Possibly the most anticipated film of all time, "Gone With The Wind" is the very definition of the word epic. I first saw the film when it was aired on television in the 1970s. A decade later, a theatre I worked at did a special showing in the 70 mm process and I was blown out of the theatre by the images, among them the crane shot of the wounded soldiers, with the confederate flag flying high. This week I am joined by not one but two special guests who felt the urge to share their feelings. Please welcome Bill and Yvette:

FROM BILL... When I think about Gone With The Wind, it isn’t long before I start to think about my mother. Now, for most people, thoughts of their mother can convey a mixture of emotions. Hell, mothers can be a drag-particularly once you reach your teens, start staying out late, become reluctant to do any chores, neglect your housework--yes, their constant efforts to get you to “be responsible” can wear thin. That’s one side. When you’re younger, however, mothers can be fun. They’re there for you, not holding you back. They show you things and take you places. Even when you’re older, and your relationship with your mother isn’t as close as it may have once been, certain sights or sounds bring you back to your youth when you had a bond. For some people it might be a day at the beach, or a favorite old song. For me, it’s Gone With The Wind. When I was a kid, there was no doubt that Gone With The Wind was my mother’s favorite film. She watched it often on slow, lazy afternoons: sometimes alone, sometimes with one of my aunts, sometimes with my father, and sometimes with me playing idly in front of the television. My first memories of the film are like that: me as a toddler, maybe around four or five, playing in front of the television as Scarlett complains about all of the “war talk” or butts heads with poor Rhett Butler. At the time, I had no clue about the drama unfolding on the television screen behind me. All I knew from repeated exposure was that Gone With The Wind was old. And long. Long, long, long. To me as a kid, it never seemed to end, and that early impression of the film stuck with me for years. Long? Old? I think I’ll pass. So for years I did, and I never did sit and watch the whole thing with my mother. Years later, in college, I became something of a self-proclaimed film connoisseur, and one day I found myself in a conversation about great movies. Pretty soon, Gone With The Wind came up, and I was the lone person in the room who hadn’t really sat and watched it. I resolved to do so, but sometimes four spare hours are hard to come by. It wasn’t until a year or so later, when I was watching television with my girlfriend at the time that I saw that Gone With The Wind was about to start. She had never really seen it, and I figured I might as well give it a shot, so watch we did. As I watched, I found myself watching certain scenes that had struck me as a kid: the wide, panoramic shot of hundreds of wounded Confederate soldiers; Scarlett and Rhett being attacked by thugs as Atlanta burns around them; Scarlett shooting a menacing Union soldier in the face. The same scenes: only now it was like watching them through new eyes. Now they were parts of a whole: what I had previously seen in bits and pieces as an indifferent child I was now seeing as a complete tapestry of human emotion. What I had thought was LONG as a kid I now recognized as EPIC as an adult. What amazed me was how approachable and contemporary the film felt. It did not feel stilted or starchy the way many old films do: the dialogue sparkled, the verbal sparring between Scarlett and Rhett felt natural and spirited. Rhett’s pursuit of Scarlett throughout the film is at times funny, obsessive, and sad, and it dovetails with Scarlett’s pursuit of Ashley. In the end, none seem to get what they want: it can’t really be said to have a happy ending. A very contemporary feel. However, the film is not bleak, even though it’s set during the Civil War. The characters in the film are brought low over and over; either through the terrible trauma of war, or the harsh way they sometimes treat one another. Despite it all, they persevere. Scarlett in particular: the famous scene where she declares, “As God as my witness…I’ll never go hungry again!” sets a defiant tone that she follows for the rest of the film. She only really begins to crumble when she’s in reach of what she has wanted for the whole film: to be in Ashley’s arms. In the end, she realizes that it was the idea of Ashley that was so attractive to her: he was an ideal, but in reality, he is a bit of a dud. After all this time she realizes that it is Rhett that she loves. Of course, most people know what Rhett has to say about that: he utters what may be the best line in the history of cinema, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!” The audience has been waiting four hours to hear that man say that, and it is a great moment. Once again, Scarlett, though devastated, sets a defiant tone, declaring, “Tomorrow is another day!” So perhaps they do wind up together, but the film doesn’t tie it up in a neat bow. It’s more complicated than that, and it’s one of the reasons I like this film. Needless to say, I’ve seen it several times since that time on the couch with my now ex-girlfriend (she had actually fallen asleep an hour or so in). Each time my admiration grows, for the performances, the wonderful cinematography and colors, the visual resurrection of the old South, the stirring score, and the great dialogue. I think that I have, on the whole, a better eye for films than my mother (one of her other favorite films was the 1970s King Kong remake), but I’ll always feel indebted to her for introducing me to this truly wonderful film.

FROM YVETTE... Why do I love Gone With The Wind? Hummmm Well, the characters are played very well and I love the scenery. But the reason I love GWTW is, it shows how strong, independent, hard working, resourceful, and intelligent a woman can be when she is put in certain situations. My first impression of Scarlet was a rich, sheltered young woman but throughout the movie you see her grow up and become a very strong woman. She almost looses everything but always finds a way to overcome the obstacles that come into her life. Rhett Butler, hummmmmmm. Sexy! You can't help but to love him. He doesn't form to all the "codes of a gentleman" and can have just about any woman but he waits for the one woman he knows will be his. He goes after what he wants and always come out on top. The movie is one of my favorite movies of all times. The love story, the trials of life Scarlet goes through, the characters, the scenes, the story line, and the never knowing what Scarlet will do make this film one of the best!

Next week I cover the winner of the Best Picture Oscar for 1976 -- ROCKY!