IMDb > Gone with the Wind (1939)
Gone with the Wind
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Gone with the Wind (1939) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 122 | slideshow) Videos (see all 3)
Gone with the Wind (1939) -- Home video trailer with a sneak peak into the bonus features of this classic
Gone with the Wind (1939) -- Clark Gable will always be best known for his academy award winning performance as Rhett Bulter in the 1939 classic "Gone with the Wind," despite his reluctance to take the role. From the "Biography: Clark Gable - His Most Famous Role" video.
Gone with the Wind (1939) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 187% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Victor Fleming
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Writers:
Margaret Mitchell (novel)
Sidney Howard (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Gone with the Wind on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
17 January 1941 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance | War more
Tagline:
Now in 70mm. wide screen and full stereophonic sound! [reissue] more
Plot:
American classic in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Won 8 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(117 articles)
DVD Review: Breathtaking 5-Disc Gift Set For ‘Gone With the Wind’
 (From HollywoodChicago.com. 25 November 2009, 10:48 AM, PST)
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Mamma Mia! The Movie’ Given Gift Set Treatment
 (From HollywoodChicago.com. 24 November 2009, 7:30 PM, PST)
User Comments:
A few flaws, but undeniably a massive achievement in film more (561 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Clark Gable ... Rhett Butler - Visitor from Charleston
Thomas Mitchell ... Gerald O'Hara
Barbara O'Neil ... Ellen O'Hara - His Wife (as Barbara O'Neill)

Vivien Leigh ... Scarlett - Their Daughter
Evelyn Keyes ... Suellen - Their Daughter
Ann Rutherford ... Carreen - Their Daughter

George Reeves ... Brent Tarleton - Scarlett's Beau

Fred Crane ... Stuart Tarleton - Scarlett's Beau

Hattie McDaniel ... Mammy - House Servant
Oscar Polk ... Pork - House Servant
Butterfly McQueen ... Prissy - House Servant
Victor Jory ... Jonas Wilkerson - Field Overseer
Everett Brown ... Big Sam - Field Foreman
Howard C. Hickman ... John Wilkes (as Howard Hickman)
Alicia Rhett ... India - His Daughter
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
USA:238 min (restored DVD version) | Sweden:223 min (1969 re-release) | Sweden:234 min (1985 re-release) | UK:224 min (1994 re-release) | UK:233 min (1989 re-release) | 226 min (copyright length)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Colour (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-11 (2004) | Brazil:Livre | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Canada:G (British Columbia/Nova Scotia/Québec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:PG | Norway:16 | Peru:PT | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 (re-release) (1985) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #5729) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1971)
Filming Locations:
Agoura Hills, California, USA more
Company:
Selznick International Pictures more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Lillian Gish had originally been approached to take on the part of Scarlett's mother. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: During the scene in which Rhett is teaching Bonnie Blue to ride her pony, a modern sprinkler can be seen watering the lawn behind them. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Brent Tarleton: What do we care if we *were* expelled from college, Scarlett? The war is gonna start any day now, so we'd have left college anyhow.
Stuart Tarleton: Oh, isn't it exciting, Scarlett? You know those fool Yanks may actually *want* a war?
Brent Tarleton: We'll show 'em!
Scarlett: Fiddle-dee-dee. War, war, war; this war talk's spoiling all the fun at every party this spring. I get so bored I could scream. Besides... there isn't going to be any war.
Brent Tarleton: Not going to be any war?
Stuart Tarleton: Why, honey, of course there's gonna be a war.
Scarlett: If either of you boys says "war" just once again, I'll go in the house and slam the door.
Brent Tarleton: But Scarlett...
Stuart Tarleton: Don't you *want* us to have a war?
[...]
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Garfield's Fun Fest (2008) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Katie Belle more

FAQ

How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
Which scenes were directed by George Cukor?
Was it shot in widescreen?
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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
81 out of 130 people found the following comment useful.
A few flaws, but undeniably a massive achievement in film, 26 June 2004
Author: Dave (davergod) from Madison, Wisconsin

One of the greatest achievements in film history. This is not only an eye-popping cinematic treat, but one of the greatest stories ever put on celluloid. The movie lasts nearly four hours--- it's longer than any other mainstream commercially successful film ever made. But the time goes by so quickly that you'll miss it when it's over.

