Gone With The Wind (1939)

i have just completed the classic: Gone With the Wind starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard (whom i keep calling Ashley by mistake) and Olivia De Havilland. There isn't much to say about this marvelous film (but i'll try hard) except that it is worthy of every praise and reference it has ever had.

It rarely feels like a film from the 30s, almost every movie from that era i have ever seen has felt like a 30s movie but this one didn't, it felt just as fresh and as new as ever. The camera angles couldn't ever be improved upon, not even by todays greatest directors and i think Victor Fleming was a genius. The only time when i felt like it was from 1939 were the closeups of faces, the falling (very rehearsed) and the annunciation of the actors. But somehow this added even more to it's charm, it's a 30s film with barely any hint of it's time and when it does hint to when it was made, it hardly makes a difference. Ah movie's that don't feel dated now THAT's something gone with the wind.

The costumes and sets were sublime, the clothes Vivien Leigh wore were a sight to behold, especially when the costumes were green, red or blue. Green and blue seemed to match her eyes (sometimes they looked green and sometimes they looked blue) and red suited the name of her character: Scarlett O'Hara (but who didn't know that?). The costumes worn by Melanie (Olivia De Havilland) complimented the humbleness of her character perfectly and although she didn't look half as glamorous as Scarlett there was far more... i can't think of the words for it, well anyone who has seen the movie will know what i mean.
The clothes worn by Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes) were nicely understated and dignified, they added ruggedness to Rhett and respectibilty to Ashley.

The sets were beautiful and rich with vibrant and emotive colour, sometimes they looked painted (a 30s staple) but most of the time they looked realistic. Especially that beautiful plantation by the name of Tara.
A little bit of trivia: my Dad named my sister Tara after that house, what do i get named after? a race horse!

The music was beautiful. Tara's theme perfectly captures the essence of the film, it is about love, survival, hate, friendship, or in other words: life. A life that hasn't changed so much from the time it was set: before, during and after the civil war. Yes there are no slaves and yes no-one says 'fiddle dee dee' but the love/hate relationships and cruelty of living is still here and every time the music plays it is a constant reminder of this fact. The music adds emotion when it's either playing softly in the background or erupting into it's encompassing beauty. The movie would not have been as good without it's music.

Now for the actors: 
Clark Gable was a great one. To be honest i'd never really thought twice about him, i thought he was one of those actors who played himself in every damn movie. But it wasn't so. He adds emotion and humour to his handsome tough guy character, in those old movies it was rare to see such a realistic father-daughter relationship, much less one that is torn apart. He should have won that Oscar, he lost out to Robert Donat in Goodbye Mr chips, which while good, wasn't as good as this.

Vivien Leigh deserved her Oscar. The life in the character of Scarlett O'Hara is greater than any i have ever seen on film. Her wit, beauty, charm, stubbornness, selfishness and devotion to Tara adds up to a tour de force performance. Not to mention those scenes with Olivia De Havilland (Melanie), even when Scarlett is hopelessly in love with Ashley (whom Melanie is married to) Scarlett does all she can for her. Scarlett is the kind of character many people wish they could be like (perhaps so they can attract a guy like Rhett) and in some scenes you love her, in others you hate her and in some you just don't know.

Olivia De Havilland should have won that Oscar (not saying the Hattie Mcdaniel didn't deserve to win but when you compare the performances it's pretty obvious). The heart and soul she gives the selfless and humble Melanie is joyful to watch and it is sad to see her go through so much in the film when she is so undeserving of it. Melanie is practically a polar opposite to Scarlett which is why they work so well together on screen. Melanie is the friend we all wish we had.

Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes is a strange thing. at the start of the movie i'm not sure i could understand how Scarlett hated Rhett and was in love with this guy. This skinny guy who really wasn't that good looking, seemed sort of soft spoken and far too different from her. But as the movie progressed i found it easier to believe. The character, while not physically strong looking nor handsome was a man of honor and respect, i think a lot of women want a man who is honorable in the end. It seems that almost any ordinary woman would fall for the Rhett kind, but marry the Ashley kind (not Scarlett though, because she wasn't ordinary nor were the circumstances).

The supporting players like Hattie McDaniel were pretty good. I can't tell you how dedicated McDaniel's character Mammy is to the O'Hara's and how good her all too brief scenes with Rhett are. The little girl who plays Bonnie (Rhett and Scarlett's daughter) was well cast, she had the right kind of face to be a young Scarlett and her scenes with Leigh and Gable (especially Gable) show the family dynamic very, very well.

I've seen biographical movies about real people, but somehow i never saw them as real people, they were characters to me, but this was completely different, the actors made me see (perhaps even wish) as though these fictional characters were real. I think if there were more Melanie's and Ashley's in the world the world would be much nicer.
When we reach the end of this 4 hour film (personally i would have been just as happy if it had been longer) we see Rhett walking away in the mist and we see Scarlett, she should be a defeated woman. But she is there with the camera aimed squarely at her face, she has hope that she will get Rhett back. And we hope with her.

I've seen a lot of movies in my lifetime, not all of them good and i enter some with extremely high hopes, i entered this one with them too and in a very rare moment (maybe even for the first time) i was completely satisfied with a film.

