DVD Review: Breathtaking 5-Disc Gift Set For ‘Gone With the Wind’

CHICAGO – If local news reports are to be believed, nearly everyone reading this will go holiday shopping sometime during the upcoming weekend. To those of you that are considering a DVD giftset purchase like the recent release of “The Wizard of Oz,” “Christmas Vacation,” or even “Mamma Mia!,” you couldn’t do much better than the breathtaking five-disc release marking the 70th anniversary of “Gone With the Wind”.

The lavishly-packaged new collector’s edition giftset of “Gone With the Wind” is one of those overwhelming releases in which the film itself practically becomes an afterthought to the collectibles and special features. Honestly, if you haven’t seen “Gone With the Wind,” it’s required viewing for the history of film. One of the most beloved movies ever made, even if you don’t love it (and I’ll admit that it’s not a personal favorite of mine like it is for millions of others), it’s too important a film historically to ignore. Every serious movie collector must include it on their shelf for it to be complete.

And the millions who do love Victor Fleming’s classic epic are going to drool at the new package with exclusive collectibles and over eight hours of revealing extras about the film, including more than three hours new to this collection.

Physical collectibles include a 52-page photo & production art book, ten 5x7 watercolor reproduction art prints, archival correspondence from producer David O. Selznick, reproduction of the 1939 original program, and a bonus CD soundtrack sampler.

Gone With the Wind: 70th Anniversary Collector’s Edition Giftset was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on November 17th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Home Video

On the DVD version of the film, the five discs are segmented as follows:

Disc 1
-A remastered version of part one of the film with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track
-Commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer

Disc 2
-A remastered version of part two of the film with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track
-Commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer
-Offer for a numbered Limited Edition copy of the Original 1939 poster

Disc 3
About the Movie
-“The Making of Legend” documentary (1989 TV special narrated by Christopher Plummer)
-“Restoring a Legend”
-“Dixie Hails Gone with the Wind” (1939 premiere newsreel)
-1940 MGM historical short - “The Old South”
-“Atlanta Civil War Centennial” (1961 premiere newsreel)
-International prologue
-Foreign language version sample scenes
-Theatrical trailers

Disc 4
About the Cast
-“Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland”
-“Gable: The King Remembered”
-“Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond”
-“The Supporting Players”

Disc 5
New Bonus Disc
-“1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year” (new documentary narrated by Kenneth Branagh)
-“Gone with the Wind: The Legend Lives On”
-“Moviola: The Scarlett O’Hara Wars”
-Trailers

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com