Gone with the Wind (1939) - Movie Reaction!! (Patreon Request)

I apologize for writing out my thoughts for your reactions a few days late. It took me a few days to find the time to watch this movie with you, given that it's four hours long. With that being said... I truly loved watching your reaction for this beautiful and phenomenal movie from 1939. So thank you so very much, dear friend! Gone With the Wind- I absolutely love this movie, and I am so happy that you truly enjoyed watching it too. Sadly... this movie today is under a lot of scrutiny and it has even been banned in some places from ever being aired on television again, and even pulled from any streaming services it might normally be found on in some areas too. Back when this movie was released, it immediately became loved by anyone who saw it, and yet today... most people in the world hate it because they believe that this movie is a hate movie against the Black people who were once slaves. And this is truly a shame, because anyone who claims this is so, couldn't be further from the truth. This movie simply shows the way of life back then for both the Black people and the White people. Both Confederates and Yankees. People sadly even hate this movie and try to tear it down or get it banned everywhere because they especially hate this movie's portrayal of Mammy, played by the phenomenal actress... Hattie McDaniel, who was so proud and happy to have been such a key part of Gone With the Wind. She even won an Oscar for her role as Mammy and she was so, so proud of it. Mammy had been Hattie McDaniel's favorite role she ever played, and of course she is a beloved character that I love throughout this masterpiece too. One of my very favorites of course. Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara also won an Oscar for Best Actress, and this award is truly well deserved. While Scarlett O'Hara is a spoiled wicked woman who hurts anyone she has to in order to get anything or anyone she desires except for the one man she believes she loves... her character is incredible and Vivian Leigh plays her so beautifully. Scarlett O'Hara is a character you love to hate and get so angry with because of how she treats everyone, especially Rhett and Melanie. She's despicable and yet I absolutely love her. Sadly... Scarlett doesn't come to understand that she truly does love Rhett and isn't in love with Ashley like she's believed for so long, until the very end of this movie and by then... it's too late because Rhett finally finds the strength to stand up for himself against his love for her and leaves her as he proclaims... "Frankly, my dear... I don't give a damn.", and then walks out into the fog, leaving Scarlett once and for all. This line is this movie's most famous quote, and it too was very controversial, but back then instead of today. Because this is the first time a swear word is ever spoken in a movie and so many people were in an uproar because of it. And while I really don't like hearing swear words in movies or TV in spite of understanding why they're necessary at times... I do believe that by Rhett using this particular swear word as he tells Scarlett off, it absolutely leaves the proper impact the creators of this movie wanted their audience to feel in this moment. And they succeeded. Rhett Butler is definitely my favorite character within this movie. He's absolutely incredible, and it's all thanks to the phenomenal actor... Clark Gable, who sadly did not win an Oscar for this role in spite of him being nominated. Clark Gable was this day and age's biggest Hollywood heartthrob back then. Women absolutely loved him for his charm and rugged good looks. And he truly is very handsome. And my heart always breaks for Rhett whenever I watch this movie, because in spite of everything... he truly did love Scarlett and she just refused to love him back until it was too late and he lost too much, in spite of everything he did for her. I absolutely love Rhett's character and just how good he is to Scarlett. He's not without his flaws of course. And he could be rough with her at times, but I understand why. She is impossible and infuriating. And yes... because Scarlett never gave him the love he longed for, he doted all of his love then onto his daughter Bonnie when she was born. And when she died... Rhett breaks for good and her death is the last straw. As is Melanie's death, when she too dies from complications caused by her second pregnancy, which is so heartbreaking. I also love Melanie Wilkes, played by actress... Olivia de Havilland, who only just very recently died in July of last year at the incredible age of 104 years old. She is the last of the actors from this movie to have died, while Hattie McDaniel and Clark Gable were among the first of the actors to have died. Hattie in 1952, while Clark died in 1960. Melanie Wilkes, or Melanie Hamilton before she marries Ashley Wilkes, is the kindest and most amazing women to ever be portrayed in movie and television history. For her to be able to truly love Scarlett, even though she knew the truth behind what she always told everyone around her were just horrible lies and rumors about Scarlett is absolutely incredible. Many people would argue that these kind of qualities in a person didn't exist, but they do, and they existed in Melanie. If there's ever a character who could be seen as perfect... Melanie Wilkes is definitely one of them. And she deeply loved her husband, as well as Rhett too. She was a good friend to him hen he needed someone because he was so alone. Her death truly breaks my heart, but I am grateful that her death is what allowed for Scarlett to come to realize she truly loves Rhett and not Ashley like she has always believed. Because Melanie reminded her of just how much Rhett truly loves her in spite of everyone. And as for Ashley Wilkes... I enjoy his character too. While I hate that a part of him does love Scarlett in spite of being married and in love with Melanie too, I am happy that he never really acted on it, with the exception of Scarlett stealing a few kisses throughout the movie. I admire his kindness as well, and I can only imagine how difficult his life was upon being trapped in his love for two women. I'm not saying he was right for loving Scarlett, because he certainly wasn't. But she made his life very difficult for sure. And in regards to Ashley and Melanie marrying in spite of being cousins... it was a very different world. Cousins marrying was quite common back then, and for many different reasons I'm sure. To help keep their family close, for land and ownerships, etc... I love just how beautifully this movie shows us how things truly were in the days of the old South before, during, and after the Civil War. And while slavery is absolutely tragic and wrong... I love that Gone With the Wind shows us this too. Many slaves were sadly mistreated and seen to be unequal to the White people, especially down in the South. However, like we see with Scarlett, Rhett, and their relationship with Mammy and their other slaves, some of them were treated well and with respect. Gone With the Wind won eight Oscars, one of which is for Best Picture. Truly incredible for the time, and what an accomplishment! It was a novel written and published in 1936, by Margaret Mitchell. And while this film adaptation ends tragically with Rhett walking out on Scarlett, Margaret Mitchell's brother...Stephens Mitchell wrote a sequel to this classic masterpiece titled... Scarlett, after Margaret Mitchell didn't wish to write the novel herself at the requests of so many fans of the original, as well as the people in Hollywood who wanted to create a movie sequel that would allow for Scarlett to go after Rhett so they could find love again. And the second novel does this, allowing for the fans of these two lovers to finally be happy to know that they have been reunited. Thank you so much once more for your amazing reaction to this incredible and beautiful movie, Mangual. I truly loved watching Gone With the Wind again with you, and I am so happy you loved it too. And its music. And I'm happy that it didn't feel like a four hour movie for you too. It doesn't feel so for me either. I deeply love it. So thank you! Until your next movie reactions... Stay healthy, and be happy!! Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum