Book Description

Filled with classic photography of the film’s famous cast, this new collector’s edition Gone With the Wind is a celebration of one of the world’s favorite Hollywood epics. Released in 1939, Gone With the Wind continues to sustain a place in American popular culture, and this volume offers readers an irresistible combination of history, glamour, and intrigue about the movie that was voted the most popular film in history by the American Film Institute. In contemporary dollars, the film stands firm as the most successful box-office hit in of all time—not even tumbled by such modern-day blockbusters as Avatar, Titanic, or Star Wars. This new volume is filled with rare insight into the stars and creators of this timeless masterpiece, including much behind-the-scenes detail about the casting and making of the film that made “Scarlett O’Hara” and “Tara” household words around the world. Looking beyond the movie’s artistic accomplishments, Gone With the Wind also explores the history and politics of nineteenth-century America, making this volume of interest to devotees of the American South and Civil War buffs alike. Discover fascinating details about the making and magic of Gone With the Wind, including: -The search for Scarlett O’Hara—over 1,000 actresses interviewed for the role—and the controversial casting of Vivien Leigh -How the casting and cost of Clark Gable nearly derailed the multi-Oscar-winning film -How directors Victor Fleming, his predecessor George Cukor, and producer David O. Selznick shaped Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a true and timeless Southern epic -A glimpse at the film’s home state of Georgia, its famous Gone With the Wind museums and its prominence in the Confederate South -Captivating portraits of film’s four stars, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard, as well as author Margaret Mitchell