The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

Gone With The Wind is a story you'll never forget. The documentry about Gone With The Wind was excellent because it explains in detail about the movie, how it was all set out and how long it took to take to decide who would take the main parts in it. It must have been very difficult for the people who made this movie to make up their minds of who shall be the best person to play and to take part in Gone With the Wind. I think it all started in 1937 when the people asks some Actors and Actresses to take an audition and show what they have got. The documentry is fantastic to watch. I give it 10 out of 10.

Whatever your opinion of the 1939 classic, 'Gone With The Wind' (and I happen to think it is the best film ever made), this documentary will have something to interest you. Whether it be the headache of securing expensive film rights to an 'impossible' bestseller and then wondering how to recoup your investment; or the power struggles between producer, director(s) and writers; or the studio shenanigans to ensure the best possible cast; or the celebration of a job well done, it is all here.

Surviving cast members Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, and Butterfly McQueen (but curiously not Olivia de Havilland) contribute alongside Selznick colleagues and archive footage/reconstructed interviews with participants now dead. We see the story of GWTW from the first low-key appearance of Margaret Mitchell's soapy book, the fever as a nation sent it up the bestseller lists, and the struggle to condense its 1000 plus pages into a manageable film.

We see the screen tests of failed Scarletts, Melanies, and Ashleys (although there was only ever one man really in the frame for Rhett - the wonderful Clark Gable). We hear the romanticised story of how Vivien Leigh won the part of Scarlett. Finally, we hear about the film's preview and the rapturous reception it received before its glitzy premiere in - where else? - Atlanta, Georgia.

A worthy companion to a fabulous Follywood film. GWTW, all sprawling four hours of it, has no equal in the golden days of Tinseltown, and this documentary gives you just a few reasons why.

Regardless of how one feels about the epic movie that serves as its subject, this documentary is a very valuable lesson in the difficulties of film production itself. I rated it higher than the actual film, which might make David O. Selznick turn in his grave. While I very much like the first half of the actual film, I feel that the final two hours don't succeed in sustaining the intense drama and visual spectacle of the first two.

This documentary served to enhance greatly my understanding of and appreciation for the film production that it describes. I very much respect Mr. Selznick for his determination to see the monumental project to its end. I never realized before that a producer could become so emotionally attached and even obsessed by a production. Until seeing this, I always believed that producers were cold, calculating businesspeople who only saw value in the potential profit of a film rather than in its artistic merit. This film proves that I was wrong.

In addition to my gained appreciation for the producer, while I valued many of the cast members who appeared in front of the camera, most notably Vivien Leigh, Hattie McDaniel, and Butterfly McQueen, among others, I also learned to value the substantial contribution of the following individuals who stood behind the camera and out of the limelight: Jack Cosgrove for his impressive special photographic effects, William Cameron Menzies for his production design, including his legendary sketch boards, and, finally, Sidney Howard and Ben Hecht for their respective roles in developing the screenplay. What especially impressed me was Selznick's commitment and phenomenal stamina in seeing the film production to its end.

I also enjoyed glimpses of the various takes of the many competitors for the coveted role of Scarlett O'Hara. I won't list all of the possible Scarletts here, but Paulette Goddard, the favorite, must have been very disappointed when British actress Vivien Leigh, who had only appeared in minor roles of a few unremarkable films before, was chosen for the lead to the surprise of many. It was a brilliant decision as the special radiance and technical ability of Leigh added to the overall visual appeal of the film.

I was fascinated by this documentary as it reveals so many of the daunting challenges that could have prevented the movie from being made at all. It truly enabled me to appreciate the epic film much more than ever before, and David Hinton, the director, is to be commended for his outstanding effort. Thankfully, the documentary is only half the duration of the film itself and never disappointed me as the second half of the actual film did. Even if you don't love "Gone With the Wind", you should see this in order to learn about film production and about the rewards of perseverance and hard work.

Good documentary about the perils and rewards of film making. I like how it puts the true auteur of this famous, if controversial, work, producer David O Selznick, at the center of the story. It shows that the guy possessed the three qualities that all great producers must have, namely boundless energy and determination and an ability, shared by successful baseball managers and high school principals, to properly evaluate one's personnel. For example, a lesser producer would have gone with the proven, safe choices of either Joan Bennett or Paulette Godard as Scarlett and they would have been fine and the film most likely would have done quite well. But it wouldn't have been an iconic performance as is Ms. Leigh's and the film would have been merely good rather than great which, despite its mirroring noxious mid century racial attitudes, it is, largely owing to Ms. Leigh's matchless ability to inhabit the body, mind and soul of one of the most fascinatingly ambiguous characters in Hollywood film history.

A couple caveats. Like an earlier reviewer I found Christopher Plummer's narration borderline annoying; needlessly cheeky and at times mumblingly unintelligible. A more serious criticism is that for a documentary about the making of GWTW made in 1988 director David Hinton and writer David Thomson puzzlingly neglect the importance of Hattie McDaniel's pathbreaking and magnificent performance as a counterweight to the offensive prejudices that are, regrettably, central to this work.

Bottom line: Doesn't make me want to watch the movie again but it drove me to google Selznick. Give it a B plus.

David O. Selznik, one of the most successful producers in the Hollywood of the 1930s, probably never considered what he was getting into, when he decided to bring Margaret Mitchell's massive novel, "Gone with the Wind", to the movies. The monumental task to recreate the book, which was a favorite among the American public of the era, was not an easy, or a happy undertaking by Mr. Selznik, or the people that were involved in the project.

David Hinton's documentary, which was shown by TCM recently, is a gem of a film because it gives a fantastic account of all that went on to make the film. "Gone with the Wind" stories have been told forever, or so it seems, yet, in the documentary they are examined thoroughly again by a lot of Mr. Selznik's collaborators who were still around in 1989 to tell the story.

The best thing in "Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind" is the footage where many stars were tested for the leading roles. The characters of the book were coveted by most of the actors of the time because they realized the importance about appearing in it would mean to their careers. We see actors of the stature of Jean Arthur, Joan Bennett, Tallulah Bankhead, among the ones that wanted to contribute to the movie, yet, they were not chosen.

David O. Selznik comes across as a disorganized genius who had no idea about what he was doing. His memos to the cast and crew were something not to be believed. Some people resented this way of communication. His battle with George Cukor is also told and how Victor Fleming, who by all accounts was not the perfect candidate, came to be the one that was able to complete the picture.

There are some excellent comments, especially from Ann Rutherford and Evelyn Keyes, who explain what they saw while the film was in production. Some others also come on to tell us their view about what the film changed their lives and the experience of having worked with a mad man who was so intent in getting the movie done. It's a good thing this film was done during the 1930s because it would probably had cost more than 200 million in today's dollars! Thanks to director David Hinton this epic movie is examined and put in its proper context to help the viewer understand the way Hollywood worked during the time it decided to convert the book into a movie.