Gone With the Wind (1939)
94%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: Won 10 Oscars
21 wins & 12 nominations total
Gone with the Wind’s epic grandeur and romantic allure encapsulate an era of Hollywood filmmaking — but that can’t excuse a blinkered perspective that stands on the wrong side of history.
Gone With the Wind” is like a big, fancy cake that you know you shouldn’t eat but can’t resist. It’s got everything: romance, drama, war, and Clark Gable’s charming smirk. Sure, it’s not perfect – there’s some subtle racism and it’s a bit too long – but it’s still a classic for a reason. Plus, that shot of the dead soldiers in the street is hauntingly beautiful. If you haven’t seen it yet, give it a watch and see what all the fuss is about.
Production Company(ies)
Selznick International Pictures,, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1940
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.77 : 1 (original ratio, IMAX)1.37 : 1
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Runtime:3h 42m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 15, 1939 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2009
Genre(s)
Romance
Keyword(s)
Gone with the Wind, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, directed by Victor Fleming, written by Sidney Howard, produced by David O Selznick, romance, Civil War, Reconstruction, Southern belle, plantation, Ashley Wilkes, Rhett Butler, Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, Gerald O’Hara, Ellen O’Hara, Mammy, KKK, slavery, racism, historical accuracy, feminist message, box office gross, budget, critic reviews, reviewed by Sydney Morning Herald, Chicago Tribune, Guardian, New York Post, New York Daily News, Time Out, Deep Focus Review, Cleveland Plain Dealer, JoBlo’s Movie Network, World Socialist Web Site, MPAA rating G, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Worldwide gross: $402,382,193
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $10,337,150,110
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,127,279,183
US/Canada gross: $200,882,193
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $5,160,639,361
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,192,593
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $30,637,571
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 445
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,977,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $102,168,651
Production budget ranking: 401
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $55,017,819
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $10,179,963,640
ROI to date (est.): 6,476%
ROI ranking: 14
Vivien Leigh – Scarlett O’Hara
Leslie Howard – Ashley Wilkes
Olivia de Havilland – Melanie Hamilton Wilkes
Thomas Mitchell – Gerald O’Hara
Barbara O’Neil – Ellen O’Hara
Director(s)
Victor Fleming
Writer(s)
Sidney Howard
Producer(s)
David O. Selznick
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 10 Oscars
21 wins & 12 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Art Direction Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Cinematography Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Editing Winners, Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (103) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (93) | Rotten (10)
Clark Gable sends a refreshing blast of cynicism through a narrative which otherwise would have been over-sweet.
February 5, 2020
SMH Staff
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
“Gone With the Wind” offers the kind of big, rich, opulent experience the movies are in a unique position to offer but seldom do.
January 29, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
If the story had been cut short and tidied up at the point marked by the interval, and if the personal drama had been made subservient to a cinematic treatment of the central theme, then Gone With the Wind might have been a really great film.
March 1, 2018
Guardian Staff
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The film’s subtle racism is insidious, going to great lengths to enshrine the myth that the Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery – an institution the film unabashedly romanticizes.
June 27, 2015 | Rating: 2/4
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
TOP CRITIC
There has never been a picture like David O. Selznick’s production of Gone With the Wind.
February 22, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
Kate Cameron
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
No one watches Gone with the Wind for historical accuracy. What keeps us coming back is four-hours of epic romance in gorgeous Technicolor.
February 22, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Cath Clarke
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
It remains the most seen film in cinema history, not only because Selznick produced a monumental motion picture of immaculate quality, but because he knew how to sell it as an event.
March 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
The entire cast is about as flawless as I have ever seen in one picture.
February 5, 2022
W. Ward Marsh
Cleveland Plain Dealer
It is a film so misguided and ignorant that odds are that if you have seen it, you likely only remember one or two iconic scenes and have nary a recollection of the rest. Gone With The Wind is quite literally not worth giving a damn.
May 4, 2021
Alex Maidy
JoBlo’s Movie Network
One of the first technicolor films made by Hollywood, the panning shot of injured and dead soldiers littering a street remains unforgettable…
August 7, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Tom Meek
Cambridge Day
One of the first technicolor films made by Hollywood, the panning shot of injured and dead soldiers littering a street remains unforgettable…
August 7, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Joanne Laurier
World Socialist Web Site
No other movie has had quite the impact, the influence, or the epic feel (perhaps as only a nearly four-hour-long production could create) of this unmistakable masterpiece.
July 27, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
Scarlett is a woman who can deal with a nation at war, Atlanta burning, the Union Army carrying off everything from her beloved Tara, the carpetbaggers who arrive after the war. Scarlett is beautiful. She has vitality. But Ashley, the man she has wanted for so long, is going to marry his placid cousin, Melanie. Mammy warns Scarlett to behave herself at the party at Twelve Oaks. There is a new man there that day, the day the Civil War begins. Rhett Butler. Scarlett does not know he is in the room when she pleads with Ashley to choose her instead of Melanie.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
One of the critic reviews says that Clark Gable’s character sends a refreshing blast of cynicism through a narrative which otherwise would have been over-sweet.
Victor-Fleming.jpg
