Gone with the Wind

Act I

Standard old movie, standing out merely in scope: it's longer, using grander sets and scores. I have no investment in the Scarlett/Rhett romance yet. Maybe that's the point. It's creepy; I'm sick of men who seem or are significantly older than those they court. That's another thing, Scarlett seems so young and immature. She's really selfish. Maybe that's the point. Hardly likable. At least Rhett understands his own selfishness. Scarlett is a storm of selfish conflict.

It's interesting to guess the author's angle on the Civil War at this point. The filmmakers may obscure it, but so far it's hard to tell where the moral lands between romanticizing the Old South and acknowledging its necessary downfall. A title card indicts the film for racism; how racist was the author really? Are we just dramatizing the reality of racism here? Is that racist? The film demonizes the Yankees, but that's because the film is through Southern eyes. If it misrepresents Black characters, I'll say it's because the film is through Southern eyes. That explanation works at least for Act I. By the end I wonder how clear it'll be whether the creators support Southern ideals.

I have little romance for the Old South. That separates me from much of the film's original (ecstatic) audience. 78 years lie between the events of Act I and the film's premier. Reversing that span from the present lands me at 1946. Though few people remember events 78 years hence, they may bask in lagging cultural nostalgia. The elderly in 1939 probably felt much nostalgia or at least some polarity toward 1961; the younger audience less so. I'm still fairly young in 2024, but I could probably feel some sentiment toward 1946; and certainly as I age, and 78 years back nears my direct memory, the sentiment grows, positively or negatively or both at once. Also keep in mind I've never lived anywhere near the South. So there's a long blunting bridge between me and the subject of Gone with the Wind. Like Gatsby I see the aura in the distance but it's hazy. Gone with the Wind will not move me like it moved Southern nostalgia and Southern loathing in 1939.

Act II

What a fascinating spiral of misery! One of the most successful films ever, so long and winding and hopeless. The protagonist was a straightforward bitch, not a heartless one but with a heart for no one but herself. This wasn't a love story at all, it was the miserable folly of Scarlett O'Hara, twisting fortune into misfortune. I never expected Rhett's famous line would be aimed at Scarlett, and definitive -- she sucked up every last drop of his love until everything he wanted was before him and he couldn't give one damn. Gone with the Wind is nothing like I expected. How'd an unhappy ending grow so popular? Did people just find the cinematics ravishing? It's an unhappy ending, though a final upturn of the eyes makes one wonder. Scarlett squanders everything, and in the final 30 seconds of an extremely long movie looks up to a curious objective: the land, her home. Can such a physical possession possess so much redemption? She lost the nation she loved, both men she loved, her only friend, and her only child. What can she find at home besides reflection and regret? Nevertheless I love the idea. There are some things can't be taken away; we own those things as individual humans, separable from all humans but ourselves. Losing everyone isn't losing everything.

It's a curious lesson: you can ruin everyone else's lives and still find hope in "the land."

Gone with the Wind reminds me of Lonesome Dove. A long epic you hear is rapturous but ends up feeling cold and hopeless. Gone with the Wind, for its runtime, rushes by tragedy after tragedy, all through its protagonist's heartless eyes. It also reminds me of The Best Years of Our Lives, or what I recall of that pity. Not just miserable as a character but miserable as a viewer. There are sad stories can feel hopeful or inspiring. These stories are hopeless.

Ten years ago I told someone surely Seven Samurai is better than Gone with the Wind, assuming the latter was basic Hollywood. They said that's because I haven't seen Gone with the Wind. I've seen it now, and I don't love it at all. It lacks the artistry of most old classics of world cinema, and it doesn't even deliver a good American romance. Now it's also reminding me of lots of unhappy movies and books -- those seen as profound or even existential in their day but that are really just empty.

Not only was Gone with the Wind unhappy, it was disorganized. I guess that's because the novel was 1000 pages and there's no way to pace that movie. It could have been a miniseries like Lonesome Dove. I'm going to say Lonesome Dove is to the West as Gone with the Wind is to the South, each sweeping and also sweeping aside any emotional coherence. That's natural, life is such a way, but that's not why I'm watching movies. I'd like beautiful escape. Each epic was empty.

Without attempting to assess its cultural impact, how can I give Gone with the Wind even a 2/4?

Why does every poster show Scarlett and Rhett? There's never a happy moment between them. Not a single one!

Edit: Franz Hoellering put it nicely: "a major event in the history of the industry but only a minor achievement in motion-picture art."

Actually, seems like there were lots of measured critics, then and now. Maybe I wasted my time with the Avatar of the 30s.

Another possible indictment of Scarlett's character: she is elated after seeming to be raped. While this could indicate the film is tasteless about women enjoying rape, I think it more likely indicates she only feigned resistance. Her feigned animosity towards Rhett throughout the film is manipulative and ultimately leaves them both miserable and alone. Contrast that with Jane Eyre's measured teasing of Rochester, which lands them a superior relationship. If Scarlett had Jane's discipline and compassion, Gone with the Wind would be a love story.

Also, I hate "Tara's theme."

Another assessment I wrote elsewhere: "...Scarlett was almost insufferable. I expected a good love story but honestly it was miserable at times, with how everyone kept dying or being cruel to one another. Usually I can enjoy bleak movies, but somehow this one felt like a romance that kept failing instead of a movie that really captured the beauty of bleak reality. I mean I appreciate how it embraced tragedy... maybe the real problem is Scarlett. We're seeing 4 hours of film through her bitchy lens. Lol. That's probably too harsh. But I liked Rhett for most of the movie, which made her behavior seem really unjust. The movie would gain a whole new dimension if I felt any empathy for Scarlett. Maybe that's my problem."