Reviewing a film like Gone with the Wind is a bit like reviewing God. It is so well known and so much a part of our culture that being objective is rather like being objective about one's mother.
It is #4 on the AFI Greatest Films list, took 8 Academy awards in 1938 including best picture, best screenplay and best actress, and still holds the record for the most movie tickets sold. Even if you haven't seen the film it is part of you just as the bible is part of you and the Constitution even if you haven't read them. They are simply part of the air we breathe.
Technically speaking, the film is beautiful. The studio pulled out all the stops and used their best craftsmen on this one. Seeing it on the big screen is breathtaking. Say what you will about Hollywood in those days, they made the best-crafted movies in the world and perhaps in all time. It was a film that was not so much a product of one mind as a product of the studio system. The director, Victor Fleming, was never a great director but certainly a skillful one. The cinematographer, the editor, the set designer: they were all veterans of many a fine film and would make many others after this. The leads were exceptional. Vivian Leigh was a fairly unknown British actress who had a mischievous air about her and sparkling eyes. She was a big risk for this role but whoever cast her couldn't have found a better person to play Scarlet. Although Clark Gable was a well-known actor, no one thought he would be able to mix the gentleman and the scoundrel so perfectly. The lesser supporting roles were cast with actors who usually held staring roles when they appeared on film.
With a film this old we have to wonder if it has dated much. You can answer that question with one of the film's most famous lines. "Frankly Scarlet, I don't give a damn." It was shocking and electrifying when it was first said on screen in the 30's, not because no one had ever head such language, but just not in a film. Today it would hardly be noticed. But not all lines are like this some of them still resonate deeply. The film is also a bit overblown. The first half of the film is quite good, but the second half seems to drag. Somehow, however, the fact that it is a bit dated doesn't really matter. The characters of Rhett and Scarlett are so compelling so well acted even today, that we are quickly enchanted.
Rhett and Scarlet: Why do we love these characters so much? Certainly they are charming and beautiful. They are adventurous and they are not afraid to tell it like it is. But they are also selfish and self-indulgent. They are crude at times and don't seem to be at all ashamed of it. Not everything they do is for the best. Sometimes what they do is hurtful to others and only selfish. But we can't stop loving them.
Both Rhett and Scarlet are not phonies. They are themselves without apology. They struggle to have happiness in the second half of the film and they don't achieve it. They are the victims of their own flaws. Although they may be unhappy or crude, or selfish they are survivors. When all others have given up or couldn't stand the embarrassment or couldn't give up their scruples, there are Rhett and Scarlet doing what needs to be done. In fact, they are very much echo the American character. It is no wonder we love them. They are just like us.
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