With a running time of a little under 4 hours I purposely failed to let my wife know the duration of the movie. If she had known that she might have refused to sit down one cold December night and get swept away by the charm of the Old South. It took 3.9 million dollars, 3 directors, 5 writers, 500 000 feet of film and 2400 extras to bring to life the turbulent love story of Scarlett O’hara and Rhett Butler. By the time the first disc was completed my wife was committed to the story and there was no turning back.
It’s difficult to talk about a movie with so much history. There are so many iconic memorable lines and scenes that it was difficult to differentiate the “hype” from the “content”. Did I like it because it’s a classic? If I knew nothing about this movie would I still regard it as a “must see”? Is Rhett Butler that cool or is it Clark Gable? One sad thing that did stand out was how negative African-american stereotypes seemed prominent. Yes, this was filmed in 1939 but it’s still a sad reminder of how our world used to be. (Or still might be?) Regardless, I’m convinced that there is something unique about this sort of film that our current movies lack. Unlike our modern “romance films” there is something so refreshing about exploring the “dark side” of love, loyalty, relationships and commitment.
You say it all, and in particularly sparkling crabbit fashion. Good on you. Someone will surely tweet this post and she will see it. I hope she does….