Gone With the Wind (1939)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Filmed and presented on a scale not seen in modern productions, Gone with the Wind is, if not the definitive Hollywood film, then certainly near the top of the list.
Gone With the Wind Videos
Gone With the Wind Photos
Movie Info
Watch it now
Cast
as Rhett Butler
as Scarlett O'Hara
as Melanie Hamilton
as Ashley Wilkes
as Mammy
as Gerald O'Hara
as Ellen O'Hara
as Prissy
as Aunt Pittypat Hamilton
as Dr. Meade
as Belle Watling
as Suellen

as Big Sam

as Elijah
as Pork

as Brent Tarleton
as Stuart Tarleton
as Jonas Wilkerson
as Carreen O'Hara

as Guest
as John Wilkes

as India Wilkes
as Charles Hamilton
as Frank Kennedy

as Cathleen Calvert
as Gentleman
as Gossip

as Gentleman

as Gentleman, later Bearded Confederate on Steps at T
as Caroline Meade
as Dolly Merriwether
as René Picard
as Maybelle Merriwether

as Fanny Elsing

as Old Levi
as Phil Meade
as Boy
as Reminiscent Soldier

as Sergeant

as Wounded Soldier
as Convalescent Soldier

as Dying Soldier
as An Amputation Case

as Wounded Card Player
as Commanding Officer
as Soldier Aiding Dr. Meade

as Exhausted Boy
as Mounted Officer
as Bartender
as Yankee Deserter
as Carpetbagger's Friend

as Returning Veteran
as Hungry Soldier
as Emmy Slattery

as Minister

as Yankee Major
as Corporal
as Carpetbagger Orator
as Johnny Gallagher
as Yankee Businessman
as Renegade
as His Companion
as Yankee Captain Tom

as Bonnie Blue Butler
as Beau Wilkes

as Bonnie's Nurse
as Yankee on Street

as Tom's Aide

as Man (During Reconstruction)
as Man (During Reconstruction)

as Man (During Reconstruction)
as Uncle Peter

as Poker-Playing Captain

as Bandleader's Wife
as Poker-Playing Captain
as Prison Gang Overseer

as Drummer Boy
News & Interviews for Gone With the Wind
Critic Reviews for Gone With the Wind
All Critics (83) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (6) | DVD (18)
The film's subtle racism is insidious, going to great lengths to enshrine the myth that the Civil War wasn't fought over slavery - an institution the film unabashedly romanticizes.
There has never been a picture like David O. Selznick's production of Gone With the Wind.

No one watches Gone with the Wind for historical accuracy. What keeps us coming back is four-hours of epic romance in gorgeous Technicolor.
It's remarkable that after spending almost eight hours of my existence in front of this film, I can remember only two points vividly.
Gone With the Wind endures and deepens with the passing of time because Scarlett and Rhett are as modern as its open ending.

One of the truly great films, destined for record-breaking boxoffice business everywhere.

Audience Reviews for Gone With the Wind
This immortal classic - the definition of Hollywood period epic - remains even today a splendorous spectacle that stands above most modern blockbusters with its astonishing production values and holds our full attention for almost four hours as we follow its two unforgettable characters.
Super Reviewer
Gone with the Wind is an epic drama that has its secured place in the history of cinema. With a grand story, standout performances and exceptional direction, this is one of the finest films ever made. With a simple story set amidst the Civil War that ravaged the U.S, the film is grand in scope and is highly engaging due to the chemistry of its two lead actors, Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. This is a great movie because the story here are just so rich and simple in nature and the greatest movies use simple, yet emotional ideas to really tell a grand story. This is the case with Gone with the Wind. With a great cast at his disposal, director Victor Fleming, who also helmed the classic The Wizard of Oz has crafted something remarkable, and was able to take something limited, and make it broad, ambitious because it's a story set in a dark period of American history, and it gives the picture the setting for a simple story set amidst an ambitious period. The result is a masterpiece that evokes some of the finest acting and storytelling that has ever been committed to film. Aside from Casablanca, this is one of the finest romance films that has ever been made, and it is a film that is a must see movie for any serious film fanatics. Brilliant, enthralling and superb in every way, Gone with the Wind was one of the first grand movies to really establish film as significant art. Of course throughout this era there have been several standout movies that have defined cinema for what it is, but Gone with the Wind is one of the finest movies that has ever graced the screen. What makes this an engrossing picture is that there is so much emotion in the performances and since it's set during a dark part of American history, it just makes the subject that much compelling. Gone with the Wind is a long picture, one that you must really be committed to as it's nearly a four film, but the journey is worth it, and it never boring because there is effective drama amidst the war time setting, and we see plenty of the Civil War chaos as well. Don't pass this one up, it may be a long movie, but it's a cinematic milestone and one of the finest classics in movie history.

Super Reviewer
There probably isn't much new to say about a film coming up on its 75th anniversary, but I'll say this for it: even with its now unacceptable worldview - particularly in the way in which a man can treat a woman - Gone with the Wind delivers a dramatic, compelling story for nearly four hours, a feat few movies can even manage over 90 minutes these days. Its cinematography is magical, even if not as technologically advanced as ours, and as Scarlett O'Hara, Vivian Leigh plays the full range, from coldest ice to blazing fire, in a tour de force for the ages. Not to be outdone, Clark Gable succeeds in shifting our sympathies from Scarlett to him... OK, maybe Margaret Mitchell's plot did most of the heavy lifting on that front, but there's nothing that can detract from Gable's performance as a character we're supposed to dislike but end up charmed by. The final hour really accelerates the last pieces of the plot, so that the events seem contrived - Scarlett and Rhett become punching bags in the end, with all the misery that befalls them - but nearly every scene is gripping, with conversations that would never happen today but ring as true as they ever have. And I did like that the conclusion was unsettling, leaving Scarlett to carry on with her (possibly delusional) hope to continue improving her situation, regardless of what we now know about whether that would be a good choice for her. So, in all, it's a classic American epic that everyone should dedicate the time to at least once in their life - even if that means looking past (1) the general tone that a woman should be kept/put in her place, and (2) the contention that the pre-Civil War South, replete with slavery, was a way of life that should be mourned - and I think it deserves its reputation as one of the very greatest films ever made. It's a product of its time, and a damned fine one.
Super Reviewer
Gone With the Wind Quotes
Rhett Butler: | Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. |
Rhett Butler: | Frankly darling, I don't give a dame. |
Rhett Butler: | Frankly darling, I don't give a damn. |
Rhett Butler: | You should be kissed, by someone who knows how |
Rhett Butler: | You should be kissed by someone who knows how. |
Scarlett O'Hara: | As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again. |
Discussion Forum
Discuss Gone With the Wind on our Movie forum!