A David O. Selznick production set pre and post Civil war in the deep south.
I have chosen two stills from Gone With the Wind. One from the beginning, pre civil war and the other post civil war when Scarlett is married to Rhett Butler. I have chosen these two contrasting images to analise how William Cameron Menzies' Art Direction is used to show Scarlett's character arc from pre to post civil war.
I will start by looking at the colour palettes used in the two images. The colour choices are quite the opposite in these two pictures. The first with it's abundance of greens and virgin whites is aesthetically pleasing as it alludes to springtime, youth and hope. Scarlett is the happiest at the point in the story, she naively thinks Ashley will realise he loves her, she has an abundance of admirers and her live is very easy.
In the second picture the architecture is gothic. The angular, uninviting contours and the deep reds symbolise passion, strength and power. Throughout the entire film there is a clash of power between Scarlett and Rhett.
They are too similar in character to live harmoniously, this is perfectly shown through Art Direction. This is the conjugal rape scene. The red is used in several ways. It stands for Rhett’s sexuality. He almost becomes someone else, the alpha-male grows within him when he thinks of Ashley. His overpowering lust and anger are conveyed by the deep red staircase, and it’s a psychological omen for the next scene.The colour red makes objects look bigger to the eye. The objects can be the exact same size as another of a different colour and your eye will still presume the red one is bigger. This use of optical illusion is used by William Cameron Menzies to accentuate the importance of the staircase.
Staircases have been important throughout the whole film. I believe they stand for power. Rhett first sees Scarlett as she walks up a grand staircase, Scarlett miscarries their child as a result of falling down a staircase and at the end of the film when Rhett leaves her Scarlett breaks down on the bottom step as she realises she needs to get him back. This object plays an important part in the films narrative and character development.
Staircases have been important throughout the whole film. I believe they stand for power. Rhett first sees Scarlett as she walks up a grand staircase, Scarlett miscarries their child as a result of falling down a staircase and at the end of the film when Rhett leaves her Scarlett breaks down on the bottom step as she realises she needs to get him back. This object plays an important part in the films narrative and character development.Walter Plunkett's costumes in the first picture show pre-civil war Scarlett wearing an authentic crinoline. Highly fashionable at the time, these accentuated your tiny waist making you more attractive to men. 
After the civil war Scarlett abandons the crinoline and adopts the French influenced slender silhouette. The use of costume here shows the passing of time and the Butlers’ wealth very effectively.
At the beginning of the film Scarlett’s costumes contain pure whites with tiny details highlighted by bold colour. By the time we get to post civil war, Scarlett barely wears any white. She is now a woman of the world, no longer pure or virginal.
She wears mainly reds and golds which shows her new decadent lifestyle and the ever increasing boldness of her character. She is no longer the Scarlett of Tara and this change in her character alerts the audience that she is getting lost and creates a want in them for her to return home at the end of the film.
In the first picture Scarlett has an oversized bonnet which contrasts to Melanie's small humble one. This is excellent Art Direction as on first sight you are told that Melanie is humble and modest whereas Scarlett is bold and wants attention. Plunkett’s costume designs tells you all this before the characters have even said a word.
The second picture shows a low angle which is used to make the staircase look more powerful and threatening. The decorations show they are obviously very wealthy in the New South.
The gothic architecture is dominating. It’s sharp edges make the audience feel uneasy, which is exactly how Scarlett feels in this scene. This type of gothic architecture is reminiscent of Nosferatu, alluding to evil lurking in the shadows. This conjures up the feeling Scarlett has as she walks down the stairs hoping not to run into an angry Rhett. The audience know straight away that he's downstairs because the art direction tells us so.
Pattern is important in Art Direction. An unsettling atmosphere is shown through the staircase's thick decorated bannister. It’s so heavily gilded that there is no open space which makes the audience physically feel the entrapment of the characters. This contrasts with the first picture which shows a light, airy bannister with space you can see through.
