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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

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.

Tom Keogh's description from Amazon's website HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 15th, 1939 - Atlanta, Georgia

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Comparison:

Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner (70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Henrik Sylow and Gary Tooze for the DVD Screen Caps!

1) Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner (70th Anniversary Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

 

Box Covers

Re-released January 4th, 2011 as a single edition:

Distribution

Warner Home Entertainment

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner Home Entertainment
Region 1 - NTSC
Warner (70th Anniversary)
Region FREE -
Blu-ray
Runtime 3:53:02 3:53:04 3:53:14.271
Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 4.46 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.91 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 44,959,920,915 bytes

Feature: 44,401,987,584 bytes

Video Bitrate: 18.39 Mbps

Codec: VC-1 Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

 

Warner Home Entertainment

 

Warner Home Entertainment

side 2

Bitrate:

 Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition)

 

 Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition)

Disc 2

Bitrate:

 Warner (Sandrew Metronome) (4-Disc Collectors Edition)

 

 Warner (Sandrew Metronome) (4-Disc Collectors Edition)

Disc 2

 Warner

Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Original track (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono)

English (Dolby Digital 5.1), original track (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Dolby TrueHD Audio English 1251 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1251 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio French 384 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio German 384 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 384 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 384 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English, French, None English, Spanish, French, None English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Trailer (side A)
• Trivia (side B)

DVD Release Date:
Snapper Case

Chapters 28
 

Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:

•  Commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer
•  Ultra-Resolution film restoration
•  "The Making of a Legend: Gone With The Wind" the 1989 documentary made by Selznick's sons (125 Minutes)
•  "Restoring a Legend" - An in-depth look at the restoration
•  Footage from 1939 Atlanta and 1961 Civil War Centennial Atlanta premieres
•  "The Old South" - 1940 theatrical short directed by Fred Zinnerman
•  "Melanie Remembers: Olivia de Havilland Recalls Gone With The Wind" - All new documentary
•  "Clark Gable: A King Remembered"
•  "Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond"
•  Mini documentaries covering lives and careers of the most prominent cast members
•  Prologue from the international release version
•  Trailer gallery
•  Number of discs: 4 

 

Specifically: (Disc 1 + 2 are the film with optional commentary)

 

DVD Features: Disc 3
• The Making of a Legend: Gone With The Wind the acclaimed 1989 documentary made by Selznick's sons and narrated by Christopher Plummer (125 Minutes, Never-before-available on DVD)
• Restoring a Legend- An in-depth look at the restoration and Ultra-Resolution process utilized by Warner Bros. For this new DVD presentation
• Footage from 1939 Atlanta and 1961 Civil War Centennial Atlanta premieres
• The Old South - Fred Zinnerman directed this historical 1940 theatrical short, which was shown by MGM in theatres prior to the release of Gone With The Wind

DVD Features: Disc 4
• Melanie Remembers: Olivia de Havilland Recalls Gone With The Wind - All new documentary produced especially for this new DVD set, features Ms. de Havilland's personal recollections of the film
• Clark Gable: A King Remembered - A Portrait of the legendary actor's long and distinguished career as M-G-M's most famous leading man
• Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond hosted by Jessica Lange, this is an insightful look at Leigh's short and troubled life
• Mini documentaries covering lives and careers of the most prominent cast members

DVD Release Date: November 9th, 2004

Digipak
Chapters: 31 + 32 = 63

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

 

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 44,959,920,915 bytes

Feature: 44,401,987,584 bytes

Video Bitrate: 18.39 Mbps

Codec: VC-1 Video

Edition Details:

DISC 1 (The Movie):
•  Commentary by Historian Rudy Behlmer
 

DISC 2 (Bonus Features):
About the Movie
•  "The Making of a Legend: Gone With The Wind" the 1989 documentary made by Selznick's sons (2:03:36 in SD)
•  "Restoring a Legend" - An in-depth look at the restoration.
Dixie Hails "Gone with the Wind". Footage from 1939 Atlanta and 1961 Civil War Centennial Atlanta premieres. (1:37:47 in SD)
•  Historical theatrical short "The Old South" (1940) directed by Fred Zinnemann.
•  Atlanta Civil War Centennial 1961 premiere newsreel
•  International prologue
•  Foreign language version sample scenes
•  Theatrical Trailers
 

