12 Movies Where the Critics Were Totally and Completely Wrong
4. Gone With the Wind (1939)
Unfortunately, you will begin to lose interest in “Gone with the Wind” well before you get to the end of this film’s almost four hour running time.
“Gone with the Wind” was heavily praised for its technical brilliance, ambition, scale of production and for the performance of its lead characters.
Immediately after its initial release, critics remarked that it lacked dramatic impact and was desperately in need of editing down.
One of the reasons the movie ended up so long is the director’s commitment to staying faithful to the original story. The movie attracted strong criticism for its portrayal of slavery and black people in general. Many accused it of glorifying slavery and brushing the true horrors of that period under the carpet.
The movie is told from the viewpoint of the white ruling class, so it is very hard to view the movie any other way.
Many of the characters played by black actors were also stereotypes of the traditional “house slaves” that were expected to dote on their masters and had very little in the way of personal emotions or opinions.
However, actress Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award for her role as “Mammy.”
