Final Essay, Intro to Film Eng 225 - 2743 Words

An Analysis of the film Gone With the Wind Catherine M. Piraino ENG 225 INRO TO FILM Instructor Pal December 17, 2012 An Analysis of the film Gone with the Wind Rarely has a film impacted an audience and held the test of time as the film Gone with the Wind. I have always been curious if director, Victor Fleming and producer, David O. Selznick and screenplay writer, Sidney Howard knew what they were creating a masterpiece and how this film would have such an enormous impact on audiences for years to come. Interestingly enough there were some who thought the film should not be made, as Irving Thalberg said to Louis B. Meyer in 1936, â€Å"Forget it Louis, no Civil War picture ever made a nickel† (Ten Films that Shook the World).†¦show more content†¦The equipment was very cumbersome and color consultants were necessary to ensure accurate tones and hues as directed by Selznick. (Dunagan, 2001). Selznick was very innovative with the use of shadows and silhouettes, which he uses in several scenes of the film. Selznick’s use of silhouettes in both the opening scene and the sc ene prior to intermission are very dramatic as they arouse emotion on the part of the audience. However, the emotions they evoked are very different. In the opening scene, the silhouette of Scarlett and her father, Gerald the audience can feel the love that Gerald has for his daughter as he illuminates his love for the land and how she will understand as she get older. The audience can almost feel the picturesque beauty of the land before them, as the sun is setting and Scarlett and Gerald in silhouettes. The second scene where Selznick uses silhouettes is directly prior to the intermission of the film. However, the emotions here are far different. Scarlett has journeyed to Tara, from the recently Yankee occupied Atlanta, with Melanie and her newborn son and Prissy. She has encountered nothing but death and destruction on her voyage. War beaten Scarlett returns to her home Tara only to find her home, ravaged, her sisters ailing, her mother dead, her father mad and the planta tion lacking food since Tara was used as Yankee