About the Cast
Three Documentaries:
•  "Melanie Remembers: Olivia de Havilland Recalls Gone With The Wind" (38:43 in SD)
•  "Clark Gable: A King Remembered" (1:05:03 in SD)
•  "Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond" (46:05 in SD)
The Supporting Players - Cameo portraits of an unforgettable ensemble

At Tara
•  The O’Hara Plantation in Georgia
•  Thomas Mitchell as Gerald O’Hara
•  Barbara O’Neill as Ellen, his wife
Their Daughters
•  Evelyn Keyes as Suellen
•  Ann Rutherford as Carreen
•  The House Servants
•  Hattie McDaniel as Mammy
Oscar Polk as Pork
•  Butterfly McQueen as Prissy
At Twelve Oaks
•  Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes
Rand Brooks as Charles Hamilton, her brother
•  Carroll Nye as Frank Kennedy, a guest
In Atlanta
•  Laura Hope Crews as Aunt Pittypat Hamilton
•  Eddie Anderson as Uncle Peter, her coachman
•  Harry Davenport as Dr. Meade
•  Jane Darwell as Mrs. Merriwether
•  Ona Munson as Belle Watling
•  Cammie King as Bonnie Blue Butler


Additional Bonus Features
•  Warner Bros. Home Entertainment presents 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year – New documentary about Hollywood’s watershed year narrated by Kenneth Branagh (1:08:20 in SD)
•  Gone with the Wind: The Legend Lives On -- Exploring the legacy of the most beloved film through illuminating interviews, footage and visits to historical sites, events and museums
•  Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara Wars 1980 WBTV Special never before on home video (1:37:47 in SD)
•  Trailers


Plus these Premiums
•  20-page reproduction of the original and complete 1939 Souvenir Program
•  40-page Production History Book with photos and production notes
•  Ten Watercolor Reproduction Frameable 5x7 Art Prints
•  CD soundtrack sampler featuring eight tracks
- Main Title
- - Tara
- The Barbecue
- Escape From Atlanta
- I'll Never Be Hungry Again!
- Paddock Scene 5:27
- Scarlett In The Mist/Rhett Leaves
- Flashback/Finale
•  6 Hour MGM: When The Lion Roars Documentary (Exclusive to this Release) - separate dual-sided DVD

Blu-ray Release Date: November 17th, 2009
LIMITED/NUMBERED Velvet Box
Chapters: 63

 

Blu-ray Package

 

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE Blu-ray - October09: Well, it's here and there is a lot to say. There are moments where it simply looks 'better' than the previous DVDs - and then there are times when it makes you gasp. Most notable may be the colors - flesh tones are warm at times but lose that yellow-orangey look of the SD transfers. Beside the Blu-ray screen grabs the 4-disc DVD package looks very green. Detail advances to as high a degree as we are likely to see for this 70-year old classic. Whites are whiter (no longer 'cream'), blacks - pitch and the dual-layered, 44 Gig transfer of this, almost 4-hour film, shares the disc with only the Behlmer commentary and some extensive foreign language DUBs and subtitle options. Gone With the Wind's enormity is half the experience and it's 'BIG' here - very BIG. Contrast and lighting visuals have some jaw-dropping moments and I can't imagine it looking any better for your home theater enjoyment. There is less grain that I would have thought but I don't feel there was an over abundance of digital manipulation and it is smooth in motion - better than the caps below can represent. 

 

Audio: Despite not being the most dynamic track ever - the TrueHD 5.1 at 1251 kbps sounds wonderful. Like The Wizard, the mix is not diverging so far from its more basic roots so as to be 'out of place'. I applaud those who took part - it compliments the image extremely well. We have subtle separations, Like the last DVD the sound is clean and free of any hiss with Max Steiner's iconic score lifting the film on its massive shoulders over and over again. Subtitle and DUB options are rife - confirming this is the 'International' and probably 'only' Blu-ray disc, and transfer, that will be available worldwide.

