(detailed information about this entry from Wikipedia)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel of the same name. It went on to win 8 Academy Awards, and has been dubbed by the American Film Institute as the fourth greatest American film of the 20th Century. As of 2006, Gone With the Wind is the highest grossing film in box-office history, after adjusting for inflation. [1]
Behind the scenes
Producer David O. Selznick, head of Selznick International Pictures, decided that he wanted to create a film based on the novel after his story editor Kay Brown read a pre-publication copy in May 1936 and urged him to buy the film rights. A month after the book's publication in June 1936, Selznick bought the rights for $50,000, a record amount at the time. A well-publicized casting search for an actress to play Scarlett resulted in the hiring of a young English actress, Vivien Leigh, although many other famous or soon-to-be-famous actresses had been auditioned, considered for the role, or tested, including Katharine Hepburn, Norma Shearer, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Susan Hayward, Carole Lombard, Paulette Goddard, Irene Dunne, Merle Oberon, Ida Lupino, Joan Fontaine, Loretta Young, Miriam Hopkins, Jean Arthur, Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee, and Lucille Ball.
Several actresses were given screen tests for the part, but only two finalists — Paulette Goddard and Vivien Leigh — were tested in Technicolor, both on December 20, 1938. Selznick had been quietly considering Vivien Leigh for the role of Scarlett since February 1938, but for publicity reasons he arranged to meet her for the first time on the night of December 10, 1938, when the burning of the Atlanta Depot was filmed. Her casting was announced on January 13, 1939.
For the role of Rhett Butler, Clark Gable was an almost immediate favorite for both the public and Selznick. But as Selznick had no male stars under long-term contract he needed to go through the complex process of negotiating to borrow an actor from another studio. Gary Cooper was thus Selznick's first choice, because his contract with Samuel Goldwyn involved a common distribution company, United Artists, with which Selznick had an eight-picture deal. However, Goldwyn remained noncommittal in negotiations. Warner Bros. offered a package of Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland for the lead roles in return for the distribution rights. However, Selznick eventually found a way to loan Gable from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Selznick's father-in-law Louis B. Mayer offered to fund half the movie's budget in return for a powerful package: 50% of the profits would go to MGM, the movie's distribution would be credited to MGM's parent company, Loew's, Inc., and Loew's would receive 15 percent of the movie's gross income. Selznick accepted this offer and Gable was cast.
Principal photography began January 26, 1939, and ended on June 27, 1939, with post-production work (including a fifth version of the opening scene) going to November 11, 1939. Most of the filming was done on "the back forty" of Selznick International with the few location scenes photographed in Los Angeles County or neighboring Ventura County. Estimated production costs were $3.9 million; only Ben-Hur (1925) had cost more.
Responses
International
ratings |
| United States: |
G |
| United Kingdom: |
PG |
| Canada: |
G (BC, Maritimes, QC)
PG (MB, ON) |
| Germany: |
12 |
| Australia: |
PG |
| New Zealand: |
PG |
| Finland: |
K-16 |
| Holland: |
AL |
| Norway: |
16 |
| Sweden: |
11 |
| Portugal: |
M/12 |
| Iceland: |
L |
| Belgium: |
KT |
| Chile: |
TE |
| Peru: |
PT |
| South Korea: |
12 |
| Argentina: |
Atp |
1939 response
The film premiered in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 15, 1939 to a large three day ceremony hosted by the mayor which consisted of women and men wearing period clothing, confetti being thrown, a parade of limousines featuring stars from the film, waving of Confederate flags and singing of traditional songs. After the later press screening, many members of the press were moved by the film. When David O. Selznick was asked by the press how he felt about the film after the initial screenings: "At noon I think it's divine, at midnight I think it's lousy. Sometimes I think it's the greatest picture ever made. But if it's only a great picture, I'll still be satisfied.".[1]
The film has become the highest-grossing movie of all time (adjusted for inflation). It garnered thirteen Academy Award nominations and eight Awards.
Racial politics
Some have criticized the film for romanticizing, sanitizing or even promoting the values of the antebellum South, in particular its reliance on slavery. Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts has referred to it as "a romance set in Auschwitz." However, the majority of filmgoers in 1939 expressed no concerns about this.
The character of Mammy, played by Hattie McDaniel, has been linked with the stock character of the "happy slave", an archetype that implicitly condones slavery.[citation needed] However, some [citation needed] have argued that Mammy's character is more complex than this, pointing out that despite her position as slave, she is not shy about upbraiding her white mistress, Scarlett; and indeed, since she is yelling at Scarlett in her first scene, she is not necessarily "happy".
