-
Trust Weighted
Perfect
-
71Trust Points
JesseLiberty's Review
Summary - Perfect 5.0
Not only a classic, and a wonderfully entertaining movie, but a masterful example of rewriting history. Few films combine the sweeping epic with the romance and glory of Gone with the Wind, and certainly none had come close before this seminal film. Great acting combines with extrardinary cinematography, leavened with moments of brilliant comedy to produce a true film for the ages.
Acting - Really Great 4.5
Male Stars - Perfect 5.0
Clark Gable's insoucient portrayal of Rhett Butler is a brilliant complement to Leslie Howard's Ashly Wilkes: the canonical man of honor and responsibility.Female Stars - Perfect 5.0
Here again there is a near perfect pairing between the brilliant performance of Vivian Leigh as the self-absorbed Scarlett With the ever-altruistic Melanie (Olivia De Havilland). Much as the Godfather can be seen as a film about the maturation and hardening of Michael Corleone, GWTW is in many ways the story of the trial by fire and eventual acceptance of adult responsibility by Scarlett O'Hara.Female Costars - Really Great 4.5
When you think of co-stars you think of actresses who have large, but not quite leading roles. Gone with the Wind, instead, has some of the greatest female costars in small but critical roles. Brilliant performances by Hattie McDaniel as Mammy and the genius of Butterfly McQueen fine few parallels.Male Costars - Very Good 3.5
There are a number of strong male co-stars in this film but few stand out, with the possible exception of Everett Brown as Big Sam ("It ain't quittin' time, till I says its quittin time.")Film - Great 4.0
Direction - Really Great 4.5
Great films don't happen by accident. Every aspect of this film was put together with precision, every scene carefully laid out and timed, every dialog crafted.Dialogue - Really Great 4.5
Gone With The Wind is moved along by its dialog, and more important the relentless and inevitable story is relieved by the moments of humor injected into the script. All of this, and lines like "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn" and "I don't know nuthin' about birthin no babies."Music - Great 4.0
Excellent, and the theme went on to become a classic.Visuals - Really Great 4.5
Sweeping panormas, an incredible recreaton of a South that never existed, and the scene at the rail road station is among the strongest visual ever recordedEdge - Risqué 1.7
Sex Titillating 1.9
Violence Fierce 1.6
Rudeness Salty 1.7
Reality - Glib 1.6
Circumstantial - Surreal 2.2
There is a bit of surrealism in Margaret Mitchell's insistence on an antibellum south that defies history.Biological - Glib 1.2
Physical - Glib 1.5
The land as portrayed feels about right3 Comments
-
MJ5K Mar 20, 2010 5:58PM
Indeed.
-
Wick Mar 19, 2010 8:02PM
No. The AFI currently has it at number 4, with Citizen Kane, Casablanca and The Godfather ahead of it. I’m cool with those rankings, especially Citizen Kane and Casablanca.
My policy has been to only review movies after recently screening them, so I haven’t reviewed Kane or Godfather. In truth, my Casablanca review was so brief because I hadn’t seen the movie recently.
Long answer about a long movie.
-
MJ5K Mar 19, 2010 6:52PM
Regarding Wick’s Review
Great review, Wick. Very true, you better give a damn about this movie. Would you go as far as to say this is the best film ever made? A lot of people would.