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Gone With The Wind (1 Viewer)

ScottR

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I am so excited about the prospects for an Ultra-Resolution release of Gone With the Wind. Here are some things I wish they would include (although, I am probably dreaming if I think they will include them all.)

-Better framing (some of the letters and notes people read in the film are horribly cropped)

-Fixed shots that were cropped in the '50's


-Sound: Original 1.0 mono (including dialogue that was changed later on.)
Alternate stereo track from the re-release in which David O'Selznick authorized dialogue changes.

-Extras: The Making of A Legend: GWTW
Screen Tests
Trailers (from 1939-1998)
Premiere Footage
Any alternate or deleted scenes or outtakes that may have survived.
Music Excerpts (similar to the Casablanca Release)
Academy Awards Footage
Stills of Posters and Lobby Cards
-Reproduction of the Original Premiere Program (similar to the Bridge on the River Kwai Release.)

......In short, make this release as close as possible to Premiere Night, without the crowds!
 

ScottR

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Oh, yeah! How could I forget??!!! I would love to have a commentary with Olivia DeHavilland and other surviving stars (Fred Crane, Ann Rutherford, Evelyn Keyes, Alicia Rhett "India Wilkes", and Cammie King.)
 

EricSchulz

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I believe the orginal line was:
"Frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a f*ck", but it was a little too course for '30's audiences...

;)
 

Andrew Budgell

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I'd love to see a version as close as possible to the 1939 version as possible. I would also love to see all the deleted scenes that are owned in private collections.

Andy
 

ScottR

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There are several instances of dialogue change, but off-hand:

1. The opening scene: When Scarlett prepares to leave the porch she originally exclaimed "It isn't true; It can't be true. Ashley loves me." The first line was in the original, the 1989 prints, and the TBS/TNT broadcasts but has never made it to vhs, ld, or dvd. You can faintly hear where the dialogue was if you listen closely. I think the audio elements were missing from the 1954 re-release, but were found for the 50th anniversary restoration in 1989.

2. When Ashley prepares to leave Twelve Oaks after the Barbeque, Scarlett goes to the window and whispers "Ashley, Oh Ashley." The dialogue is missing from all home video versions, but was in the 50th Anniversary prints and Turner network airings. Again, you can faintly hear the dialogue if you listen closely.

3. When Scarlett sends Prissy to get Doctor Meade to deliver Melanie's baby she exclaims "I'll sell you South, I swear I will...I'll sell you South." The last line has been deleted on the 1998 prints, and the dvd. This line could have been a change made by Selznick for the 1961 engagement.

4. When Rhett calls on Scarlett following Frank Kennedy's death, he says to Mammy, "You don't like me, Mammy. You really don't like me." The last two words have been deleted from the 1998 prints and dvd. Again, this could have been changed by Selznick in 1961.

....There are other small instances, but those are the ones that have stood out. It seems that the music and effects tracks have been brought out front, to the point of deleting some of this dialogue....probably during stereo re-mixes.
 

AlanP

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I hope the DVD cover is the original poster ART of
Rhett carrying Scarlett in her red dress, the
one that was used in the 61 reissue.
 

Joe Caps

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Fuuny your askingfor the poster from 1961 as that certainly is not the original.
the art most people now knwo is that fiery red poster created for the 1968 original.
Odd trivia - in the opening of Empire of the Sun, the kis is roaming around the war torn town and goes around the corner and covering the entire side of a building is the 1968 poster of Gone With the Wind. I'm surprised Speilberg didn't know better!!!
 

Bill Williams

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The original Rhett Butler line in the novel read, "My dear, I don't give a damn."

As for an additional supplement, they could include a brief snippet from the film's widescreen release in the 1960's. It doesn't have to be very long, just a few key scenes (main titles, Scarlett among the dead in Atlanta, sunsets and/or sunrises at Tara). Something for comparison's sake to let people know that they really did do a widescreen version of the film at one point, as long as the OAR on the film itself is preserved.
 

Chuck L

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I heard a rumour that many years ago a 70mm print of the film was cut and that the remaining footage that they had that preserved the OAR of 1939 was lost/destroyed/whathaveyou. Granted, this could simply be a thing of Hollywood urban legend, but one never knows.
 

Peter Kline

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If the film looked like the original release some might be disappointed. Even though in Technicolor, the film was very subdued with little of the lush ultra satura ed colors that the process eventually became known for. I suppose there could be a compromise, but then again some would screen bloody murder if this was done. Any way you look at it, it's a losing proposition.

Yes there was a 70mm version with the top and bottom removed for widescreen. They did not use any original elements to make that print nor did they cut it up or anything like that. MGM wasn't that stupid. The image was very contrasty and almost sepia in color as it was made from an interneg that was not up to snuff (or so I was told). Ironically, it probably looked closer in color to the original version then the current DVD.

The original elements were restored and used five or so years ago for a theatrical re-issue. Those that saw the newly struck authentic 3 strip Technicolor print said it looked very good. Most of us saw an Eastman color print that was not so good.
 

ScottR

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The print shown in 98 includes those shots that were cut at the bottom for 70mm. Those shots were inserted into the negative that was used. If you watch on the dvd, some of the shots incorporate a vertical panning and scanning into the next scene (including shots of Tara at sunset with the cattle being moved, and the final shot of the wounded at the train station.)
 

Conrad_SSS

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This is incorrect.

The few shots that were re-framed for widescreen projection were cut into the original negatives for the 1954 35mm reissue, not the 1967 70mm reissue.

Unfortunately, because MGM cut these optically re-framed scenes into the original, properly framed negative material of those few shots no longer exists
 

Robert Harris

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Peter Kline offered:

"The original elements were restored and used five or so years ago for a theatrical re-issue. Those that saw the newly struck authentic 3 strip Technicolor print said it looked very good. Most of us saw an Eastman color print that was not so good."


This must be a new meaning for the term "restoration."

David Selznick would be rolling in his grave if he saw what Warner's produced in 1999 or thereabouts. A total and undeniable travesty.

Some of the worst garbage I've ever seen.
 

Dome Vongvises

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Does anybody have a website where this is all in laymen's terms? So what is Gone With The Wind supposed to look like?
 

ScottR

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Conrad, from what I hear, the original separations are not affected by the butchering for wide-screen.
 

ScottR

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Conrad, from what I hear, the original separations are not affected by the butchering for wide-screen. I think they are still intact, somewhere.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I wasn't thrilled with the most recent theatrical reissue; this had been discussed previously on this forum when I think people put together a list of problems with the image, and without having known about any of that stuff when I saw it projected, it didn't seem right.

I haven't gotten the current DVD because I figured it would be sourced from the same lousy prints. Is there anyone who owns the current DVD who can comment on its quality?
 

Peter Apruzzese

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All of the prints for the 1999 reissue were in dye-transfer Technicolor, so if you saw that reissue, you saw it in Technicolor. But, as Robert Harris noted above, it looked lousy.
 

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