Winner '39:
First Saw It:
Gone with the Wind
June 26, 1998, at the Sony Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA
Bridesmaids: Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights
My Vote: I'm tempted to say Stagecoach, but you can't go wrong with at least six of these
Overlooked: Young Mr. Lincoln; The Rules of the Game didn't bow in the U.S. till years later


Gone with the Wind
First screened in June 1998 / Most recently screened in November 2008
Director: Victor Fleming. Cast: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Rand Brooks, Carroll Nye, Laura Hope Crews, Alicia Rhett, Harry Davenport, Leona Roberts, Ona Munson, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, Butterfly McQueen, Oscar Polk, Everett Brown, Howard C. Hickman, Victor Jory, Isabel Jewell, Ward Bond, Jane Darwell, Cammie King, Lillian Kemble-Cooper. Screenplay: Sidney Howard (based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell).

Twitter Capsule: Fossilized politics, yes, but stunning execution in all areas. Directors' divergent styles somehow serve story.

VOR: ⑤  More purely unimpeachable here, since the movie's technical innovations, cultural influence (for better and worse), and ambitious storytelling have few equals, in its era or ours.



Photo © 1939 Selznick International Pictures

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: A


Academy Award Nominations and Winners:
★Best Picture
★Best Director: Victor Fleming
★Best Actress: Vivien Leigh
Best Actor: Clark Gable
Best Supporting Actress: Olivia de Havilland
★Best Supporting Actress: Hattie McDaniel
★Best Screenplay: Sidney Howard
★Best Cinematography (Color): Ernest Haller & Ray Rennahan
★Best Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler
★Best Film Editing: Hal C. Kern & James A. Newcom
Best Original Score: Max Steiner
Best Sound: Thomas T. Moulton
Best Visual Effects: Jack Cosgrove, Fred Albin, and Arthur Johns
★Honorary Award: William Cameron Menzies
★Special Award for Technical Achievement: R.D. Musgrave

Other Awards:
New York Film Critics Circle: Best Actress (Leigh)

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