to the OP. Changing the course of the thread to "I didn't like this movie" is indeed a classic threadcrap. Moreso, even the person posting it recognized it as such. In fact, OUR sub-conversation is also a threadcrap. We have become what we feared most.

Shannon Nutt

Actually, that's only PART of the OP post. The first half talks about how great the movie, the performances, and the DVD are. Someone posting about how they didn't like the movie is therefore, IMO, fair game (assuming it's not blatant "bashing").

FinkPish

Why don't we just let the mods decide what is threadcrapping and what isn't. This backseat modding never seems to end well. Just report the post if you have a problem with it.

grim_tales

Indeed 1.37/1 (Academy Ratio) was how the film was shot. Back in 1939 there were no films made in Scope/Widescreen AFAIK.

RyoHazuki

It seems to be pretty popular 70 years later. Many people seem to still see what the big deal was.

grim_tales

Will people say the same about Titanic or even LOTR in 2060/2070? Time will tell

grim_tales

I was struck by the racist/(racial) content of the film as well - OK, the film was a product of its time, and segregation/prejudice if not actual slavery was still going on in 1939 - but what the film shows seems archaic even in 1939 - the title card says "Look for it only in books.." etc - and I also noticed how the servants are referred to as "darkies", even by Gerald O' Hara (the house servants) and Rhett Butler (mill workers) when they don't mean to be insulting as such, plus all the talk of how well the servants are treated.
As for Hetty McDaniel, its a good performance, yet I can't help thinking its cartoonish/clownish - look at the servant Mammy in "Tom and Jerry" only 1 year later and you'll see what I mean. And as for the scene when Scarlett scolds Prissy...