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When a film is consistently recognised through the wisdom of the crowd, over so many years, as being great and epic and, for the duration of that film to run close to four hours - it really does suggest something a bit special. That something a bit special is a timeless story set during some of the darkest times in American history but it isn't the setting that makes this special, it's the story, the story of a cruel, selfish and manipulative opportunist performing her craft to perfection, it's the story portrayed through one of the greatest cinematic performances the world of movies has ever seen. While the leading man and the supporting cast are outstanding, you walk away from this with only one person holding and controlling your thoughts, just like the character she plays, just as she does through the whole of the picture - the incredible and sublimely talented, the beautiful and vivacious, the tempestuous hurricane of a tornado that is Vivien Leigh. Setting the bar so high it remains unparalleled, even to this day.

I've seen the film many times, have always enjoyed it. But I've been reading the book for the first time. It's a very long novel, and you have to stay with it if you want to see the ending. It's a good read, but Margaret Mitchell, former newspaper reporter, is very thorough in her description of both Southern culture and the changes that the Civil War brought to it. It's the size of the book that was the biggest challenge for David O Selznick. Not what parts to film, but which parts to leave out. So many characters that appeared in the book couldn't be introduced in the movie without extending the film's length to well over four hours. So he had Sidney Howard write the screenplay, then cut that down to a filmable length by hiring several more writers to further pare the script, and was still rewriting it himself while it was being filmed. Selznick was close to running out of money, so he asked his angel, millionaire Jock Whitney, to loan him enough to finish the film. The film was finally completed and edited, then was test-marketed at a theatre not far from LA. The viewers were excited about having seen it and said so on their preview cards, which allowed Selznick to rest easy, knowing he had a hit on his hands.

I wish people made more movies like this nowadays..

Yes! The movie is LONG, but the development of the main character has you swinging from liking her to hating her, to agreeing with her, to.. all sort of emotions!! It is well worth anyone's time. These characters feel SO real! It's like a perfect summarized soap opera. Anyone studying movie-writing should check this adaptation of the book. Would recommend to anyone.

And make yourself a favor and don't watch the sequel.. the movie ends the way it does for a reason.

This movie was on my watch list since 1996 or 1997 when I read its review in a local newspaper. I though it must be a dull movie as it is very old and procrastinated to watch until Dec 2019.

And friends, I can't tell you how much I am impressed with this movie - wonderful story, superb acting, mesmerizing cinematography and direction. And they did it in 1939 - which is really hard to digest.

I am stupid enough to miss this glory for so many years.

It is always in people's nature to put down great things and to nit-pick or sometimes just be plain mean. No matter what anyone says, this is utterly fantastic: in story, in special effects, in casting (with perhaps the sad exception of Leslie Howard as "Ashley") and in captivation. Vivien Leigh is so powerful, passionate, magnificent and beautiful that you could watch it 1000 times on that ground alone. She brings something so convincing and human to the role of the selfish, spoilt Scarlett; the character is larger than life.

Leaving Vivien's astounding performance aside, this remains a sweeping unrivalled epic. Watch it. Esther's rating: 20/10