Gone With The Wind

Gone With The Wind




















1)Relate Class Discussion to Film
      Gone With the Wind became one of America's most beloved and charades films of all time.It was one of the first films filmed in technicolor and became the highest grossing film until 1966.It tells the story that takes place during the Civil War and follows Scarlet O'Hara as she tries to save her hometown and find love. Throughout the whole film her two main focuses are making sure her hometown of Tara is safe and her secret love for Ashley who is married to his cousin Melanie. Scarlet goes through 3 marriages and was in love with Ashley through all 3 of them and failed to realize that there were people that really did love her while she was focused on Ashley. Scarlet realizes at the end that Rhett Butler her third husband was everything she deserved and wanted in a man but she was too focused on Ashley. Once she makes the realization it's too late and Rhett Butler played by Clark Gable lets out one of the most iconic lines in the film "Frankly My dear, I don't give a damn." The film was adapted from a novel written in 1936 by Margret Mitchell. The book itself took 10 years to write.
2) Find article on the Film
http://www.ew.com/ew/static/longform/gwtw/desktop/
This article mainly goes on about the making of the film. It discusses how David O Selznicks acquired the movie rights to the book and how he got the cast he wanted. Clark Gable originally was unreachable due to his contract with a competitor company. The search for the perfect Scarlet became phenomena as everyone was waiting to see who would be picked.
3) Relate article to Film
The article talks about how there were struggles with directors and the cast and how there was tension on set. It does not show on the film and everyone seems to be acting professional.After the long search for an actress to play Scarlet, they had chosen Vivian Leigh. She seemed like the perfect choice and her performance of Scarlet delivered such an iconic performance.For a character that had so many layers and so much development Leigh made sure she showed us every side.The most complex scene in the film to shoot was when Scarlet returned to Atlanta to see all the injured soldiers lying there. There was about 800 extras used for this scene. Selznick also put much money into this movie and was taking a huge risk but it definitely payed off in the end.

4) Critical Analysis of Film
  I personally enjoyed the film and did not expect to like its much as I did. I have always heard good things about it but long movies have always seemed to intimidate me. While this being the longest film I have ever seen it did not feel like it to me at all. The main reason I think I found the movie real enjoyable was the characters of Scarlet and Mammy.Scarlet went through so much character development throughout the film and simply a lady who knows what she wants. She's so fun to watch  wether it being her humor or seeing her triumph to save her town. Mammy was also a personal favorite for me because she at times seemed to be the voice of reason with a dash of sass. Her character seemed so modern, not the slave part of course, but her attitude which I loved.