Gone With the Wind (1939)

Why it's here:
I went back and forth on this a long time. GWTW is one of my favorites and I knew it intimately. I wasn't sure whether it would be too tense for the boys, too racist, too long, too romantic. . . I just wasn't sure. Ultimately, I thought, why not just put it in the player and see.

Specs:
4 hours long. We recommend watching over two nights. There is a perfect stopping point at intermission. Glorious Technicolor

The film is set in the Civil War era.

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
8.75, making it our second favorite film in the festival.

More about the film and our reaction to it:
One of my favorite anecdotes to share with people about our film festival has to do with this film. After having watched over 30 years of film and about 40 titles, when we got to Gone With the Wind, we were all astounded by its quality. You just can't realize the full power of a film sometimes if you haven't placed it in the context of what comes before. GWTW is simply an amazing landmark film, so grand in scope and sweep, so extraordinarily beautiful to look at and with such a big story, that we could not help but be very impressed. Had I simply popped this in to the player back in May and asked my family to enjoy it "cold", I doubt whether they would have been able to.

As it is, we loved learning about the Civil War, the genteel South just before war hit, and the protracted period of Reconstruction after it. GWTW allows you to see the toll of war on people in a powerful way. Beloved characters die, people lose their land and struggle simply to eat. Characters make hard choices and undertake ruthless acts that they might not have ever done before the war. Babies are born, people struggle with love, and life goes on. We were all deeply moved by the drama. There is cruelty and kindness in relationships and some pretty tense, grown-up themes. But my kids loved the movie, because it is so brilliantly made.

The film is long, but I can't say that it is "too long", because the pacing is so good and so strong throughout that it ends up feeling just right. We couldn't wait to cue it back up the second night. The Technicolor is beyond breathtaking. This has to be one of the most beautiful films ever made. The costumes and landscapes are rich, but not too jarringly colorful. Scenes are muted, with wonderfully appropriate lighting. The film is stuffed with extras and deep acting as well as richly scored. It has massive spectacle value.

As for parent concerns: there are several scenes of violence - two of the most intense come when a soldier's leg is amputated and when Scarlett shoots a man in the face. There is a fair amount of implied sexuality - and allusions to a woman of ill-fame, though nothing overt is shown. And, there are multiple issues of racism. Obviously, the picture deals with the Civil War, there are issues of class, wealth, snobbery, and ruthlessness.  But none of these is necessarily as problematic for family viewing as the problem of unfamiliarity with slower-moving, lushly dramatic story telling. We got a lot of value out of GWTW, but another family without the backdrop of experience with classics might not.

Iconic shot:

San Francisco (1936)

Why it's here:
I had seen this movie years ago and found it exciting and powerful. The depictions of the San Francisco earthquake are so realistic you have to remind yourself that they aren't actual footage of the event. Very evocative.

Specs:
2 hours, Black and white. I couldn't find the dvd anywhere so we had to rent it on Amazon.
The film is set in 1906.

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
7.25

More about the film and our reaction to it:
Unfortunately, the film wasn't quite as good as I'd remembered. But it's still well worth watching. The problem is that it can't quite decide what it wants to be: a rough and tumble Gable male-bonding film, a romance, a musical, or a disaster film. It does all four very well, but your family isn't likely to respond to all the parts equally. In our family, for instance, the music numbers were too many and too long, the dramatic romance also was a bit much. But, once the earthquake happened, well then we were riveted. Families should know that the story is very sad. This is a disaster film and people are shown screaming for lost family members and mourning their dead. Although it has a religious-themed uplifting ending, it will likely inspire some tears.

San Francisco is a lush epic of grand scale and as such provides large scale entertainment value! The scenes of the earthquake are simply incredible. It had to have been a very expensive picture to make judging alone from the number of buildings brought to rubble.

One of the best parts of the movie is its talented cast. MacDonald (as Mary Blake) and Gable (as Blackie Norton) reportedly had trouble getting along off camera, but you would never know it from their chemistry in the film. They have to overcome their class divisions and a variety of misunderstandings in order to find each other, but they are appealing and sympathetic and you want it to work out for them. MacDonald had an incredible voice and belts out the tune San Francisco so many times that we have that permanently scored in our memories now. The film also benefits from Spencer Tracy's touching performance as the priest who is both Blackie's childhood friend and a pillar of support to Mary.

Though the film is long and gets bogged down a bit at times, it is excellent viewing.

Iconic shot:

It Happened One Night (1934)

Why it's here:
Directed by Frank Capra, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, this has to be one of the best and funniest movies of all time.

Specs:
1 hr and 45 minutes long. Black and white. A talkie that finally makes you glad that sound has arrived!

Family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
A whopping 9.0, which is our highest collective rating for any film in the festival (through 1941 anyway).

More about the film and our reaction to it:
I always knew it was a good idea to work forward in time through classic movies, but now, excuse my vanity, I really see the genius behind the plan. Watching It Happened One Night after several weeks of experience with silents and transition era films just blew us away . . . the way it should have. I can fully appreciate why this movie swept the Academy Awards and has gone down in history as the classic romantic comedy of all time, the first screwball comedy, a Frank Capra masterpiece and yet -- simultaneously had been the film no one expected to succeed.

Most involved in the project seemed to think it was a crummy waste of time (Claudette Colbert, at the end of filming, famously told a friend: "I just finished the worst picture of my life;" Clark Gable was given the assignment as punishment). To explain the paradox, you have to set yourself in 1934 when movies just weren't like this. People couldn't easily see the value of doing something like watching two people travel along the countryside taking little quips at each other and falling in love. It must have been hard to picture, until it all came together.

This film feels like a major leap forward in cinematic style, just swooping cleanly in with total understanding of the beauties of dialog. It is extremely effective at telling a smart, well-acted, and seamlessly audible story.

Gable, in an atypical role, and Colbert have wonderful chemistry. Although the film is regarded as the genesis of the "screwball" style of comedy, this might be better heralded as the birth of romantic comedy -- back before that meant "chick flick". The talents of Gable -- unquestionably a guy's guy -- keeps the film just a tiny bit rougher and gritty, very appealing to men. I can attest that all of the men at my house loved this film.

Iconic shot: