Gone with the Wind
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 epic film directed by Victor Fleming, starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland. It drew a wide audience and shaped its genre.
Plot
In 1861, on the eve of the American Civil War, Scarlett O'Hara lives at Tara, her family's cotton plantation in Georgia, with her parents, her sisters Suellen and Carreen, and their black slaves. Scarlett is deeply attracted to Ashley Wilkes and learns he is to be married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton. At an engagement party the next day at Ashley's home, Twelve Oaks, a nearby plantation, Scarlett makes an advance on Ashley but is rebuffed; however, she catches the attention of another guest, Rhett Butler. The party is disrupted by news of President Lincoln's call for volunteers to fight the South; in response, the Southern men rush to enlist. Scarlett marries Melanie's younger brother, and Ashley's sister India's beau, Charles, to arouse jealousy in Ashley before he leaves to fight.
Production
Written by Sidney Howard, the film was produced by Selznick International Pictures. Max Steiner composed the score. Ernest Haller handled the cinematography. The film runs 233 minutes. The crew and editing refined every shot.
Reception
On a budget of $4,000,000, Gone with the Wind grossed $402,352,579 worldwide at the box office. A critic consensus praised its screenplay and score.
Legacy
The film's influence spread across the century; its narrative and tone echo in much later cinema.
See also
References
- "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time". topfilms100. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. Broadway Books.
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