The character of Prissy, played by Butterfly McQueen, is viewed by many [citation needed] as offensive in her portrayal of a dim-witted black slave girl, especially in the famous scene where she bursts into tears and admits she lied to Scarlett: "Lawzy, we got to have a doctor. I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!" (in response, Scarlett slaps her).[2] In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, the former civil rights leader recounted his experience first watching the film as a small boy in Michigan: "I was the only Negro in the theater, and when Butterfly McQueen went into her act, I felt like crawling under the rug."
Others have pointed out that Scarlett also slaps Ashley, Rhett, and her sister Suellen. But none of those incidents involved Scarlett punishing a slave like Prissy who could not reasonably retaliate. Others have also argued that Prissy's frightened dim-wittedness is matched by the white matron Aunt Pittypatt, who deserts Melanie and Scarlett in their time of need.
After the Civil War, Gerald O'Hara (Scarlett's father, who owns the plantation in Tara), scolds his daughter about the way she is treating Mammy and Prissy. "You must be firm to the inferior, but gentle," he advises her. While Scarlett was criticized for being too harsh on the house servants, Gerald's premise that black people are "inferior" never gets questioned in the film at all.
Some scenes subtly undercut the apparent romanticization of Southern slavery. During the panicked evacuation of Atlanta as Union troops approach, Scarlett runs into Big Sam, the black foreman of the O'Hara plantation. Big Sam informs her that he (and a group of black field-hands who are with him) have been impressed to dig fortifications for the Confederacy. But these men are singing "Go Down Moses", a famous black spiritual that slaves would sing to call for the abolition of slavery.
The Shantytown Raid scene was changed in the film to make it less racially divisive than the book. After Scarlett is attacked in a Shantytown outside Atlanta, her male friends (Ashley, Frank Kennedy, and others) leave to raid the Shantytown that night to avenge Scarlett's honor. In the book, Scarlett's attacker was black, and her friends are identified as members of the Ku Klux Klan. In the film, Scarlett's attacker is white, and no mention of the Klan is made. Furthermore, her life is saved during the attack by a black man, Big Sam.
Racial politics spilled into the film's premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. As Georgia was a segregated state, Hattie McDaniel could not have attended the cinema without sitting in the "colored" section of the movie theater; to avoid troubling Selznick, she thus sent a letter saying she would not be able to attend. When Clark Gable heard that McDaniel did not want to attend because of the racial issue, he threatened to boycott the premiere unless McDaniel was able to attend; he later relented when McDaniel convinced him to go.[citation needed]
At the premiere, local promoters recruited blacks to dress up as slaves and sing in a "Negro choir" on the steps of a white-columned plantation mansion built for the event. Many black community leaders refused to participate. But prominent Atlanta preacher Martin Luther King, Sr. attended, and he brought his 10-year-old son, future civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who sang that night in the choir.
However, the film also resulted in an important moment in African-American history: Hattie McDaniel won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first time a black person won an Oscar.
Sexual Politics
Whether Gone With the Wind celebrates women for being strong or pigeon-holes them into a submissive role is subject to intense debate. Advocates point to Scarlett O'Hara as a headstrong woman with an independent streak, and a source of strength and inspiration for women coming out of the Great Depression.
But many have criticized what they consider to be the sexist nature of the film as well. Most disturbing to them is the scene where Rhett Butler, after staying up all night drinking, grabs Scarlett and, as she struggles furiously in his arms, takes her upstairs saying "you'll learn tonight" — apparently to force himself sexually upon her. The following scene shows Scarlett waking up in bed, apparently having enjoyed the previous night's implied sex.
Legacy
In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked it #4 on its "100 Greatest Movies" list. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry and has undergone a complete digital restoration.
Rhett Butler's infamous farewell line to Scarlett O'Hara, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," was voted in a poll by the American Film Institute in 2005 as the most memorable line in cinema history [3].
Sequel
Rumors of Hollywood producing a sequel to this film persisted for decades until 1994, when a sequel was finally produced for television, based upon Alexandra Ripley's novel, Scarlett, itself a sequel to Mitchell's original. Both the book and mini-series were met with mixed reviews. In the TV version, British actors played both key roles: Welsh-born actor Timothy Dalton played Rhett while Manchester-born Joanne Whalley played Scarlett.
Remake
Since about 1989 (the film's 50th Anniversary), it has been rumored that GWTW would be remade, most agree that if there are plans for a grand remake, 2009 should be the release year as to celebrate the film's 70th Anniversary. As of 2006, no remake has been officially confirmed.
Credits
A promotional poster for the film's 1998 "remastered" re-release.
- Directed by
- Writing credits
- Cast
- Produced by
Oscar Record
Nominated
References
- ^ The information in this paragraph was obtained from Time: The Most Amazing 60 Years in History issue, October 5, 1983
External links
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Gone with the Wind (1939) 
Gone with the Wind (1939)
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Via col vento (1939) 
