Rating: 4/5
Anti-Criterion Challenge 2024 | 3/52 | 1930s
Great gowns. Beautiful gowns.
There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South... Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow... Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave... Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered. A Civilization gone with the wind...
Yikes!
The version on Max has an essential TCM intro by Jacqueline Stewart. She helps contextualize the controversies surrounding the film — namely, that the movie paints an idyllic Antebellum South, lost to time.
The production was aware of the problematic depiction of black people and assured the NAACP that they were “sensitive to their feelings.” Regardless, the film ignores the brutality and indignity of chattel slavery and paints its black characters as either inept or devoted servants to their masters.
Its nostalgic lens denies the reality of slavery and inequality — the black cast members couldn’t even attend the premiere because of Jim Crow laws. Hattie McDaniel, despite her nomination for Mammy, could not sit with her other white cast members at the award ceremony.
The intro doesn’t touch on other controversies, such as the film’s romantic depiction of marital rape. The “she secretly wants it” trope has only recently received public discourse and scrutiny. There is a complex discussion to have around the subject, especially in the context of fantasy and agency, that I am not equipped to engage, but felt it necessary to at the very least acknowledge.
Growing up in the South, I heard these nostalgic and white supremacist values propagated through fellow students and teachers. This film is not the sole cause, but it reinforces harmful stereotypes and contributes to contemporary historical perspectives from audiences and Hollywood.
Adjusted for inflation, this is one of the highest-earning movies in history. It was the first to out-earn Birth of a Nation. Its glossy high production value has sustained its position as one of the most influential movies in history.
Some viewers may say, “setting controversies aside” when discussing the movie. But there is no movie without those controversies — they are the themes and values that the story wishes to emphasize.
As someone who watches too many movies, I have invariably seen this movie’s fingerprint on the films that follow it. I watch this with the intent of seeing its impact and informing my understanding of what people believe and what movies have the power to accomplish, for better or worse.
** Thoughts / Spoilers **
- The colors are gorgeous. This movie is a high watermark for Technicolor.
- The lighting and compositions are immaculate.
- The camera zooms in on each major player, adding to the sweeping drama.
- The silhouette of Scarlett and her father with the tree, looking onto their plantation, is awe-inspiring.
- The character of Scarlett O’Hara is a lingering contributor to the “not like other girls” trope.
- I adore Olivia de Havilland — if I’m honest, she’s the main reason I wanted to watch this. She’s got a face made for melodrama.
- Rhett Butler is the prototype for Han Solo — on the surface, he’s all about profit and himself.
- “So long as he’s a Southerner and thinks the same as you.”
- “My life is over. Nothing will happen to me anymore.” Been there, sister
- Does Clark Gable ever stop arching one eyebrow?
- “You should be kissed often and by someone who knows how.” 😳
- Scarlett’s dad looks like Joe Lo Truglio in old-person makeup
- “Prostrate with grief” is how I describe myself when I’m hungover
- Woah, they killed a kind
- — Where shall I go? What shall I do? — Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn