Phone Accessory - Scarlett (Special Collector's Editon)

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Manufacturer: Hallmark
Starring: Joanne Whalley, Timothy Dalton, Barbara Barrie, Stephen Collins, Annabeth Gish
Directed By: John Erman

Average Customer Rating:

Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9781574923209
Format: Closed-captioned
ISBN: 157492320X
Label: Hallmark
Manufacturer: Hallmark
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Hallmark
Release Date: 1997-01-14
Running Time: 360
Studio: Hallmark
Theatrical Release Date: 1994-11-13

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Totally dissapointed
Comment: Ok so I knew this wouldn't be anywhere near as good as 'Gone With The Wind' but wow, they just totally changed personalities and everything. But that's not the worst of it!! The dvd itself wouldn't play right, it would skip and the picture would flicker and scramble. I didn't really enjoy it at all.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Scarlett, the book
Comment: Great book. Written in sense of "Gone with the Wind." Good character development. Really saw the growth of Scarlet, from self-centered child to caring young woman. Always had the feeling, unlike the film, that it was Scarlet and Rhett. Set in Irish history background.

Customer Rating:

Summary: excellent
Comment: Timothy Dalton is a good choice in continueing rhett butler's story. If your a fan of gone with the wind this movie you will love.

Customer Rating:

Summary: scarlett
Comment: The dvd was marked as new but yet the 2nd disc to this was acting up. It cuts in and out.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Good but could have been GREAT with some changes.
Comment: I tried to watch Scarlett without comparing it to GWTW, as many previous reviewers had suggested, but that is easier said than done. The story and characters are so intertwined, you can't help but think how they got to where they are in the current situation. That being said, Scarlett impresses me as a movie that had a lot of work, planning, and thought behind it. There is some actual depth to the story which traces Scarlett back to her ancestral homeland in Ireland and for me actually fills in a lot of the gaps in the original GWTW. Also the settings and costumes are extraordinarily well done. The colors and photography are outstanding, however, I wish this would have been filmed in 16:9 widescreen instead of the 4:3 television format. Unfortunately in 1994, when this made-for-TV movie was made, few directors were thinking about HDTV.

My biggest gripe about the movie is Scarlett herself. Timothy Dalton makes a convincing Rhett Butler, although you find yourself always comparing him to Clark Gable. Actually, had Dalton been cast in the original GWTW, he might have actually made a better Rhett. But it's too late and Gable is a hard act to follow.

Getting back to the character Scarlett O'Hara, I'm not sure Joanne Whalley was the best choice here. She is a fine actress indeed, but she is no Vivien Leigh. Sure, the character Scarlett is supposed to be assertive and aggressive and maybe even a little bossy at times. But in the mini-series, Scarlett comes off as being a "witch" (spelled with a "b") which for me at least, was thoroughly distracting and downright annoying a good bit of the time.

I've read both the book GWTW and seen the movie numerous times and I would have never ever characterized the original Scarlett with the b-word. Even though she could get a little self centered at times, you always knew in your heart that she was basically a good person and maybe just caught up in her own emotions and ambitions.

But Whalley, playing Scarlett, comes off as being downright sinister at times. Calling the movie "Scarlett" couldn't be more accurate because throughout the entire movie you can perceive Scarlett thinking "This is about ME and don't even think about getting in my way". I'm not sure it's the dialog that is at fault here. I think it is more the way Whalley projects her lines and the little smirk on her face that says "I'm number one here". I'm not willing to blame Whalley for this. Maybe that's what the director wanted from her as an actress. But to me this is the number one reason this is not the great movie it could be.

My second complaint has to do with some highly improbable circumstances. For instance, Scarlett goes from being penniless to having the equivalent in today's dollars of about $10 million in the original GWTW then suddenly she is worth the equivalent of several billion dollars in the movie Scarlett. None of this is explained fully in the movie and what little explanation there is, is not convincing to me. I would not normally dwell on such a minor point except that Scarlett uses her vast new-found wealth to change the lives of the many people she comes in contact with. Another highly improbable circumstance is when Good Sam goes from being a charming but uneducated field hand to a highly successful businessman. Again, just not convincing to me.

Finally, the overly graphic sexual encounters were completely unnecessary. I was amazed they actually got away with showing this on TV back in 1994. The scenes add nothing of value to the movie and were probably added just to appease the investors and movie moguls.

Overall though, it was much better than I expected and I would recommend it as a must see. If you can overlook the flaws, I think you will find Scarlett the movie enjoyable and entertaining and definitely worth seeing.

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Editorial Reviews:

This soapy but highly watchable television "sequel" to Gone with the Wind, the most popular Hollywood movie ever made, has nothing to do with memories of a vanished antebellum South. But it does end up in Ireland, where the determined Scarlett O'Hara Butler (played with frosty passion by Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) turns hard times into an opportunity by buying the ancestral home of her family. Before that happens, however, Scarlett fights to win back the estranged Rhett Butler (manfully portrayed by Timothy Dalton), often seen in the company of other women, struggles for control over the homestead Tara, and gets caught in yet another compromising position with poor Ashley Wilkes (Stephen Collins). The troubles never stop (Scarlett's Ireland adventures land her in a heap of trouble from which only Rhett can save her), but this TV miniseries wisely keeps the focus on these captivating characters, their entangled histories, and the collective destiny that refuses to part them. The show also looks good: the location scenes in Ireland are particularly handsome, and there is something unaccountably satisfying about seeing Scarlett and Rhett walking through peaceful green hills. Enjoy. --Tom Keogh