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| Vivien
Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia DeHavilland, Leslie Howard, Thomas Mitchell |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Rhett
Butler (Clark Gable): Frankly, my dear... I don't give a damn.
A
young woman from a wealthy family of plantation owners in the South
deals with war, hardship and romantic entanglements.
 What
is left to say about Gone with the Wind? Entire books have
been written about its unique audience-participation casting process,
its production history, its historical influence on popular cinema,
and its enduring appeal as an epic melodrama of romance, war and
family. Based on Margaret Mitchell's sprawling novel, its meandering
plot is sustained by the larger-than-life star performances
and the awesome production design. With its magnificent Technicolor
cinematography, virtually every shot is a masterful example of
classic framing and mise-en-scène. And though the soap
opera-like narrative may be an initial turn-off for first-time
viewers, rest assured that you will be drawn in time and again
by the somewhat guilty pleasure of following the ups and downs
of the Tara plantation and that most petulant and selfish of movie
heroines, Scarlett O'Hara. |
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Identical movie-only versions
have long been available for Region 1 and Region 2, but
have now been superseded by a stunning four-disc Collector's
Edition that spreads the film across the first two discs
and leaves two additional platters for a generous selection
of supplements.
The movie is presented full-frame
at 1.33:1, closely approximating its original 1.37:1 Academy
ratio. As good as the dated transfer on the earlier bare-bones
release seemed to be, it does little to prepare one for the
magic worked by the full-blown digital restoration presented
here. Using the same process previously seen on Warner's
restored editions of Singin' in the Rain, The Adventures
of Robin Hood and Meet Me in St. Louis, the
three-strip Technicolor elements have been scanned, restored,
and digitally re-aligned, resulting in far subtler shading,
warmer colors, and unprecedented sharpness. The only drawback
is that trick shots that use optical printing,
rear projection or matte paintings now stand out much more
clearly from the straightforward camera work.
The soundtrack has been remastered and is available in a new Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix as well as original 1.0 mono. Purist objections aside,
the 5.1 presentation is clearly the better of the two, with a fuller
sound than the relatively thin-sounding mono track, while the multi-channel
mix never seems anachronistic due to contrived surround effects.
Finally arriving in the multi-disc
box set this masterpiece so richly deserves, this handsome
set is sure to wind up under many a film buff's Christmas
tree this year. Film historian Rudy Behlmer was given the
daunting task of preparing a full-length audio
commentary for this epic four-hour journey, and
while his attention to detail and level of preparation are
commendable, it's ultimately a self-defeating effort. Rather
than responding directly to what we see on the screen and
drawing us further into previously unnoticed details in the
film (like for instance Roger Ebert did in his commentary
for Citizen Kane and Casablanca), Behlmer
seems to be reading aloud a four-hour lecture on Gone
with the Wind. Most of this ground is covered more entertainingly
in the documentaries on the other two discs, and though his
commentary also offers up some valuable nuggets for tenacious
listeners, others are more likely to be put to sleep by his
dry diction and staid delivery.
Disc three offers up a two-hour documentary that
covers the production history in detail, dramatizing the
story of this legendary production by having actors impersonate
participants' voices as their correspondence is read aloud,
and other similar tricks. An in-depth look at the restoration
process proves to be equally fascinating. There is also a
selection of shorts here that were shown along with the film
during its original release. Disc four holds long featurettes
on Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland, and
short items on other cast members. The original prologue
for international release versions and a trailer gallery
round out these time-consuming extras.
Dan Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: December
21, 2004
Click
here for IMDB info on Gone
with the Wind.
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to return to the front page.
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