Date Released: 1939Â
Director: Victor Fleming
Actors/ Characters: Vivien Leigh/ Scarlett O'Hara, Leslie Howard/ Ashley, Olivia de Havilland/ Melanie, Clark Gabel/ Rhett Butler
Synopsis: A manipulative southern belle carries on a turbulent love affair with a blockade runner during and after the American civil war.
Review
Fleming's adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 'Gone with the Wind' beautifully tells a story of unattainable love. Centered around a vain and spoiled Scarlett the narrative follows her through a journey of war, love and self-reflection.
The first scenes of the film displays Scarlett as a stereotypical Southern Belle as she strings along a chain of beaus wherever she goes and parades around in lavish and ridiculous yet gorgeous outfits. Scarlett is truly a woman of her time and represents the female ideals often associated with the Old South, as a modern watcher I found it hard to relate with Scarlett during the first sequences of the film as she presented herself as a cold, manipulative woman only concerned with what she wanted- Ashley.
Although Scarlett's romantic obsession with Ashley lasts throughout the film her character development from a cold and heartless woman to someone with genuine concern for others and an ability to be selfless moved me. Some may argue that ,as Rhett states at the end of the film, Scarlett is still the heartless southern belle she was brought up to be, I argue differently. Scarlett battles with her conditioned selfish and spoiled nature and attempts to be a kind and caring woman. This is evident in her relationship with Melanie, to begin with Scarlett loathes Melanie for being betrothed to Ashley but through the war they form a close bond that ages with time rendering them like sisters  at the time of Melanie's death. Melanie acted as Scarlett's foil and through the years spent together Scarlett took on the kindness of Melanie which was heart warming to watch.
Similarly, Scarlett's character development was also hugely due to Rhett. Personally I loved the complexity of Rhett's character and felt that his development was equally as captivating as Scarlett's. Clark Gabel did a wonderful job of performing the role of , at first, a selfish and arrogant man concerned with money however through the course of the film Rhett became a truly honest man. Sacrificing himself for Scarlett, Melanie and her newborn baby was the first time I really respected Rhett as a character and he only became greater from there. It was touching to see the relationship between Rhett and Bonnie as their relationship captured a genuine father/ daughter bond in a realistic way. Rhett's pursuit of Scarlett was also moving, to begin with it appeared as though Rhett only wanted Scarlett because of her beauty and flirtatiousness however the length of time in which Rhett pursued her proved his love was true. Therefore when him and Scarlett fight in the climax of the film and he explains how he wasn't able to give her a heart made me extremely upset- I truly thought that Scarlett loved Rhett only she found it difficult to express her love based on her upbringing that forced her to be concerned with only herself.
The end of the film shows how Scarlett really was capable of love but not in the way first expected, she was capable of loving the land. This message was a reminder of the whole point behind the American civil war and proved itself as the true message of the film.
The film itself was a beautiful testament to the Old South, the opening montage of the plantation and the slaves that worked there paired with the romantic score encaptured the charm of the old American south. Although the controversial topic of the slave workers is prominent in the film I did not think it disrespectful to them only a mere reflection of history and I felt Fleming handled the topic of the slaves in a delicate way with Scarlett treating them as friends not animals as would have been expected of the time.
The American civil war underlies throughout the film and Fleming, in my opinion, did an excellent job at presenting the effect that the war had on the Old South. The shots of charred black trees burnt in battles and the chaotic streets Scarlett finds herself on encompassed the toll of the war on the once beautiful and serene American South. Perhaps the most notable shot of the film was the gradual crane shot moving higher up into the sky as Scarlett stood in the ruined street surrounded by thousands of dying and injured soldiers highlighting the horror of the war and stressing its scale in history.
I would highly recommend watching this film, although it is a concerning four hours long it is not for a moment dull which is  truly a testament to its greatness. It is a true classic. This film taught me much about the American civil war and its effect on American changing the country forever and I believe that this film should be watched by everyone due to its realistic and horrifying portrayal of war and love.