directed by
Victor Fleming
USA 1939
David O. Selznick wanted Gone with the Wind to be somehow more than a movie, a film that would broaden the very idea of what a film could be and do and look like. In many respects he got what he worked so hard to achieve in this 1939 epic (and all-time box-office champ in terms of tickets sold), and in some respects he fell far short of the goal. While the first half of this Civil War drama is taut and suspenseful and nostalgic, the second is ramshackle and arbitrary. But there's no question that the film is an enormous achievement in terms of its every resource--art direction, color, sound, cinematography--being pushed to new limits for the greater glory of telling an American story as fully as possible. Vivien Leigh is still magnificently narcissistic, Olivia de Havilland angelic and lovely, Leslie Howard reckless and aristocratic. As for Clark Gable: we're talking one of the most vital, masculine performances ever committed to film. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: December 15th, 1939 - Atlanta, Georgia
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DVD Review: Warner Home Video - Region 1- NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
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Distribution | Warner Home Video - Region 1- NTSC | |
Runtime | 1:48:04 (Disc1) + 2:04:52 (Disc 2) | |
Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.91 mb/s (both discs) NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 5.1), original track (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 5.1) | |
Subtitles | English, Spanish, French, None | |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details:
• Commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer
Specifically: (Disc 1 + 2 are the film with optional commentary)
DVD Features: Disc 3 |
Comments: |
I had never owned this film on DVD before or we would have done a comparison with the older and alt-region versions. I'm told the biggest difference is in the color. Warner Brother’s proprietary “Ultra Restoration” process was used to restore this (Technicolor) film... and it looks flawless. "Made in 1939"? - right - it looks like it was filmed yesterday. Contrast is top notch, black levels are pitch... there is some VERY minor edge enhancement (10X zoom to see!), audio is exemplary (original and 5.1 offered).... and the extensive extras speak for themselves. As the film is a keystone of the Warner empire, they appeared to spare no expense and Warner is one of the few DVD Production studios that has the ability to pump large cash into the creation of a DVD. Essentially, this is reference material for showing the capabilities of older films on DVD (for silent films, I might say "City Lights") - this is probably even superior (well audio is, we know) to the original theatrical presentation. What I am saying is this DVD package is going to be in contention for DVD of the Year!... and it may win! out of |
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Disc 3
Disc 4
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