MovieChat Forums > Jezebel (1938) Discussion > Gone With The Wind Vs Jezebel

Gone With The Wind Vs Jezebel

posted 19 years ago by FloatingOpera7
53 replies | jump to latest

Alright, so undoubtedly the better movie was Gone With The Wind, but I hear that Bette Davis, who was the strongest second choice for Scarlett O'Hara, chose to do this movie instead. Her character is so similar to Scarlett in many ways. She's willful, beautiful, ostentatious, scandalous and proud. She also suffers of an unrequited love like Scarlett did for Ashley. Both films are set in the Old South. She is aching for Best Actress in her performance. She is doing a great job, but I can't seem to enjoy this movie because the shadow of Gone With The Wind is greater. But this film has its strengths. It is not in Techni-Color but it has brilliant dialog, moving scenes, great acting and a lot of heart. This is a fine movie too, but GWTW is a classic, and one more fondly remembered than this one.

[–] noki53 15 years ago

GWTW. Truly an epic movie with epic performances. The storyline, scenery, musical score, et al are simply unforgettable. Davis (as Belle) is haughty, arrogant, self absorbed and quite unlikable. It's a role I've seen her play many times before so this one holds no particular fascination for me. When I watch this film, I can't quite get past the feeling that I'm seeing Davis being Davis.

I came to Casablanca for the waters.....

[–] Regina_Giddens 15 years ago

The storyline, scenery, musical score, et al are simply unforgettable. Davis (as Belle) is haughty, arrogant, self absorbed and quite unlikable.

Really? I think the exact opposite. Scarlett is unlikable. She's just a bitch. Julie is idealistic and naive.

GWTW is epic, but I feel that it is so big in every way that you don't really connect personally with the characters or the story. There's something about the easy simplicity and honesty in 'Jezebel' that goes straight to the heart. I'd pick it any any day over GWTW. Julie and Preston, to me, are much more real and sincere characters than Scarlett or Rhett.

But you are, Blanche. You are in that chair!

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] arman0612 14 years ago

I obviously also liked Gone With the Wind more, and I see the resemblance, but I really feel Jezebel is a brilliant film in its own right, it has so many elements condensed in less running time and still so effective and relevant, I definitely think Bette Davis gave one of the greatest performances ever (Vivien Leigh also did) and I think Wyler's direction helped making it an even better film than what it could have been. I rate both films 10/10 and think they should both be recognized for their greatness as individual masterpieces.

[–] Danusha_Goska 14 years ago

arman great post. Although I have to admit I do succumb to comparing Jezebel to GWTW, which does sometimes overwhelm my experience of Jezebel. It's great that you can appreciate both.

[–] MydnightRose 13 years ago

I prefer Gone With The Wind on various levels; it was a broader story about people's struggle through the Civil War and how life was before and after the war. I also felt that GWTW treated Southerners with more respect and they weren't all selfish, shallow, virtual morons who hated anything that had to do with knowledge and education. There were some characters in Jezebel who were quite dense and seemed to be happy with that. I also feel that though Julie and Scarlett have some similarities (selfish and spoiled) that Scarlett at least had some good qualities and cared about people around her more than Julie did. Scarlett was a good person who had some noticeable over the top bad qualities; I thoroughly believe Julie was more of a bad person who realized the error of her ways and wanted to make things right the best way that she could.
And on the shallow side, Gone With the Wind had much better costumes.

Lois Lane=Leia Lane

[–] elisabethmariaschmidt 11 years ago

Gone With The Wind.

[–] Salmonit 11 years ago

elisabethmariaschmidt is a troll and should shut the F!ck up

[–] 11 years ago

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