Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		5.0

Gone with the Wind Blu-ray Movie Review

Maybe starting to give more of a darn at this point. . .

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 1, 2014

Scarlett O’Hara may have averred that “tomorrow is another day,” but it’s pretty much the same old same old Warner has dished up with this new 75th Anniversary release of Gone With the Wind. The film has received several releases thus far on Blu-ray, but for the purposes of this review, the salient comparison is with this Gone with the Wind release. That was the 70th Anniversary edition, like this one housed in an oversized (and in that case plush red velvet) box and with a considerable amount of swag included. This new release boasts what is essentially the same two Blu-ray discs previously released—one containing the film and Rudy Behlmer’s commentary, the other stock full of supplements—as well as the flipper DVD that includes the fascinating documentary on MGM, When the Lion Roared. This set omits the CD soundtrack and replaces it with a new, rather sparsely inhabited, Blu-ray disc featuring an pretty shockingly paltry 39 minutes of “new” content (which includes copious clips from the film as well as oft-seen footage of the Atlanta premiere). Since this new set also offers some new swag, it’s probably unfair to brand this re-release as purely craven, but it’s a shall we say ambitious attempt to part consumers and their money, and probably only rabid completists or those who haven’t purchased a prior release will be interested in this newest edition.

For a complete write-up on the film and its original Blu-ray release, please see our review here:

Gone with the Wind Blu-ray review

Gone with the Wind Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A complete analysis of the video quality of this release can be found in the above-linked review.

It should be noted that while this disc has new silk screen art, it otherwise appears to be identical (or mostly identical) with the original release. The opening menu and chapter stops are all the same, though I did notice some absolutely minute fluctuations in bit rates between the two releases that I'm personally chalking up to bitstream reporting protocols on my Playstation 3.

The first ten screenshots come from the film. Screenshots 11-15 are from Old South/New South and screenshots 16-20 are from Hollywood Goes to Atlanta, the two supplements that are new to this release.

Gone with the Wind Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of this release is addressed in the original review, linked above.

Gone with the Wind Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As mentioned above, this new release contains all of the supplements of the original release (see the above-linked review for a complete list), minus the Max Steiner soundtrack CD. In its place comes a new Blu-ray featuring the following new supplements:

• Old South/New South (1080p; 26:50). For the most part, this is a surprisingly well written, literate and thoughtful account of many issues confronting the South and Southerners since the Civil War. The disparity between the romanticized depiction of slavery in Gone With the Wind and reality is explored, as well as the Southern proclivity for rationalizing the Civil War was about something other than slavery. The documentary makes one major stumble toward the end with a too-long segment focusing on New Orleans recovering from Hurricane Katrina. While the general thesis of the resiliency of the south is well founded, it's ultimately silly spending that much time on an issue pretty far removed from the world of Gone With the Wind (despite the inherent irony of the film's title and the devastation wreaked by a hurricane). There are some interesting talking heads here as well as copious clips from the film itself.


• Gone With the Wind: Hollywood Comes to Atlanta (1080p; 12:38). This presents some at times pretty ragged looking raw footage from the Atlanta premiere, much of which was cut and chopped into various newsreels of the era. The soundtrack comes and goes, with only a few moments of actual synched sound, while soundtrack music from the film washes over everything, dialogue or not.

Non-Disc Swag:

As with the 70th Anniversary deluxe box set, this 75th Anniversary version is housed in an oversized box measuring roughly 11" x 8" by 2 1/4". Inside the box are the following items:

• Forever Scarlett: The Immortal Style of Gone With the Wind. This hardback book makes a decent companion piece to the one released in the 70th Anniversary set. Ostensibly written by Project Runway contestant Austin Scarlett (hmmm. . .), the book contains tons of photos of the film's costumes as well as some fitfully interesting text on fashion.


• Monogrammed Handkerchief bears the initial RB.


• Music Box is emblazoned with a photo of Rhett and Scarlett and of course plays Max Steiner's Tara Theme.

Gone with the Wind Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gone With the Wind continues to be an epochal film experience 75 years after its initial release. Those who haven't already splurged on the previously released 70th Anniversary Edition, or perhaps were more frugally sensible by picking up a standalone release, may want to check out this newest edition, though my hunch is we'll soon be seeing a standalone version of this one that will be minus the swag and at least a few dollars in the pricing. Technical merits continue to be incredibly strong. The new supplements are rather disappointingly sparse, but just as surprisingly, Old South/New South is really rather intelligent about most of the subjects it discusses. For those who haven't already indulged and for rabid completists, this latest iteration of Gone With the Wind comes Highly recommended.