BLU-RAY REVIEW

Gone With The Wind

Featured In Issue 145, December 2009

Picture4.5
SoundNR
WSR Score5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Warner Home Video
(Catalog Number):
1000043133
(MPAA Rating):
G
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$84.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
No
(Full Screen Edition):
Yes
(Running Time In Minutes):
233
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
1939
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
11/17/09
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Victor Fleming
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
Dolby TrueHD 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

Winner of nine Academy Awards® (original release) and 11 (reissue), including Best Picture, and a Technical Achievement Award, and still history's all-time domestic box-office champion, Gone With The Wind has long been considered the most celebrated motion picture of all time. Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, and Olivia de Havilland star in the classic film, which for more than half a century has thrilled audiences with its eternal love affair, set in the South against the backdrop of the Civil War, between handsome Rhett Butler (Gable) and his sassy, headstrong heroine Scarlett O'Hara (Leigh). Based on Margaret Mitchell's Story Of The Old South Gone With The Wind. (Tricia Spears)

The Historic 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition, limited and numbered, is housed in a beautiful red velvet box. Opening the lid reveals a 52-page photo and production art book, archival correspondence from Producer David O. Selznick, a reproduction of the 1939 original Gone With The Wind program, ten 5- x 7-inch watercolor reproduction art prints, and a CD soundtrack sampler. Special features on Disc One of the three-disc set include commentary by Historian Rudy Behlmer and up-front ads. Disc Two includes the following special features: The Making Of A Legend: Gone With The Wind (SD 02:03:26), Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Presents 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (SD 01:08:20), Gone With The Wind: The Legend Lives On (SD 32:44), Gable: The King Remembered (SD 01:05:03), Vivien Leigh: Scarlett And Beyond (SD 46:05), and Melanie Remembers: Reflections By Olivia de Havilland (SD 38:43). The Supporting Players featurettes include At Tara with The O'Hara Plantation In Georgia (SD 03:57), Their Daughters (SD 02:18), and The House Servants (SD 06:03); At Twelve Oaks (SD 08:14); In Atlanta (SD 08:22); and Exit (SD 00:44). Also included is the featurette Restoring A Legend (SD 17:43), the 1939 Premiere Newsreel "Dixie Hails Gone With The Wind" (SD 04:01), the Historical Theatrical Short The Old South (SD 11:19), the 1961 Premiere Newsreel "Atlanta Civil War Centennial" (SD 03:40), five trailers (1939 Announcement Trailer, 1961 Civil War Centennial Trailer, 1967 70mm Reissue Trailer, 1968 Reissue Trailer, and 1989 50th Anniversary Trailer), the 1980 WBTV Special Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara War (SD 01:37:23), and additional footage—an International Prologue and Foreign Language Versions. Disc Three is a two-sided DVD that includes the MGM documentary When The Lion Roars with The Lion's Roar (SD 02:02:12) and the The Lion Reigns Supreme—Part I (SD 59:02) on Side One of the DVD and The Lion Reigns Supreme—Part II (SD 01:02:10) and The Lion In Winter (SD 02:02:11) on Side Two.

The film received the William Cameron Menzies Honorary Award for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood. The original color process was glorious Technicolor. A 70 mm blow-up was produced for the 1967 re-release, which was framed in a 2.20:1 aspect ratio. There have been several releases over the years. The previous DVD restored release was 238 minutes in length, but this version appears to be restored and remastered based on the 1989 re-release version, which was also 233 minutes. The 1.37:1 1080p VC-1 Blu-ray Disc™ mastering is absolutely pristine, and the picture is mesmerizing, no doubt due to Warner's ability to scan the original negative and reference an original 1939 color print to render this stunning version. The imagery is very dimensional, with a perfectly natural color palette. The hues are wonderfully warm and rich, as well as vibrant, yet perfectly natural. Blacks are deep and solid and shadow delineation is excellent. Resolution reveals fine facial features and object textures, which enhances the dimensionality of the picture. The sets are detailed and vivid. This is a wonderful rendering of a film classic and a spectacular tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood and to the filmmakers' passion so vividly portrayed. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack has been repurposed from the original monaural Western Electric Sound System soundtrack. The sound remains compressed, with soundstage constriction. The overall feel is monaural, though, at times there is a presence of stereo sounds, especially the music track. The music is spread across the soundstage and extends into the surrounds, but still the sound feels constricted, with limited separation. Bass extension is, at times, evident in the .1 LFE channel, but limited in impact. During battle scenes there is directionality within the soundfield as cannon explosions are heard, which heightens the action. Fidelity is dated and generally poor with, at times, prevalent distortion. Still, this is the best that the film has sounded. (Gary Reber)