Gone with the Wind (1939)
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A strong-willed woman navigates the turmoil of the American Civil War while pursuing a complicated romance.
The story
Set in the American South during the Civil War and Reconstruction, the film follows Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner. As the war ravages the land, Scarlett finds herself caught in a complex web of romantic pursuits and survival. She is deeply attracted to the married Ashley Wilkes and eventually enters into a tumultuous marriage with the blockade runner Rhett Butler. Amidst the shifting tides of war and the subsequent hardships of the Reconstruction era, Scarlett must navigate the loss of her family's status and the personal consequences of her choices in a changing world.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1861, Scarlett O'Hara lives on her family's cotton plantation, Tara. She is captivated by Ashley Wilkes but is rebuffed when she tries to pursue him. She eventually marries a man named Charles to spark Ashley's jealousy. As the Civil War intensifies, Scarlett's life is upended by the conflict. After the war, she struggles to maintain Tara amidst the hardships of Reconstruction. She eventually marries Rhett Butler, but her obsession with Ashley remains. Following a series of personal tragedies, including the loss of her children and the death of her friends, Scarlett realizes her true feelings. In the end, she realizes she loved Rhett all along, but he leaves her, and she vows to win him back while returning to Tara.
- First release year
- 1939
- Runtime (minutes)
- 221
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Victor Fleming
- Writers
- Sidney Howard · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Clark Gable · Rhett Butler; Vivien Leigh · Scarlett O'Hara; Leslie Howard · Ashley Wilkes; Olivia de Havilland · Melanie Hamilton
- Genres
- epic; historical; romance
- Themes
- survival; romance; war
- Tone and mood
- epic
- Premise and plot tags
- historical; romance
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
- Content notes
- historical negationism; glorifying slavery
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews upon its release, with praise for casting despite criticism of its long running time. It was immensely popular, becoming the highest-earning film at the time and remaining a culturally significant work.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Picture · win; Academy Award · Best Director · win; Academy Award · Best Adapted Screenplay · win; Academy Award · Best Actress · win; Academy Award · Best Supporting Actress · win
- Production trivia
- It was the highest-earning film made up to that point.; It was the first film to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1989.; Over 1,400 unknown women were interviewed for the role of Scarlett.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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