WHV Press Release: Gone With The Wind 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)

For Immediate Release

“A towering landmark of a film” -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

This Country’s #1 Movie of All Time¹ 
Arrives in Spectacular New Blu-ray Version!

GONE WITH THE WIND

70^th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition

from Warner Home Video November 17

With More than Eight Hours of Enhanced Content, Two of Which Are Brand New

Includes New Documentaries and Nostalgic Collectibles in Limited, Numbered Velvet Keepsake Box, Perfect for Gift Giving

Burbank, Calif. August 10, 2009 – Winner of 10 Academy Awards^® including Best Picture, and still history’s all time domestic box-office champion[1] ($1.5 billion¹), Gone with the Wind has long been considered the most celebrated motion picture of all time.  On November 17, Warner Home Video (WHV) will honor the romantic epic with a stunningly restored and remastered version, available for the first time on Blu-ray™.  Gone with the Wind 70^th Anniversary Ultimate Collectors Edition is sure to be a “must-have” for collectors of classic films, available both in Blu-ray as well as on DVD.

The highlight of this new Blu-ray version of Gone with the Wind is how it looks and sounds. As they’ve done with The Wizard of Oz, Warner Home Video continues to maximize what the Blu-ray format can do in terms of picture and sound.  With six times higher resolution than standard DVD along with the sonic excellence of Dolby TruHD, the film will be at its absolute pristine best.

“You're going to see, hear and experience so much more with this Blu-ray edition,” said Jeff Baker, WHV Executive Vice President and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog.  Viewing Gone with the Wind again on Blu-ray is like seeing it for the first time. You're brought into the saga of the war torn Tara so intensely, you feel as if all the characters literally come alive. At times, I felt as if I was on the set standing next to the camera watching Gable and Leigh as the whole scene unfolded."

Brand new to these editions is a bonus disc with three new outstanding documentaries:

·   1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year is a fascinating tribute to a year considered to be one of Hollywood’s greatest. This documentary, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, had its on-air premiere in July as part of TCM’s month-long festival saluting that year’s ‘bumper-crop’ of films.

·   Gone with the Wind: The Legend Lives On is an exploration of the legacy of this most beloved film through illuminating interviews, footage and visits to historical sites, events and museums.

·   Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara Wars -- a 1980 WBTV Special, never before seen on home video. 

This historic 70^th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition,  limited and numbered, will be further enhanced with unique nostalgic premiums – a 40-page hardcover book with photos, production notes and more; a reproduction of the 1939 original program; eight 5” x 7” frameable art prints, and a CD soundtrack sampler.  The UCEs will be available in Blu-ray

for $84.99 SRP and DVD for $69.92 SRP.  A Two Disc Special Edition will also be offered with the film and commentary for $24.98 SRP.  The documentary The Making of a Legend will also be available as a stand alone for $14.97 SRP. Orders for all are due October 13.

Both WHV and TCM will be supporting partners in a 70th Anniversary celebratory weekend to take place in Marietta, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta and home of the “Marietta Gone with the Wind” Museum, Scarlett on the Square.  The weekend – November 13-14 – is sure to draw fans far and wide, and will consist of a gala re-premiere screening at the historic, newly refurbished Strand theatre, hosted by TCM’s Robert Osborne and complete with red carpet, replica of the original theatre facade, vintage cars from the ‘30s, and more. In addition, there will be a” Belles and Beaus” costume ball and “Gone with the Wind” authors forum. 

About the Movie

Gone with the Wind is the grandest, most ambitious and spectacular piece of filmmaking in cinematic history. With more than 50 speaking roles and 2400 extras, the film is the quintessential Hollywood epic – considered a “must have” for collectors, and one that can be watched again and again for generations to come.

Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland star in Gone with the Wind, which for more than a half century has thrilled audiences with its eternal love affair, set in the South against the backdrop of the Civil War, between handsome Rhett Butler (Gable) and his sassy, headstrong heroine Scarlett O’Hara (Leigh). With each new generation, Gone with the Wind continues to grow in popularity as new audiences discover and embrace the David O. Selznick production of Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

TWO DISC DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
Disc 1 The Movie, Part 1

·         Remastered feature with Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio

·         Commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer

DISC 2 The Movie, Part 2

·         Remastered feature

·         Commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer

·         Offer for a numbered Limited Edition copy of the Original 1939 Poster

DVD & BLU-RAY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS

Includes everything listed in the Two Disc SE as well as the following: 

Disc 3

About The Movie

·          The Making of a Legend documentary (1989 TV Special) (Narrated by Christopher Plummer)

·         Restoring a Legend - Chronicles the film/video restoration process

·         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 - Exclusive 2004 Documentary

·         Cast profile - Gable: The King Remembered

·         Cast profile - Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond

·         The Supporting Players - Cameo portraits of an unforgettable ensemble

o        At Tara

§         The O’Hara Plantation in Georgia

§         Thomas Mitchell as Gerald O’Hara

§         Barbara O’Neill as Ellen, his wife

o        Their Daughters

§         Evelyn Keyes as Suellen

§         Ann Rutherford as Carreen

o        The house servants

§         Hattie McDaniel as Mammy

§         Oscar Polk as Pork

§         Butterfly McQueen as Prissy

o        At Twelve Oaks

§         Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes

§         Rand Brooks as Charles Hamilton, her brother

§         Carroll Nye as Frank Kennedy, a guest

o        In Atlanta

§         Laura Hope Crews as Aunt Pittypat Hamilton

§         Eddie Anderson as Uncle Peter, her coachman

§         Harry Davenport as Dr. Meade

§         Jane Darwell as Mrs. Merriwether

§         Ona Munson as Belle Watling

§         Cammie King as Bonnie Blue Butler

Disc 5

New Bonus Disc

·         Warner Bros. Home Entertainment presents 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year –

       New documentary about Hollywood’s watershed year narrated by Kenneth Branagh

·         Gone with the Wind: The Legend Lives On --  Exploring the legacy of the most beloved film through illuminating interviews, footage and visits to historical sites, events and museums

·         Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara Wars 1980 WBTV Special never before on home video

·         Trailers

(Blu-ray Hi-Def will have all discs above combined onto 2 discs)

Also included are unique premiums housed in a beautiful velvet keepsake box, limited and numbered:

  EXCLUSIVE TO THE DVD and BLU-RAY HI-DEF RAY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS

·         20-page reproduction of the original and complete 1939 Souvenir Program

·         40-page Production History Book with photos and production notes

·         Eight Frameable 5x7 Art Prints

·         CD soundtrack sampler featuring eight tracks

• Main Title
• Tara
• The Barbecue
• Escape From Atlanta
• I'll Never Be Hungry Again!
• Paddock Scene 5:27 
• Scarlett In The Mist/Rhett Leaves
• Flashback/Finale

EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS:

·         MGM: When The Lion Roars Documentary

Gone with the Wind 70^th Anniversary Edition

Street Date: November 17, 2009

Blu-ray Ultimate Collector’s Edition

$84.99 SRP

Ultimate Collector’s Edition (SD)

$69.92 SRP

Two-Disc Special Edition