By Shelisa Payne
For anyone who has somehow missed the classic “Gone With the Wind” and fans who can never see it enough, this Technicolor epic film comes to Brigham Young University for the first time.
This film, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Margaret Mitchell, will be shown in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m.
“This is only the second time in our film series that we have shown a film on two consecutive evenings,” said James D”Arc, curator of the Motion Picture Archives at BYU”s L. Tom Perry Special Collections.
“With ”Gone With the Wind” we anticipate a tremendous audience response to celebrate the beginning of our sixth great season,” D”Arc said.
With the invention of the video, older-era classic films slowly stopped being shown in theaters. Opportunities to see them on the big screen remain scarce, but BYU Motion Picture Archives brings the chance for anyone to experience these films the way they were intended for no admission charge.
“We are one of the few archival filming series remaining in the country actually showing film prints in a theatrical setting,” D”Arc said.
He said many may decline to attend because, “they saw it on video,” but videos cannot measure up to the power of cinema as to the impact of the film.
This film series is unique among others because each film is introduced by faculty experts to point out specific concepts and messages to look for because a good movie has multiple levels of meaning just as a good book.
D”Arc said this theatrical event demonstrates to people, especially the younger generations, why these masterpieces of the past are revered as classics that have stood the test of time.
“Gone With the Wind” is said to be the greatest epic love story ever translated to film winning a record of eight Academy Awards, including one for Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy, the first black actor to receive the coveted Oscar.
It is a lavish and grand romance set against the Civil War featuring a legendary cast that includes Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland.
The story highlights the love-hate romance narrating the love between Scarlett O”Hara and Rhett Butler during one of the most tumultuous periods in America”s history.
This film, originally released in 1939, was one of the most anticipated motion picture events in film history.