Of course, we all know that this movie is set in the days of the Civil War in the 1860s. It's the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a plantation owner's daughter who is very beautiful and who seemingly MUST have her own way at all times. She's willing to scheme and manipulate everyone in her path until she gets it. When the movie opens, the country is on the verge of civil war--- North against South--- but Scarlett barely notices, and doesn't care in the least. Her biggest obsession is that she's in love with dreamy/poetic Ashley Wilkes, and she stays in love with him throughout 98 percent of the movie.

The only problem is....Ashley doesn't have any particular interest in her at all. In fact, he spends most of the movie being married to gentle Melanie Hamilton--- a fact that frustrates Scarlett to no end. Ashley remains the one object of her desire that she is never to obtain.

She would have been better off pining after Rhett Butler, a much more solid, rather dangerous man with a reputation as a no-good scoundrel. He is openly attracted to Scarlett, grows to love her (although he dare not let her know, or she'll use it against him), and it's obvious that he would make a lot better match for her than the drab Ashley. Very late in the movie, he finally does marry Scarlett. But it's probably too late for them to be happy by then, ironically--- and they never really are happy together.

The complicated and utterly fascinating relationship between Scarlett, Rhett, Ashley, and Melanie is the fuel that keeps the movie going. But there are dozens, if not hundreds, of little extra twists and turns that fill out the movie. The Civil War backdrop for one, the colorful supporting roles for another.

A great many reviewers here have seen Scarlett as purely a selfish, one-dimensional manipulative shrew. But she's far more than that! This is a complex, multi-dimensional young woman with lots of conflicting motives. Yes, she's selfish and manipulative. But she's also selfless: the extreme sacrifices that she makes on behalf of her family, and Melanie (keeping in mind that, other than her father, she doesn't even particularly like any of them) are nothing short of heroic. She is overwhelmingly protective of her loved ones. She's a ball of fire when work needs to be done, and she's fiercely courageous.

Despite her hardness, she does also grow as a person. To her great credit, she slowly comes to value Melanie's friendship and support. She genuinely loves and is proud of her daughter. And at the very end of the movie, she does finally realize how ill-suited she and Ashley have always been for each other, and how little passion ever actually existed there.

Some quick high points, and a few flaws: the supporting roles are superb in every way. Even the rather bland Ashley is given as much life as could be expected by actor Leslie Howard, and the other parts are vivid and fill out the movie. Two female parts in particular--- wise, funny, respected Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) and wistful, decent-at-heart prostitute Belle Watling (Ona Munson) are standouts.

The scenery and photography is possibly the most superb ever done in the history of film. Many scenes are just sumptuously lit and filmed. The gripping nighttime escape from Atlanta (the whole city seemingly in flames) is one of the most spectacular action sequences ever done. The sunsets are jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Much has been said about the supposed racism of this film. It's true that it does portray black slaves as being HAPPY to be slaves. But much more important, it's also true that the wisest person in the whole movie is Mammy. This black lady may be a slave--- later an employee--- but she is smart, funny, observant, and she's treated as an equal, if not a superior, throughout the movie. And it's made clear she deserves it. With no irony or rebuke whatever, she scornfully refers to certain low-lifes as "poor white trash", and we know (Mammy knows too) that if they get called that, they deserve it. She may be black, but she isn't inferior to them or anybody. And we root for her all the way.

A few minor flaws, and I do mean minor: 1) Most of the acting looks pretty modern, but there are a very few scenes where it seems a little old-style. Hey enjoy the movie and don't worry 'bout it. People didn't do today's "method" acting in the 1930s. 2) Some of the "raw" scenes still have a Hollywood gloss to them. Even when Scarlett is on the brink of starvation and probably hasn't had a good bath in weeks, she looks perfectly made up with only a few hairs out of place. Oh well. It *was* big-time Hollywood after all. 3) The second half of the movie is more "talky" and less action-oriented than the first. I would not say it's more boring, just less movement. I don't find it draggy, but some people do.

Still a heck of a good story, and a great film, so enjoy the ride!

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Why don't people like Scarlett? clcountry
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Well ain't this funny and well deserved... Ailec1987
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