Gone with the Wind: The 75th Anniversary Edition is another nice set but a bit unnecessary considering just five years ago had a ton of features and contains the same audio and video transfers.
Gone with the Wind
** 75th Anniversary Edition **
(1939)
Genre(s): Drama, Romance, War
Warner Bros. | G – 233 min. – $49.99 | September 30, 2014
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Victor Fleming Writer(s): Margaret Mitchell (book); Sidney Howard (screenplay) Cast: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland DISC INFO: Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 1.0), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0), German (Dolby Digital 5.1), Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 1.0), Portuguese (Dolby Digital 1.0) |
QUICK HIT REVIEW – 5.0/5
This portion will be quick, hence “Quick Hit Review” as I chose to focus more on the features and audio/video. This is a classic that numerous books and documentaries have been published and released, not much more I can add…
A classic among all classics, Gone with the Wind is perhaps one of the best made movies ever made, ahead of The Godfather (and its sequel), Casablanca, Citizen Kane (which I think is overrated, but I’m in the minority) and, of course, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.
What makes it so great is not only the grand and expansive story spread across nearly four hours, but just about every aspect is perfect or near perfection: the acting by all from Clark Gable to Vivien Leigh to Olivia de Havilland are fantastic; the production design is amazing, sound design and score amazing and most of all, the special effects put many films made today to shame. But beyond the technical aspects, Gone with the Wind is a timeless masterpiece that any film fan should see at least once; you will not regret it.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.75/5
The 75th Anniversary set matches the other Warner Ultimate Collector Sets. The 4-disc set is housed in an HD Keep Case which is set in a nice and sturdy box. Inside the box are a packaged handkerchief, a music box and a Forever Scarlett: The Immortal Style of Gone with the Wind book. There’s also a redemption code for the UltraViolet Digital Copy.
DISC 1
Audio Commentary – Film Historian Rudy Behlmer shares his thoughts and expertise on the film providing an educational track that any fan of the movie will probably find worth a listen.
DISC 2
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind (2:03:26) – This lengthy retrospective documentary provides some behind-the-scenes footage and the story on how the movie got made. I’m usually not much for some of these older features but this one was well done.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Presents 1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year (1:08:20) looks at the great year that was 1939 and the top notch films released that year.
Gone with the Wind: The Legend Lives On (32:44) is another retro featurette, made of the 70 Year Anniversary, on the film’s staying power.
Gable: The King Remembered (1:05:03) looks at the greatness that was Clark Gable.
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond (46:05) gives a bio on Leigh and her career.
Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland (38:43) has the actress giving her thoughts on playing Melanie and just making Gone with the Wind.
The Supporting Players section gives background on each actor and actress.
Restoring a Legend (17:43) is a fascinating look at the process, done for the 65th Anniversary, of giving Gone with the Wind new life.
Dixie Hails Gone with the Wind (4:01) is News of the Day footage containing praise for the film.
Historical Theatrical Short The Old South (11:19) is what considers setting the stage for Gone with the Wind.
Atlanta Civil War Centennial (3:40) is a celebration of the centennial and a screening of the film.
Also included are some Trailers (14:13), a Moviola: The Scarlet O’Hara War (1:37:23) and some Additional Footage (3:54).
DISC 3:
Old South/New South (26:50) looks at the South as presented in the, and in history with regards to the Civil War, movie and transition from the old to the new.
Gone with the Wind: Hollywood Comes to Atlanta (12:38) looks at the grand premiere in 1939 with archival footage from the red carpet.
DISC 4 (DVD):
The Lion’s Roar/The Lion Reigns Supreme/The Lion in Winter (6:05:36) is a massive chronicle, spread across three documentaries, of the studio and its history.
VIDEO – 4.5/5
Not 100% positive, but the video transfer, with the old VC-1 codec, is more than likely the same as the 70th Anniversary release and there’s nothing wrong with that as the video looks incredible especially considering it’s a movie released in 1939. Colors are, early on, vibrant and even towards the end where things are tempered down in keeping with the darker tone, the black levels are stark. All in all, this is a great and clean transfer.
AUDIO – 4.5/5
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is also the same as the one released five years ago, and again, it’s a good track providing clean dialogue levels and even the more dynamic scenes have decent depth, though the bulk of it is primarily set in the center track. This is a solid lossless track.
OVERALL – 4.75/5
Overall, Gone with the Wind: The 75th Anniversary Edition is another nice set but a bit unnecessary considering just five years ago had a ton of features and contains the same audio and video transfers. The only positive is for those who have not gotten the set yet, the $49.99 SRP is more reasonable and worth every penny to have such a classic in your Blu-ray collection.
Published: 10/05/2014