MovieChat Forums > Gone with the Wind (1940) Discussion > Overrated

Overrated

posted 4 years ago by MrFilmJunkie (862)
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i finally caught up with this classic. it's a good looking picture with charming lead performances, but is it a masterpiece? i don't think so.
beside the annoying prissy character (her voice was almost unbearable), i found it disappointing how the key moments seemed so rushed without much "emotional punch", if you know what i mean. like when rhett conviced scarlett to marry him - she said she will never marry again and only a few seconds later she agrees to marry him.
or when the daughter died, we don't even get to see rhett's reaction directly - only indirectly via someone else talking about how rhett suffered from the loss.
stanley kubrick's period drama 'barry lyndon' has a similar plot moment - here, the protagonist's child also dies due to a horse accident, but kubrick manages to make this scene really moving, while in 'gone with the wind' the death of the daughter seems almost like a casual incident.

[–] strntz (11216) 4 years ago

Not a masterpiece? It's good to be in that 0.25% I guess.

Scarlett was nothing if not impulsive and motivated by money. Her quick marriage to the *wealthy* Rhett proves that. She also impulsively married Charles Hamilton when learning that her crush (Ashley) was marrying Melanie. She also married Frank Kennedy on an impulse after learning his general store and lumber mill was a success.

...or when the daughter died, we don't even get to see rhett's reaction directly - only indirectly via someone else talking about how rhett suffered from the loss.

Wow.

One of the most powerful scenes in *any* movie ever filmed is the wrenching scene on the staircase where Mammy is asking Melanie's help in convincing Rhett to allow his child to be buried. Mammy's description of Rhett's insanity over the loss of Bonnie is heartbreaking and far more descriptive and moving than anything that could have been filmed, regardless of how good an actor is.

Too bad you missed that.

[–] MrFilmJunkie (862) 4 years ago

i had to replay the scene because i couldn't believe the lack of emotion. why don't we see rhett's insanitiy and only get a "second hand" description? would the people in '39 have been overchallenged otherwise? watch the same situation by kubrick and tell me it's not by far more powerful (even though, all in all, i wouldn't say 'barry lyndon' is a better movie - actually i rated both the same).

[–] strntz (11216) 4 years ago

I don't think that a filmed reaction to Bonnie's death could come close to the image that most of us each personally created in our mind's eye, particularly the one that that the brilliant Hattie McDaniel created.

Lack of emotion? That statement just leaves me stunned. Films so rarely come close to capturing the same power and emotion that a book can, but Hattie McDaniel managed to capture that with her pure emotional distress. Her Oscar was well deserved, and I'm sure that "boring" scene clinched it for her.

Sure, special effects in today's films create visual excitement, but there is no special effect that comes close to the emotion we create within ourselves.

There was reportedly at least another 45 minutes of GWTW that was edited out and literally left on the cutting room floor - a tragedy but that's a different story. For all we know, they did film Rhett's reaction to Bonnie's death but didn't use it.

EDIT: here is the scene on youtube. Check out the comment section on this clip..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKHzeKnFEdw

[–] R_Kane (15828) 4 years ago

The “reaction shot,” or in this case reaction scene, is the most powerful device in all of film making, as in, “He is Conan. Summarian. He won’t cry. So I cry for him.” This site is fortunate to have you here.

[–] strntz (11216) 4 years ago

You certainly are generous with your praise. I don't really think it's deserved, but I do appreciate it!