***

There is a second dual-layered Blu-ray that has all of the SD supplements from the 4-disc package with the two hour "The Making of a Legend: Gone With The Wind" - the 1989 documentary made by Selznick's sons, the "Restoring a Legend" - the 1.5 hour in-depth look at the restoration. Dixie Hails "Gone with the Wind". Footage from 1939 Atlanta and 1961 Civil War Centennial Atlanta premieres. The Historical theatrical short "The Old South" (1940) directed by Fred Zinnemann, "Melanie Remembers: Olivia de Havilland Recalls Gone With The Wind" - for 38-minutes, featurettes on "Clark Gable: A King Remembered" - and hour long and "Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond" for 46 minutes - plus mini documentaries covering lives and careers of the most prominent cast members including Hattie McDaniel, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford and Leslie Howard. There is new stuff as well and I really enjoyed the 1 hour 8 minute Warner Bros. Home Entertainment presents 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year – New documentary about Hollywood’s watershed year narrated by Kenneth Branagh with great pieces on Warner - Bette Davis, Bogie, John Ford, John Wayne and many other stars and directors of the era. There is also Gone with the Wind: The Legend Lives On -- exploring the legacy of the most beloved film through illuminating interviews, footage and visits to historical sites, events and museums and the 1.5 hour Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara Wars 1980 WBTV Special never before on home video. Not enough for you? Well there is more. There is a dual-sided DVD (2 parts and 3 hours on each side) included with the 6 Hour MGM: When The Lion Roars Documentary (Exclusive to this Release). It is very enjoyable - kind of in a That's Entertainment type way with plenty of clips and expert information offered with Patrick Stewart taking you on a tour as host. When you are in the mood time just flies by while watching it. This is a super inclusion in the package - it's just too bad it didn't make it to Blu-ray or in HD - in fact none of the featurettes or documentaries are in 1080. More? Ohhh yes - you get a CD soundtrack sampler featuring eight tracks of the film score. Okay - that's about 15 hours of supplements - I think that is enough.

 

The package itself is beautiful - a limited and numbered edition - mine is 028475 of 150000 - red velvet box about the same size as the 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition of The Wizard of Oz Blu-ray. It is unfortunate that we don't get the option for a single-disc Blu-ray of just the film and a few important extras. The inclusions are very nice - a 20-page reproduction of the original and complete 1939 Souvenir Program, a 40-page Production History Book with magnificent color photos and production notes, ten watercolor reproduction frameable 5x7 Art Prints, the aforementioned CD soundtrack etc. . Those wanting to pare down this mammoth package may opt for the UK Blu-ray edition - which also, we'll safely assume, is region free with most of the digital extras.

 

So what is Gone With the Wind? David O. Selznick's legacy and the greatest female role ever put to celluloid. It has its machismo moments but in the end this is Vivien Leigh's film and leans more to being a chick flic that we'd like to admit. Where do we go now? beyond Blu-ray sets like these? How about, ala Willy Wonka, in each package a possibility of a gold ticket and for the handful of winners - Rudy Behlmer comes to your house and bakes you a paella while regurgitating his exceptional commentary. Yes... it is too much and it takes up too much shelf space and I don't want to clean the house for a potential Rudy visit either... but aside from the price I can't fault the ostentatious accoutrements. 'They don't make them like this anymore' and owning this one can revisit the grandest scale of Gone With the Wind that you are likely to ever get in your home theater. This is not in my top 10 films but even I had trouble holding back from getting carried into the spirit of its iconic grandeur. Maybe that's what these experiences are all about. I doubt those who indulge will regret the beautiful red velour package keepsake that also works as a fabulous gift to Mom!

 - Gary Tooze

 


DVD Menus

(Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)
 

 

Blu-ray Extras

 


 

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner (70th Anniversary Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

Subtitle sample

 


1) Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner (70th Anniversary Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner (70th Anniversary Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner (70th Anniversary Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner (70th Anniversary Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner (70th Anniversary Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner Home Entertainment (4-Disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner (70th Anniversary Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

More Blu-ray Captures

 


Hit Counter


Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray

Extras:

Blu-ray

 

Box Covers

Re-released January 4th, 2011 as a single edition:

Distribution

Warner Home Entertainment

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner Home Entertainment
Region 1 - NTSC
Warner (70th Anniversary)
Region FREE -
Blu-ray




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gary Tooze

Many Thanks...