One of my favorite movies is Gone With The Wind. It’s been my favorite movie since Middle School when I sent out Scarlett O’Hara invitations to my 13th birthday party. GWTW is an epic story of war, love and drama. I adored Katie Scarlet’s selfish streak and her hard headed stubbornness. Not only was she gorgeous, but she was also business savvy with a strong character. I felt tied to Scarlett because Vivian Leigh resembled my grandmother which fascinated me.
Vivian Leigh

My Grandmother Beatrice

I even loved Ashley and his Melanie who became his wife.

And Rhett Butler was incredible.

It had rich characters with high drama, and if you watch other epic films, you will see similar shots. One famous shot in GWTW is of the Confederate soldiers injured on the battlefield. The frame starts in a close up and pulls back and up to a high angle shot revealing hundreds of injured men. It’s a staggering look at the cost of war.

You will see this same shot in Titanic. When the ship sinks, there is a close up shot of a struggling victim in the water that pulls back to reveal a huge sea of drowning people. The first time I watched Titanic, I recognized that exact framing from Gone With the Wind, and I see it used in other Epic films often to drive home the point of how many people were involved in a battle or a tragedy. There were other similarities in Titanic that remind me of GWTW as well. Rose Dawson with her stubborn streak.

Rose refused to be tamed…

It was not in her nature to be tied down to the insufferable stuffy Cal who she was engaged to. She wanted Jack…

It quickly became my favorite film, and I watched it several times. I knew everything there was to know about production. It broke records as the highest budget spent on a movie at $200 million in 1997. I was enraptured with the green screen effects, and the fact that a huge water tank was built just for the film. It became fascinated with the entire production of the film and how they achieved all the flawless effects. I read up on James Cameron and the techniques he used to get the underwater shots with a robot cam. I quickly realized that I chose correctly when I picked film as my major because I couldn’t soak in enough knowledge to satisfy me.

Epic films are still my favorite to this day. I love old classics like Giant with it’s progressive message for the time.

And how could you not love James Dean covered in oil after he realizes he’s gone from dirt poor to filthy rich.

When I write my features, I picture everything from the set design to the costumes in my mind. It can take my film to another level, which may make the budget out of reach, but brings it to a stage where I fall crazy in love with the idea of making this film a reality. For Rome 444, I thought of Troy, even though it’s not realistic for my story, it still gave me that sense of Epic storytelling that made it larger than life.

I find watching Epic films about love and war inspiring. I love history, and the freedom it gives me to travel through time…

This entry was posted on October 16, 2013 at 10:38 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Production by Blinking Dog Productions No Comments Yet