"I can shoot straight if i don't have to shoot too far" Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), Gone With The Wind.

Whats So Funny? The 30's edition

Ordinarily i'd start with the 1920s but i haven't seen enough movie from that period to give you a good post so we'll get to that later. It was the 30s, or... the beginning of the golden era. gone were the flapper style made popular by Clara Bow and the vamp popularized by Theda Bara. Moviegoers, waited with burning ear to hear their favourite silent stars speak as talking pictures became the biggest thing since film itself. 'Garbo Talks!' cried poster in 1930, advertising her first talkie 'Anna Christie'. She wouldn't make a comedy util 1939 so we'll get to her a bit later.

Many early talkie comedies haven't aged well, due mostly to studio's being weary of sound (they thought it was just a phase) and some tried to avoid it for as long as possible. There was an actor - a comedy actor - who didn't see (geddit!) the need for the spoken word, his name was Charles Chaplin and he avoided the microphone like the plague, releasing silent comedies in an era that had become infatuated with sound - and it worked.

Chaplin had many early comedy successes with 'The Kid' in 1921 and 'The Gold Rush' in 1925. The latter of these 2 films depicted an iconic scene in which Chaplin eats his own shoe.
In 1931 Chaplin released his silent (or semi silent, due to the presence of a music score) 'City Lights'. A rather funny film that involves Chaplin's iconic 'Tramp' falling in love with a blind girl who believes that he is rich.
The movie was a rousing success, proving that the silent era wasn't ready to die.
Chaplin also found success with 'Modern Times', released in 1936, it satirized the modern era. If i may say so myself, i believe that this is one of (if not the) best Chaplin film.
We didn't hear Chaplin talk until 1940 with 'The Great Dictator', which was still funny and i'm sure that many people wondered why he didn't do it earlier.

There was also the musical comedies starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that provided many laughs for the depression era moviegoers. With Top Hat, Carefree and the Gay Divorcee ranking as their most funny.Astaire and Rogers are legends, their chemistry was unique, they sang and danced and played comedy like it was first and second nature. Fred Astaire had a big career in musicals through 1950's and still brought the goods even after his best years were behind him. Ginger Rogers was a versatile actress and won an Oscar in 1940 for 'Kitty Foyle'.

'It happened one night'. The pioneer of of modern rom coms was this film released in 1934. Starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, the film was the first to achieve 'the big 5' at the Oscars, winning Best actor, best actress, best picture, best director and best screenplay. Who can forget the infamous scene in which Ellie (Colbert) stops a car without using her thumb?

You may have seen the Adam Sandler comedy 'Mr Deeds', which is actually a remake (by premise and title) of 'Mr Deeds goes to town' in 1936. It stars (since the movie still exists i'm referring to it in present tense) Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur as Longfellow Deeds and Babe Bennett (the remake featured Adam Sandler in the Gary Cooper roles and Winona Ryder as Babe). it is far superior to the remake in almost every way, the fact that it isn't in colour doesn't take away from the overall experience of the film.

Now for 1938, their are a couple that stand out in this year: 'Bringing up baby' (considered to be one of the best screwball comedies of all time) was released that year. It stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, the film is available pretty much everywhere as it is quite popular.  It is madcap to say the least, i remember when i first saw it i laughed so much i began to wonder if AFI made a mistake naming 'Some like it hot' the funniest movie of all time. While funny i still don't think its the funniest movie ever. There is one line in 'BuB' i remember the most, it's when Grant and Hepburn are in jail-
"Don't worry David when they find out who we are they'll let us out"says Susan (Hepburn)
"When they find out who you are they'll pad the cell"
 There is also 'Holiday', which also starred Ms Hepburn and Mr Grant, both films were flops upon first release but are now highly regarded.
"You can't take it with you". Thats a good movie, James Stewart and Jean Arthur were funny and listen, i added this in on an after thought, i recommend that you search it up as it is quite good, at least watch it for Lionel Barrymore.

The Marx Brothers. Surely you must have heard of them, you know how it goes - "One morning i shot an elephant in my pajamas, how he got in my pajamas i don't know'
Their madcap style stretched through many movies but arguably their best films were in the 30's with Horse Feathers, a day at the races, a night at the opera and duck soup all being released in the 30's. The Marx Bros consisted of: Groucho, Chico, Harpo and sometimes Zeppo.

'GARBO LAUGHS!' screamed the posters for 'Ninotchka'. Well technically Greta Garbo had laughed on film before, but 'Ninotchka' was her first comedy. A no nonsense Russian envoy comes to Paris to sort out a problem with some jewels but is romanced by capitalism and a man about town (Melvyn Douglas). Co-written by Billy Wilder (Some like it hot, Sunset Blvd, The Apartment) the dead pan wit and satirical light that was cast on communism and capitalism while dated now, is still quite funny. This was Garbo's second to last film, the last would be 'Two faced Woman' which while having some good moments was a disappointing movie.

There are so many more great 30's comedies, but this is just to point you, the reader, in the right direction in the way of classic comedy. i guarantee laughs from these movies. if you don't laugh i give you full permission to take shots at this post in the comments.

"You know you haven't stopped talking since i got here, you must've been vaccinated with a phonograph needle" Groucho Marx, Duck Soup