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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.

This film shows the best of the American cinema. Whether we like the film, or not, one has to recognize the greatest achievement, perhaps, of the creative talent of the people working in the movie industry. "Gone with the Wind" represents a monumental leap, as well as a departure, for the movies, as they were done prior to this film.

The vision of David O. Selznick, the power behind bringing Margaret Mitchell's massive account about the South, before and after the Civil War, pays handsomely with the film that Victor Fleming directed. This movie will live forever because it reminds us of how this great nation came into being, despite the different opinions from the two stubborn factions in the war.

"Gone with the Wind" brought together the best people in Hollywood. The end result is the stunning film that for about four hours keep us interested in the story unfolding in the screen. Of course, credit must be due to the director, Victor Fleming, and his vision, as well as the adaptation by Sydney Howard, who gave the right tone to the film. The gorgeous cinematography created by Ernest Haller gives us a vision of the gentle South before the war, and the Phoenix raising from the ashes of a burned Atlanta. The music of Max Steiner puts the right touch behind all that is seen in the movie.

One can't conceive another Scarlett O'Hara played by no one, but Vivien Leigh. Her beauty, her sense of timing, her intelligent approach to this role, makes this a hallmark performance. Ms. Leigh was at the best moment of her distinguished career and it shows. Scarlett goes from riches to rags, back to riches again and in the process finds an inner strength she didn't know she possessed. Her impossible love for Ashley will consume her and will keep her away from returning the love to the man that really loves her, Rhett.

The same thing applies to the Rhett Butler of Clark Gable. No one else comes to mind for playing him with the passion he projects throughout the movie. This is a man's man. Captain Butler was torn between his loyalty to the cause of the South and his sense of decency. His love for Scarlett, the woman he knows is in love with a dream, speaks eloquently for itself.

The other two principals, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard, give performances that are amazing to watch. Ms. de Havilland's Melanie Hamilton is perfect. Melanie is loyal to the woman that does everything to undermine her marriage to Ashley. Mr. Howard's Ashley gives a perfect balance to the man in love with his wife, while Scarlett keeps tempting him.

The rest of the cast is too numerous to make justice to all the actors one sees on the screen, but omitting the contribution of Hattie McDaniel to the film would be sinful. Ms. McDaniel was such a natural actress that she is excellent no matter in what movie she is playing. This huge talent is a joy to watch.

Comments to this forum express their objections to the way the race relations play in the movie, but being realistic, this movie speaks about the not too distant past where all kinds of atrocities, such as the slavery, were the norm of the land. While those things are repugnant to acknowledge, in the film, they are kept at a minimum. After all, this film is based on a book by one of the daughters of that South, Margaret Mitchell, who is presenting the story as she saw it in her mind, no doubt told to her from relatives that lived in that period of a horrible page in the American history.

Enjoy this monumental classic in all its splendor.

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.

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

At first you would think, the main theme of the film is the horrors of war and the idea that both sides suffer , but that is not the only case in "Gone with the Wind", the war is just a background... Scarlet lives almost her entire life in an illusion of love... She has a target she want to achieve and she thinks if she achieves it she will be happy, while missing the point on the way to that target... Something that I realised on a 2nd viewing is that Scarlet is a pretty selfish person with sociopaths behaviour. She can easily manipulate men and sometimes women in order to achieve her goal. She can kill a person and not feel that bad about it,she can exploit prisoners rather than hire free men. The goal is what pushes her forward and sometimes makes her do good things, but these deeds are never done out of big heart, they are usually done in self interest. You would think she ends up achieving everything she wanted, but she does not. Scarlet lives in a personal hell which partially she created herself and only when the last obstacle to her big love, the female friend that loves her is gone, she realises that all this time, she lived the illusion of love, she was hurting the people that loved her. Is scarlet a horrible person? Probably... Does she pay for her sins? She does more than anyone... Does she understand what true love is? Yes in the end she does... What makes this film so great, it's a tragedy like "War And Peace" with monumental character development ...Any scenes of war and racism fade compared to the tragedy of Scarlet which lives in personal hell...