The definitive Technicolor romantic epic. Rhett, Scarlett, burning sets and a whole slew of nostalgic and/or reactionary values, this is creator-producer David O Selznick‘s finest hour and a cornerstone of the Hollywood monolith Winner of 10 Oscars, hugely successful at the box office, containing one of the most quoted lines from the movies... With its place in film history assured, there is a distinct air of never mind the quality, feel the width when watching this with the cynical eyes of the modern viewer.

Hugely expensive for its time, it has every dollar evident on screen, and it is easy to be seduced by its sumptuous visuals, to feel the heat of Atlanta burning. But this is Hollywood style over substance writ large, almost casually sexist and racist, using the Civil War as a convenient backdrop without ever addressing its social or historical significance.

Dissecting it further, the plot is pure soap opera and the acting, particularly from Gable, is often wooden. Hollow and tasteless, it would be difficult to get angry about if it were not glorified and revisited so often. Verdict
Grand old Hollywood at its most magnificent and melodramatic. Say what you like about the soapy characterisation and plotting, the spectacle flattens all in its wake.