Ranked #4 in the American Film Institute's top 100 movies of all time, and ranked #1 in Gross Domestic Revenue with respect to inflation, Gone With the Wind kicked lots of ass left and right. What would you consider to be the appeal of this particular movie? http://www.dvdmg.com/afi100.shtml http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm 1. It's a chick flick that guys take their girls to on dates. 2. It's 4 hours long, so you get more bang fo your buck. 3. It's a period romance. Historic period settings can add a romantic flare to a movie. 4. Girls identify with the carnal desires expressed by the protagonist who is in many ways an antagonist. It is almost impossible to find a movie that expresses genuine feminine carnal nature even in the slightest. This movie not only did that, but portrayed the bittersweet beauty that resides in the characters of many women. 5. Tear jerking movies are always badass. Simply because of its ability to illicit such a deep emotional response in its audience. 6. It depicted an opulence that a great many girls tend to gravitate towards. The movie itself wasn't that great. I think #4 on my list is what really carried the movie. I find it to really be the only aspect of the movie that was so incredibly allurig to its audiences. So appealing in fact, that it took what was essentially a fairly crappy movie to the box office promise land. Not only that, this particular appeal allowed it to stand out bigtime against pretty much every movie in its path.
I detested "Gone With The Wind". Although I'm no fan of "The Wizard of Oz" either, I think that based upon the fact that GWTW was unforgiveably boring and TWOZ was not, the Acadamy Award for best picture should have been awarded to TWOZ instead of the interminable GWTW. ~String
I tried watching it as a teenager and couldn't get through it. I watched it a couple yrs ago with nietzche and to my surprise actually liked it. We got some laughs, and OMG that is sooooooooo you out of it. Strangely enough the characters were very familar to us lol
I saw it when it first came out and it was the best movie I'd ever seen up until then. When you lived back then movies just weren't made like that one was, about the Civil War and all. So it was a big suprise to all when it was shown and many went to see it.
yeah, aren't most of us a bit jaded to be reviewing a movie that old? I feel that way about most of them. Casablanca, eh. Citizen Kane, eh.
It's a good movie if you like over-dramatic, tedious, retarded movies and hate black people. Otherwise it's maybe worth watching for the influence it had.
let's see, the movie is about wealthy people who live grossly opulent by exploiting the underclass. LOL, stupid frumpy dresses too. A black slave is slapped for getting hysterical and the white woman comes through to save the day after she's a spoiled brat. Aww, so no more breakfast in bed. So now you've got to plow the field yourself and cook. Damn, that makes you a hero or special?? LOL. How quaint, like hard times can't bring that out in anyone. When you got to do what you've got to do, duh! Quite racist considering how much more well-mannered blacks were back then. They even took loving care of white children. It makes me want to gag. dumb movie. Especially that butler guy is so comically a male chauvinist caricature. what a disgusting culture the south was. LOL.
But that's how it was. The movie depicts what was happening, like a documentary almost, as to the ways of the past. When it was released in the 40's none of the people didn't see it as offensive for that's how things were.
All the hype about it. It seems people simply want something to be the The Big Thing. But the way they choose that seems to actually have precious little to do with the thing itself, but more with the overall circumstances at the time. For example, Star Wars wouldn't become what they have, were it not that the first film came out in a time of an economical down and political strife - the public needed a feel-good movie. Had SW come out in a time of peace and economical prosperity, it probably wouldn't have the appeal it had. I'm not sure what the situation in the times around GWTW was, or how the historical reception of it was. But it strikes me that it was chosen as a "classic" on the grounds of wanting to make a list of "classics".
The book was a smash hit. (Think Harry Potter.) The film was always going to be massive given the skill of the studio in manipulating public opinion. Add in superb acting, state of the art special effects, and a far better screen adaptation than many (think Harry Potter again) and you have a sure fire winner that deservedly stands the test of time. Excuse me now, I need to eat a chocolate bar - i have vowed never to be hungry again.
