Gone with the Wind - 80th Anniversary
GONE WITH THE WIND - Warner Bros
Victor Fleming's 1939 epic romantic war drama Gone With The Wind is beautiful, melodious, heartbreaking and, all things considered, one of the best of all time. While simultaneously being a tone-deaf and racially inaccurate, it is impressive that the feature has been able to hold that title for so many years.
It is these very aspects of its reputation that are always clashing with each other. On the one hand, it deserves its reputation as a masterpiece; many elements it manages to achieve have still not been replicated. On the other hand, when it comes to a modern audience asking themselves whether to give this film the time of day, the answer becomes ambiguous.
From its tip to the very end of its toe, it is evident that there is immense passion and talent behind this film. Fleming's brilliant work as the director bringing out the best in his cast and crew screams each second of the film’s gargantuan 234 minute running time. Neither the film's pacing nor its visuals deteriorate for one second as it transitions from one scene to the other. With the right amount of ease and grace, the sophisticated concept of the film comes through while never fatiguing its audience during notably lengthy stretches of dialogues.
By virtue, this shows the brilliance of the cinematography from Ernest Haller. Haller’s cinematography brilliantly captures each shot with the right amount of pain and pleasure, giving the story what it wants to exhibit. The set designs are masterfully done and marvellously achieved. Whether it is a burning building or red-carpeted stairs, each and every area is constructed with such a magnificent aura around them that even the most disheartened viewers of this film will be impressed by what Fleming and his team were able to create.
The performances by Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel — who was the first African American to win an Oscar — provides the film its necessary footing. Each of these actors gives justice to their respective roles while also professionally covering up any evident mistakes left by the more weaker performers of the film — like Leslie Howard or Alicia Rhett. The score by the legendary composer Max Steiner exemplifies and reveals all the subtle and not so subtle emotions that the film faces, which in turn brings out the basic emotions the film desires from its audience.
The elements above and the hard-working artists behind them have provided the film with the legendary status that it enjoys to this very day. This is evident by the fact that when inflation is taken into consideration, it is still the highest-grossing film of all time. What is not evergreen, however, is the latter aspect of its reputation: the racial insensitivity.
The racial insensitivity that the viewer faces in this movie, unfortunately, comes from the source material itself. Margaret Mitchell, the author of the novel, was an outspoken confederate and KKK sympathizer. So when she describes her black characters with racial slurs or deems KKK as "necessary", it is no surprise on which political spectrum Mitchell lies on, an aspect that undeniably derails this monumental piece of art.
It can be somewhat appreciated that many racial aspects of the novel were cut down by Fleming in an honest, yet misguided attempt to appeal to a broader US audience at the time. The country as a whole was heavily conflicted, a common theme that has persisted over the years with little improvement. It doesn’t helped that the so-called "Confederate Pride" was a significant aspect of the storyline, so to cut down on that would have meant cutting down on 60% of the story and its themes. While Fleming can eradicate any mention of KKK for his film not to become the next Birth of a Nation, he still falls into the litany of racial caricatures that affected the film industry of his time. This leaves a sour taste in the viewer's mouth, knowing that such an abhorrent and haunting ideology is the mouthpiece of this iconic staple in cinematic history.
Answering the question of whether one should watch Gone With The Wind in contemporary times depends on the individual. Anger, disdain and reluctance to watch this movie are justified; this day and age's audience should not be forced into loving or bearing it due to its longevity as a masterpiece. If someone is educated enough about its insensitivities and can carry it to the point of not ruining their engagement of what is, all things considered, an influential, well-crafted picture, then they are in for a film that might be able to move their emotions with its brilliant technical aspects that should be studied and analyzed for years to come. That being said, it must be held accountable for its racially antagonistic behaviour in a world eighty years evolved; today’s viewers must analyze the wrongdoings of the past in order to educate the future.
Gone with the Wind - 80th Anniversary is available at select theatres via Fathom Events