Gone with the Wind 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collectors Edition coming to DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital Download on November 17th
Shot in three-strip Technicolor, Gone With the Wind is arguably cinema’s greatest, star-studded, historical epic film of the Old South during the Civil War. Yet it is more than a war movie, at the heart of Gone With the Wind is a classic tale of a love-hate romance between the two strong personalities of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. Scarlett O’Hara, struggles to deal with the horrors of the war and its aftermath while Rhett Butler at turns defends his beloved Old South in War and takes pragmatic advantage of the changes that come along when the war has ended. All of this is but a backdrop for the tempestuous relationship between Scarlett and Rhett, and her continued obsession with Ashley Wilkes that constantly stands between them.
Gone with the Wind, which has long been considered the most celebrated motion picture of all time will be honored by Warner Home Video (WHV) on its 70th Anniversary as the romantic epic is released in a stunningly restored and remastered version, available for the first time on Blu-ray™ as well as DVD.
In 1998 Gone With the Wind was restored and re-released the movie into theaters for a limited run. Having only seen the movie on TV with my mom, I went to the theater to see the movie as my mom said it was truly meant to be seen – up on the big screen. I remember at some point in the movie glancing away from the screen and looking around me and noticing that, while there were a smattering of couples there to see Gone With the Wind, that most of the audience at that showing was comprised of mothers and their daughters, older women alone and younger woman alone.
This being the tail end of the 1990’s the Hollywood ‘hot hunks’ of the time were the likes of Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise. It might be a mild exaggeration, but at the time I firmly believed that any of those male heartthrobs could have danced into the theater naked and not one woman would have given them a glance because every female eye in the place was riveted to the screen and lost in the screen presence of the charismatic and roguishly handsome Capt. Rhett Butler. Then again, as my mother once told me after we watched it on TV together in 1976, very few silver screen legends of his day could compete with Clark Gable so I guess there is nothing for Ford, Gibson or Cruise to feel bad about.
So now twenty-one years have gone by, seems like in a flash, since I went to see Gone With the Wind in the theaters in 1998 and now the movie is celebrating its 70th Anniversary with a digitally remastered release onto DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download on November 17th.
The digital remastering technology has been a boon to older movies such as Gone With the Wind and this two disc DVD set/5 disc Blu-ray set is a sight to behold with the cinematic colors of this sweeping epic of romance and strife in the Old South during the Civil War being brought to vibrant life by this process. And not only are the colors brighter and more distinct, but the sound quality is greatly enhanced back to its original clarity, which had been lost over the years as the original film became degraded over time.
And speaking of time, even though it’s been seventy years since Gone With the Wind was first released into theaters, the movie’s dramatic story still holds up and is still captivating. Scarlett O’Hara (Vivian Leigh) is still as mesmerizing as the strong willed beautiful woman out to use her looks and her brains to make her own way in the world of men, and she is the fore bearer of many such characters like her to come along since. Scarlett broke every rule for being a lady in the Old South and she was as tenacious as any fighter when it came to going after what she wanted or protecting what was hers.
Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) is still the epitome of the dashing, rogue with the courageous heart under that tarnished, jaded exterior. Melanie (Oliva deHavilland) is still as inspiring as the loyal wife, friend and every woman who is the salt of the earth. Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) is still as easy to despise as the man too weak to stand up for what he should and walk away from what shouldn’t. The tumultuous romance and family angst while the civil unrest and eventual civil war rages around the characters hasn’t lost any of its relevance or impact in seventy years.
Gone With the Wind, which is the winner of 10 Academy Awards® including Best Picture and is still history’s all time domestic box-office champion ($1.5 billion), has long been considered the most celebrated motion picture of all time. All I know is that the story is still a fresh and gripping saga to sit down and watch; maybe with your mother or your daughter. Afterward you can have the same debate over the same question women have been discussing since Gone With the Wind hit the silver screen: Why did Scarlett O’Hara ever want Ashley Wilkes when she could have Rhett Butler?
The two disc 70th Anniversary Collector’s Addition of Gone With the Wind also features some really fascinating bonus features including commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer that lend some insight into the movie’s history and how Margaret Mitchell’s novel went from book to Academy Award winning movie.
TWO DISC DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
Disc 1 The Movie, Part 1
· Remastered feature with Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio
· Commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer
DISC 2 The Movie, Part 2
· Remastered feature
· Commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer
· Offer for a numbered Limited Edition copy of the Original 1939 Poster
DVD & BLU-RAY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS
Includes everything listed in the Two Disc SE as well as three more bonus disc that include such features as:
· The Making of a Legend documentary (1989 TV Special) (Narrated by Christopher Plummer)
· Restoring a Legend – Chronicles the film/video restoration process
· Dixie Hails Gone with the Wind -1939 Premiere newsreel
· Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland – Exclusive 2004 Documentary
· Cast profile – Gable: The King Remembered
· Cast profile – Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond