Overview
A sweeping tale of love and loss amidst the chaos of war.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- grand
- passionate
- melodramatic
- classic movie night
- historical epic marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a landmark of scale, production achievement, and acting, while noting that its excessive length and weaker second half dilute its dramatic power.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Scarlett repeatedly protects Tara and adapts aggressively to war, poverty, and postwar upheaval.
The Civil War and collapse of the plantation order frame Scarlett’s marriages, attachments, and family struggles.
The burning of Atlanta, plantation vistas, battle imagery, and elaborate period settings create an expansive visual world.
Tara and the antebellum plantation world are presented through Scarlett’s attachment and nostalgia, alongside depictions of slavery and racial hierarchy.
Films like Gone with the Wind, and why
Doctor Zhivago
Shared historical melodrama, sweeping wartime scale, romance, and social upheaval.
The English Patient
Shared epic historical romance, national catastrophe, lavish production design, and conflicted central relationships.
Cold Mountain
Shared Civil War setting, romantic melodrama, slavery-era social conflict, and revisionist historical perspective.
Titanic
Shared grand-scale historical romance, memorable performances, and emotionally heightened melodrama.
Movie Details
- Director
- Victor Fleming
- Release Date
- 1939-12-15
- Runtime
- 238 min
- Rating
- 7.9 / 10 (4495)
Cast
- Vivien Leigh
- Clark Gable
- Olivia de Havilland
- Leslie Howard
- Hattie McDaniel
- Thomas Mitchell
- Barbara O'Neil
- Evelyn Keyes
- Ann Rutherford
- George Reeves
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Gone with the Wind about?
- A sweeping Civil War melodrama follows an indomitable Southern heiress whose hunger for survival, love, and Tara outlasts a collapsing social order.
- What is Gone with the Wind like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Gone with the Wind as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Gone with the Wind violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Gone with the Wind as moderate.
- What did critics think of Gone with the Wind?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a landmark of scale, production achievement, and acting, while noting that its excessive length and weaker second half dilute its dramatic power.
- Which films are like Gone with the Wind?
- Films with a similar feel include Doctor Zhivago, The English Patient, Cold Mountain, and Titanic.
- How long is Gone with the Wind?
- Gone with the Wind runs 238 minutes.
- Where can I watch Gone with the Wind?
- In United States, Gone with the Wind streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, HBO Max.
