seen july 8 , 1998 at the crossgates cinema 18 , ( albany , ny ) , theater #7 , at 8 : 15 p . m . with my mom using hoyts cinema cash . 
[theater rating : * * * 1/2 : very good sound , picture , and seats] 
it's very rare that any medium of entertainment can give one an authentic , vivid sense of reality and life . 
all stories are about select moments of time and places in the characters' lives , but only the truly great ones are able to define their realities well enough so the audience can experience it just as the characters do . 
therefore , " gone with the wind " deserves accolades for its ability to tell the epic story it does , in such a crafted , intricate , and entertaining manner . 
it's a crowning achievement , not only in filmmaking , but for storytelling itself . 
the film takes place in georgia before , during , and after the civil war . 
this plays a major factor in the film's success . 
to use such a historic setting presents many possibilities and problems since no one was alive at the time to verify its accuracy . 
it might also seem cliche , boring and other such deterent factors to potential viewers . 
can a story set so long ago be relatable now ? 
the film confronts all these problems , paradoxically , by not cronfronting them . 
it doesn't simply plug in the " right thing " at the " right time , " it creates an entire reality where everything makes sense and said concerns are irrelevant . 
building a strong foundation is important to all forms of media , without which , what is there to build on ? 
we're given some backstory here and learn a little about our characters , especially our main character , scarlett o'hara ( leigh ) , a beautiful southern belle with a will of steel , a cunning wit , and a tremendous sense of liberty in such an oppressive time . 
she knows how her society works , wherein everything she does can and will play a role in the shaping of her life and those around her . 
right from the beginning we realize how determined she is to have her way no matter what the consequences may be . 
being the most sought-after woman allows her to manipulate men ( and their women ) to ensure she gets her way , whether it be obvious ( i . e . 
who will be the one to get her food ) , or subtle ( i . e . 
getting married just to spite someone ) . 
the man she claims to love is ashley wilkes ( howard ) , a modest gentleman who does not seem to have the same passion for her as she does for him . 
he isn't so arrogant and demanding as scarlett , in fact , he's engaged to a woman with a personality much more like his . 
her name is melanie ( de havilland ) , and she is one of the sweetest , kindest , and most likable characters one will ever see . 
she and scarlett become very dear friends , but she never suspects the jealously scarlett has for her , and the love she has for her husband . 
her meekness is both her strongest and weakest characteristic - it defines who she is , but doesn't give her much emotional self-defense . 
acting a catalyst to the love triangle , and to the story as a whole is the daper , stong-willed , cunning , cocky southern business and military man captain rhett butler ( gable ) . 
he's quite a character all right - everyone listens to what he has to say even though he's got a bad reputation . 
butler makes no apologies for his vast amount of money nor his behavior . 
he tells everyone the much-needed truth in the rigid caste-like society where freewill doesn't seem to exist , everything is done out of honor and tradition . 
for example , in his first appearance butler tells his fellow southerners there's no way the south could defeat the north if war were to break out . 
this angers them , not for his lack of faith , but because he has the gall to say it aloud and boastfully at that . 
 " do we have ammunition factories ? 
do we have food ? 
do we have a navy ? 
all we have is tobacco . " 
all true statements and yet the south still insists he's wrong . 
butler is a shifty character to be sure , but he takes such pride in his arrogance it's appealing . 
scarlett notices this too when she first sees him , and from the look butler gives her , we know he's not going to stop until he has her . 
but scarlett can't get past her need for ashley , and during a scene which sets the stage for the grand story , butler learns of this and continues to throw it back at scarlett forever . 
and so the story goes on , with scarlett being thrown obstacle after obstacle in her life . 
the conflicts she must overcome range from taking care of her entire family to finding a proper husband , especially after she is " marked " for life when her first husband dies . 
this gives the film many opportunities to bring in more characters into the epic story . 
some are vital for only a few scenes , but their true signifcance will endure throughout the film . 
in most films only a few characters exist for support in background , but this film is more realistic and believable as it incorporates a supporting cast the size of a small town and everyone has signficance . 
even people in the background seem more than just extras wandering the set . 
the costuming design is outstanding so that the film makes for a real sense of time and place . 
the filmmakers could have easily set more scenes indoors and narrowly focused to avoid having to show the outside , real world , but these types of simple approaches are never taken . 
the first half of the film depicts the traumatic experience the south faced at the last days of the civil war . 
fleming is able to convey the horror of it all by painting an image of destruction and letting the viewer decide just how bad it is . 
one scene has scarlett working as a nurse at a military hospital while we hear a soldier in the background screaming , " no ! 
not my leg ! 
don't cut off my leg ! " 
another scene shows her simplying trying to cross a street , but as the camera pulls back , we see that her path is blocked by hundreds of wounded soldiers , but it is their moaning that's more graphic than all the bloody gore could ever be . 
as the second half begins , the film concentrates more on scarlett as a completely independent woman who single-handedly takes care of her family and melanie just to spite the tyrany of the north . 
she manages to resurrect the family plantation , but all the willpower she has can't help her when she must pay exuberhant taxes set by the north after the south's ultimate defeat . 
this brings rhett butler back into the picture and thus begins their torrid love- hate relationship . 
most of the second half of the film is somehow related to the relationship ( or lack thereof ) between rhett and scarlett . 
each uses the other for personal gain , but at the same time they still feel an intimate connection with each other . 
scarlett continues to use her manipulative powers over men to get what she wants and because rhett can't help but want her more every time she tries to one-up him such as marrying another man and taking over his business . 
they say opposites attract , but the conflict between rhett and scarlett goes way beyond opposing personalities , it borders on magnetic polarization . 
they need each other and know this , yet they never seem truly happy together . 
perhaps they mistake love for passion , and the film leaves it up to us to make this call . 
both have things the other wants and vice versa , but when they compromise , is it just to get their own way or because they actually care for each other . 
love and the perception of love are two completely separate things and throughout the final act of the film , we're left wondering if rhett and scarlett ever truly loved each other and why . 
gable and leigh do have great chemistry , always leaving the viewer wondering which emotions were authentic and which were manufacture . 
all ? 
none ? 
either way is possible and it's a mystery that cannot be solved even upon repeated viewings . 
it's safe to say most of us won't live such overly dramatic lives as those in " gone with the wind , " but it's still a masterpiece for its ability to give us a sense that we've just experienced a life's worth of joy and pain .