The commercial TV premiere of Gone with the Wind was in 1976. I remember being a child in the 70s, when the TV premiere of a big budget film was a very big deal. There would be commercials announcing it for weeks, and people would be sure to stay in and watch. There weren’t video rentals or sales, or streaming or any other way to view these films once they’d left the theatre.
So, the memory I have of watching Gone with the WInd as a child is in that context. I remember my sisters talking about how great it was – they must have seen it on the big screen as a re-broadcast. It was exciting to see it. And being a child at the time, of course some of it went over my head, and of course, I decided it was brilliant, partly because I did love old movies and it was a good story and visually beautiful (the gowns and landscapes and such), but also because everyone had already told me it was brilliant.
I’ve seen it maybe 3–4 times over my lifetime, once in a rep house theatre, and I still enjoy it on a purely nostalgic level. I love the grandeur of classic films of that era. As a teen I couldn’t understand why Scarlett mooned over the dreary Ashley and spurned the clever and dashing Rhett. As an adult, I’m shocked that Rhett is not vilified for raping Scarlett. And of course, any of the scenes with Mammie or Prissy are very difficult to watch. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for 1930s black actresses to have to play these kinds of roles.
I never read the book, nor had any interest in reading it. I’ve sold it and its sequel in bookstores, so I get that it’s a long, soap-opera-ish thing. I don’t enjoy reading that style of novel.
I am Canadian, so definitely not a Southerner.