Gone with the Wind....

I am happy that I should start off this blog with “Gone with the Wind”. What, you ask me, isn’t that a terribly old movie? Yes it is. But it is also an awfully beautiful movie and I saw it only today (though I had read the book long ago and simply loved it) so I thought why not start with this one.. (Don’t worry, a review of a very new movie follows this one)
Anyway back to Gone with the wind.

What is the movie about?
It is the story of one woman, or I might say 2 women in the Southern states during the American Civil War. One woman has all the classical attributes of a “lady” (it is a vanishing term, I know) and the other is what you would call today a “bitch”. However, the lines are not drawn that clearly, and though she sells herself to 2 men she never could like, Scarlett O Hara, the selfish, cunning, charming woman also takes control of her family, works her ass off to get them on their feet and is quite charmingly, very stupidly, madly in love with a man- a man she dreams of and sacrifices so much for, but a man who doesn’t know her or like her for what she is, who likes her for her body. In the same way, the otherwise stupid sentimental useless Melanie shows her courage and strength at different points in the story, making herself as hatefully endearing as Scarlett to the spectator.
The parallel line to these women is drawn by the characters of Ashley, a man of the intellect, not suited for practical matters, and utterly incapable otherwise, in love with a woman with a similar temperament, but unable to control the passion evoked in him by Scarlett; and , of course, Rhett Butler. The man with no morals. The man who is only worse than Scarlett in being selfish and cruel. But the man who respects Melanie’s greatness. The man who madly loves Scarlett. From the first word he spoke in the movie till the last “I don’t give a damn” he just bowls you over. If you like Scarlett for being the strong woman she is, you love Rhett Butler in spite of what he is.

What is good about the movie?
Characters. In creating such wonderfully contradictory characters Margaret Mitchell as well as the movie director (who made the movie as good as the book) have etched in our hearts people whom we can never forget.
Dialogues. I am not going to start about the dialogues- I am sure you have heard enough about them.
Theme. So the only other thing I want to mention is that the background of the Civil War is also intriguing. One, it makes you think about war and peace again. Two it makes you rethink about what you learnt in school about Abe Lincoln and did he go wrong somewhere. And more importantly, it asks the question what relevance do gallantry and ideals and honor have in human life? Do they mean anything at all in the long run? The movie tries to answer that they do, but I really don’t know. What would your answer be?

So should i watch it?
Definitely. It is a wonderful movie to watch and I strongly recommend you to see it.

That’s it for today, and the next review is coming soon.. But you’ll have to wait, for tomorrow’s another day!


Summary:
Movie:  Gone with the wind
Director: Victor Fleming 
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia De Havilland

IMDB Rating: 8.2/10 
Masala Popcorn Rating: 8/10