The Colors of Gone with the Wind

Dominic Mayhall

The Colors of Gone with the Wind

        The use of color in film didn't start looking realistic until movies like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind" came out. Both films have a bright and wide range of natural looking color never before seen in theaters. Though, I'd say The Wizard of Oz has a brighter scheme of colors. But each different color fits its respective film. I chose to view "Gone with the Wind" as my movie of choice this week.

        I have never seen "Gone with the Wind" before, but I know the famous line at the end of the movie it's famous for. When Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable, says his final lines to his love interest Scarlett O'Hara, played by Vivien Leigh, saying "Frequently my dear, I don't give a damn." The only reason I know that line is from a trivia question. I now know this is technically the first curse word to be used in a movie. Anyway, I really appreciated this movie's use of light that enhanced the visuals of the colors. For example, in the beginning when the sun was setting while going through the credits. You can tell the director really liked sunsets. And when Scarlett swore never to go hungry, and in the ending when it zooms out from the house with another setting sun. You get to see a bright selection of orange and yellows that has a great contrast to the natural dimmer colors you see throughout the film. 

        I also liked the many different colors you see at the ball. Where you can distinctly tell whose wearing black and brown, and who has on lighter colored clothing. You can see people's different hair and eye colors in this movie too. And on a darker or even depressing note. To see all the colors and contrast of light used during and after Atlanta is sieged was especially impressive. Like when Rhett and Scarlett were on that wagon with fire all around them. You can see the browns, the blacks, and the orange texture of the fire. Then the next day all the different variety of either dead or injured people on the ground and the colors they were wearing. The plantation house also lost some color after the siege and all the people who had everything before now have close to nothing. And during that time of the film, you see a switch from people wearing bright colors to them wearing all dull blacks and grays.

        For a film that came out nearly 85 years ago the colors still hold up pretty well. Nothing looks too outdated, and the footage doesn't look too grainy. The acting may be a little overdue for today's standards, but the film was still an easy watch. The run time was 3 hours, which is pretty long for today's standards, but the intermission helped with that. I overall enjoyed the movie and can see why it's a classic American film that is held with high regards. 

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