*GwtW was in theaters for years with many re-releases. Star Wars came out in a time when movies regularly expanded theater counts and maintained steady profits. Super recent movies like The Force Awakens, battling piracy, get huge openings and trail off fast. Comparing how all this performed in the box office is pointless.
Why I Saw It: Vivian Leigh. Wow. She's good. Clark Gable is solid too. I especially loved his joy over being a father. That poor sap really loves Scarlett. But Leigh is the takeaway from this film. She's just tremendous. I hate her and I love her. I can't see the movie working without her.
I'm torn about the two parts of the movie. The first part is the epic. That's what has the burning of Atlanta and most of the excitement. The second part is when Scarlett becomes awesome, although there's less of a driving force keeping it going for a solid two hours.
Why I Wish I Hadn't: I wonder what an auter-driven version of Gone with the Wind would look like. As is, it's a production-driven achievement. Production began before a script was even settled on and the movie went through three directors. All that shows. Gone with the Wind feels like a big movie. That's about it. There is no reason for the four hour length. An hour of circuitous dialogue and redundant scenes could be cut out without breaking a sweat. The pacing is deeply flawed and apparently stuck far too closely to the book.
Oh, and of course, a lot of the racial stuff hasn't aged well at all, but I was hardly surprised by that.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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