“he”/“him” A Canadian Prairie Mennonite from the '70s & '80s, a Preacher’s Kid, slowly recovering from a hemorrhagic stroke. I am not — yet — in a 12-Step Program.
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Monday, January 11, 2010
The Reigning Box Office Champion
When ticket prices are adjusted for inflation, it becomes very clear that Gone With The Wind will not be usurped by Avatar, or even Star Wars, anytime soon.
Terrific movie, that. Man, would I love to see it on a huge screen in an old movie palace.
You know, never saw it sorry to say. Wasn't planning on seeing it either. It didn't seem like much of a guy movie, but it sounds like you would recommend it?
These records always confuse me. Have ticket prices remained constant relative to inflation over the years? And if not, shouldn't we measure these things by ticket sales, to determine popularity. (I suppose if you want to get really technical about it though, you would have to account for growing population as well though).
Joel, it's one of those weird mixes of chick and dick flick. Yeah, it's mostly about Scarlet and what a twit she is, but it's also about Rhett. He has some of the best lines ever, even apart from the one you know about. It's also a technicolor jewel, and contains some famous shots (if yer enough of a flick buff to dig such things)that still make the jaw drop when you consider it's not a special effect.
I recommend you lay in yer favorite beverage and snack, rent/borrow the best remastered/updated/restored version out there, and just have a watch. It's 3 1/2 hours long, give or take. Watch it in one go.
A lot of modern audiences miss how much humor is in the movie, so watch it as a dramedy. You'll have a good time.
Y-man has it right, Joel: GWTW is surprisingly awe-striking fare. Being a history buff won't hurt your experience, either. The only other film to compare, really, is Doctor Zhivago (which Alec Guinness knocked out of the park, years before he put on the jute robes).
As for the record books, these are obviously numbers you could take quite a few liberties with. But if you stick strictly to box-office in-take and run it through the inflation calculator (the laziest ... erm, easiest way to get a disputable number, Gone With The Wind comes out on top
WP, Dead on about seeing GWTW on a large screen! Only then could you see how the actors, specifically Gable and Leigh, really chewed up the screen. In college, an inventive student had the idea to rent a large hall on camous and show the movie on a large screen. It was a night of pure camp. Admission was $10 (Canadian), $5 if you came in costume. I lucked out working as one of the cashiers and it was a lovely trip.
That same moviephile did the same thing with Star Wars, namely the special rate for costumed attendees and I have to say, the GWTW folks seemed more otherwordly than the Star Wars costumed geeks.
Now, I did get a chance to see "Avatar" on an IMAX screen recently and found it a most enjoyable experience. As much as GWTW on a big screen? No...sorry to say as a humanoid, I still prefer to see real people on a screen as opposed to finely fabricated alternate lifeforms. Plus... they just don't write the big pictures like they used to.
GWTW is layered with so many nuances: the deep South and it's antebellum glory and likewise it's demise, the brutality of the Civil War, the cruel reconstruction days, the evil of slavery, so on and so on.
I have read the book so many times, I've lost count. Watch the movie at least half a dozen times. Rhett, Scarlett, Melanie, Ashley, Mammy, Gerald O'Hara, Dr. Meade,...all these imagined people have become real to me. I love them all.
The burning of Atlanta is forever ingrained in my mind, as is the scene at the Atlanta rail station where seemingly a lone doctor (Dr. Meade) is left with the task of caring for hundreds of wounded men, all lying out in the hot Georgia sun - nothing but broken and dying Johnny Rebs as far as the camera eye can take in.
I know the justness of the War, but watching this movie can make me hate Yankees all over again. I remember thinking as a young reader that General Sherman must be the devil reincarnated...
You know, never saw it sorry to say. Wasn't planning on seeing it either. It didn't seem like much of a guy movie, but it sounds like you would recommend it?
ReplyDeleteThese records always confuse me. Have ticket prices remained constant relative to inflation over the years? And if not, shouldn't we measure these things by ticket sales, to determine popularity. (I suppose if you want to get really technical about it though, you would have to account for growing population as well though).
Joel, it's one of those weird mixes of chick and dick flick. Yeah, it's mostly about Scarlet and what a twit she is, but it's also about Rhett. He has some of the best lines ever, even apart from the one you know about. It's also a technicolor jewel, and contains some famous shots (if yer enough of a flick buff to dig such things)that still make the jaw drop when you consider it's not a special effect.
ReplyDeleteI recommend you lay in yer favorite beverage and snack, rent/borrow the best remastered/updated/restored version out there, and just have a watch. It's 3 1/2 hours long, give or take. Watch it in one go.
A lot of modern audiences miss how much humor is in the movie, so watch it as a dramedy. You'll have a good time.
Y-man has it right, Joel: GWTW is surprisingly awe-striking fare. Being a history buff won't hurt your experience, either. The only other film to compare, really, is Doctor Zhivago (which Alec Guinness knocked out of the park, years before he put on the jute robes).
ReplyDeleteAs for the record books, these are obviously numbers you could take quite a few liberties with. But if you stick strictly to box-office in-take and run it through the inflation calculator (the laziest ... erm, easiest way to get a disputable number, Gone With The Wind comes out on top
ReplyDeleteWP,
ReplyDeleteDead on about seeing GWTW on a large screen! Only then could you see how the actors, specifically Gable and Leigh, really chewed up the screen. In college, an inventive student had the idea to rent a large hall on camous and show the movie on a large screen. It was a night of pure camp. Admission was $10 (Canadian), $5 if you came in costume. I lucked out working as one of the cashiers and it was a lovely trip.
That same moviephile did the same thing with Star Wars, namely the special rate for costumed attendees and I have to say, the GWTW folks seemed more otherwordly than the Star Wars costumed geeks.
Now, I did get a chance to see "Avatar" on an IMAX screen recently and found it a most enjoyable experience. As much as GWTW on a big screen? No...sorry to say as a humanoid, I still prefer to see real people on a screen as opposed to finely fabricated alternate lifeforms. Plus... they just don't write the big pictures like they used to.
GWTW is layered with so many nuances: the deep South and it's antebellum glory and likewise it's demise, the brutality of the Civil War, the cruel reconstruction days, the evil of slavery, so on and so on.
ReplyDeleteI have read the book so many times, I've lost count. Watch the movie at least half a dozen times. Rhett, Scarlett, Melanie, Ashley, Mammy, Gerald O'Hara, Dr. Meade,...all these imagined people have become real to me. I love them all.
The burning of Atlanta is forever ingrained in my mind, as is the scene at the Atlanta rail station where seemingly a lone doctor (Dr. Meade) is left with the task of caring for hundreds of wounded men, all lying out in the hot Georgia sun - nothing but broken and dying Johnny Rebs as far as the camera eye can take in.
I know the justness of the War, but watching this movie can make me hate Yankees all over again. I remember thinking as a young reader that General Sherman must be the devil reincarnated...