1939 Gone With The Wind: My Thoughts
A Beautiful Adaptation, I Just Wish They'd Included Scarlett's Children
Hello!!!
This is Joyie and welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet where I talk all things books!
This week I’m still reading The Count Of Monte Cristo, and yesterday, I also started reading King Lear—for the first time in actual Shakespearean English.
Have you been reading anything this week?
Today, I once again am going to talk about Gone With The Wind, to be more specific, the 1939 Gone With The Wind movie adaptation starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. I watched the movie the very same week I finished the book, so I could compare the two very closely. And therefore I was surprised that I liked it so much, because I generally am very biased against screen adaptations.
First, the visuals matched very closely with the images I had in my imagination, and the movie did follow the book very faithfully. Also, the acting was good, especially Vivien Leigh, she really captured the spirit of Scarlett. And although I thought Clark Gable looked a little too old for Rhett in the early scenes, since his acting was so good, I got over that.
And something else I loved—wrinkles, skin texture, micro-expressions. Actors with (very gorgeous) real human faces. That was so refreshing!
My one complaint was that the movie was moving far too fast. A lot, and I mean A LOT, happens in the story. But the book takes its time in doing those transitions, things are given the time to settle, setting up the stage for the next big pay-off.
Spoiler alert!!!
For example, Scarlett coming back to Tara in the middle of the night. In the book, you really feel that journey, it’s long and excruciating. Scarlett is desperate to get home, because once there, she’ll be able to hand everything over to her mother. But when she finally does get home, it's to find her mother dead. That's where Scarlett has to grow up from a child who runs for her mother to a responsible adult who has to take charge. You genuinely feel that shift in the book. In the movie, I didn't feel it nearly as much. But again, movies are constrained by time, so I understand.
My main complaint however, is that the movie removed Wade and Ella, Scarlett’s two elder children. Her children add a lot to Scarlett’s character. She's not a good mother, to Wade and especially to Ella, although she seems to be fond of Bonnie. But still, she does care about Wade at least.
One of my favourite moments from the book is when the Union soldiers are at Tara, ransacking their things, as Scarlett stands there, with little Beau and Wade, just watching them. Then, they bring out her father-in-law’s sword, and it upsets Wade, because that sword is his. So, Scarlett stands up to the troop, and ultimately succeeds in keeping the sword for Wade. That scene really makes you feel just how many layers there are to Scarlett as a character. So I was very sad that this side of her was erased from the movie.
But overall, I actually quite liked the movie as an adaptation of the novel. I think people who enjoy the book will definitely enjoy it.
What about you? Have you watched Gone With The Wind? I'd love to know!!!
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That’s it for today, I'll be back in your inbox next week.
Until then,
Joyie 🌻