Reviewed By Jason LockardWhen the opportunity arose to review the mini-series Scarlett, I had to take time to re-watch the original Gone with the Wind. It is hard to believe it is 80 years since that film first appeared in theaters. For years people wanted to know what happened to Scarlett and Rhett. But alas Margaret Mitchell refused to write the sequel saying she decided leave Scarlett and Rhett to "their ultimate fate".
Margret passed away in 1949 and in 1975, her brother, Stephens Mitchell assumed control of her estate and authorized a sequel to be jointly produced by MGM and Universal Studios. The 775 page manuscript entitled Tara, The Continuation of Gone with the Wind by Anne Edwards was rejected b MGM and thus never produced. But that is still is not the end of the story.
In 1991 Alexandra Ripley, wrote as a sequel to Gone with the Wind. Than just a 3 years later it would be made into a mini-series event. Now the good folks at Mill Creek Entertainment have released this mini-series on DVD, through their Mini-Series Masterpieces collection. Let's take a look at this release.
The mini-series starts where Gone with the Wind ended. With Melanie Wilkes is buried,
Scarlett O’Hara Butler pursues her wayward
husband Rhett to Charleston. Despite a brief, yet passionate reconciliation, Rhett rejects Scarlett and marries Anne Hampton. Although she is pregnant with his child, Scarlett does not tell Rhett, instead traveling to New Orleans to find her O’Hara relatives. Cousin Father Colum O’Hara is returning to Ireland, and Scarlett leaves America for her ancestral homeland in search of happiness.Very rarely is a sequel as good as the original film and Scarlett is just like all other sequels. This mini-series engulfed in large shadow of Gone with the wind. I doubt that if MGM would have been able to make a direct sequel with the original cast that it would have been any better film.
The cast of Scarlett does a good job with the script they have. Joanne Whalley Kilmer is good as Scarlett, but in comparison, Vivian Leigh she commanded attention when she was onscreen. Your eyes could not be taken away from her performance. Joanne doesn't quite have that in this role. As for Timothy Dalton playing Rhett Butler he seems to be more suited to play the iconic role, but even he falls short of Clark Gable. Again this is probably unfair as no actor can fill another one's shoes.
The story itself is an epic one! Broken up into four 90 minute plus movies. The cinematography is beautiful just like in Gone with the Wind. The story is a good tale and if you can view it as a tale all in itself not comparing it to Gone with the Wind it's fine, but putting it along side the iconic film is just unfair to this mini-series.It is also good to note that while Gone with the Wind was tame with the sexual material, Scarlett upped the ante a bit. Nothing overtly horrible, but it is something to keep in mind.
The films are presented in their original full screen format and in Dolby digital audio. You would think 4 films on one DVD the quality would be reprehensible, but they actually look and sound pretty amazing. I was pleasantly surprised about the quality.
In addition to the DVD you also get a digital copy as well through the Mil Creek Entertainment digital service. To enjoy them anywhere you simply sign up for a free account at watch.millcreekent.com and redeeming the code you can login on your computer, smart phone or your Roku devices and watch this mini-series anywhere anytime.
As
for the packaging. This is where this release shines. The DVD case is a sturdy hard shell plastic case.
There is a slipcover
(seen at the top of of the page) that looks like a beautiful oil painting of Scarlett and Rhett.
There is different artwork on the
actual DVD cover (seen just to the right). I have to say I love these Mini-Series Masterpiece collector's slipcovers, they look awesome on the shelf. They truly are a film conversation starter. So if you love a good emotional drama as much as I do, I highly recommend this one for your collection. Head over to www.MillCreekEnt.com and get your copy today!
Moral Rating: violence, sexual abuse
Audience: Not suitable for small children
Genre: Drama
Length: Over 6 Hours
DVD Released: 2019
Mini-series Rating: B
DVD Rating: A
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