The mixture of this and the elaborate pattern of the wallpaper are too much for the eye. There is purposefully a multitude of detail which makes you feel subconsciously unsettled as it alludes to being trapped and dominated.
The human eye enjoys patterns but only because we like familiarity, we like repetition, it’s comforting. However it can be used against us when there is too many mixed patterns, it has the opposite effect making us feel claustrophobic. We feel relaxed with open space and light which is used well in the first picture. This is an excellent use of Art Direction as a way of manipulating the audiences psyche.
Scarlett is sneaking downstairs during the night to avoid Rhett. Contrasting lighting and shadows are used to show the secrets. Nothing is out in the open like the brightness of the first picture where every single objects is clearly visible.
When outside large open spaces allude to freedom however indoors, like in this second picture the big open space shows the isolation of the characters. There is no small intimate spaces. The vastness alludes to the distance between Scarlett and Rhett, which lends a great sense of loneliness. Scarlett is literally lost amongst these overwhelming, opulent surroundings.
I believe that the Art Direction shows another dimension to character. Here It shows Scarlett's emotional arc translated into colour and shapes allowing us more of an insight into her psyche, thus enabling us to try to understand her actions.
Bibliography
Gone With The Wind DVD, Turner Entertainment Co. and Warner Bros. 1939
Gone With The Wind documentary: The Legend Lives On, 2009
Gone With The Wind DVD commentary, Historian Rudy Behlmer, 2009
The Making of a Legend documentary, Warner Bros, 2009.
Historical Short film "The Old South" MGM, 1940.
Restoring a Legend documentary-Video restoration process, 2009.
Frankly My Dear: Gone with the Wind revisited by Molly Haskell, Yale Books.
The Art of Film: John Box and Production Design by Ian Christie, Wallflower Press.
The Invisible Art: the legends of movie matte painting by Mark Cotta Vas & Craig Barron.
After the civil war Scarlett abandons the crinoline and adopts the French influenced slender silhouette. The use of costume here shows the passing of time and the Butlers’ wealth very effectively.
At the beginning of the film Scarlett’s costumes contain pure whites with tiny details highlighted by bold colour. By the time we get to post civil war, Scarlett barely wears any white. She is now a woman of the world, no longer pure or virginal.
She wears mainly reds and golds which shows her new decadent lifestyle and the ever increasing boldness of her character. She is no longer the Scarlett of Tara and this change in her character alerts the audience that she is getting lost and creates a want in them for her to return home at the end of the film.In the first picture Scarlett has an oversized bonnet which contrasts to Melanie's small humble one. This is excellent Art Direction as on first sight you are told that Melanie is humble and modest whereas Scarlett is bold and wants attention. Plunkett’s costume designs tells you all this before the characters have even said a word.
The second picture shows a low angle which is used to make the staircase look more powerful and threatening. The decorations show they are obviously very wealthy in the New South.The gothic architecture is dominating. It’s sharp edges make the audience feel uneasy, which is exactly how Scarlett feels in this scene. This type of gothic architecture is reminiscent of Nosferatu, alluding to evil lurking in the shadows. This conjures up the feeling Scarlett has as she walks down the stairs hoping not to run into an angry Rhett. The audience know straight away that he's downstairs because the art direction tells us so.
Pattern is important in Art Direction. An unsettling atmosphere is shown through the staircase's thick decorated bannister. It’s so heavily gilded that there is no open space which makes the audience physically feel the entrapment of the characters. This contrasts with the first picture which shows a light, airy bannister with space you can see through.
The mixture of this and the elaborate pattern of the wallpaper are too much for the eye. There is purposefully a multitude of detail which makes you feel subconsciously unsettled as it alludes to being trapped and dominated.The human eye enjoys patterns but only because we like familiarity, we like repetition, it’s comforting. However it can be used against us when there is too many mixed patterns, it has the opposite effect making us feel claustrophobic. We feel relaxed with open space and light which is used well in the first picture. This is an excellent use of Art Direction as a way of manipulating the audiences psyche.
Scarlett is sneaking downstairs during the night to avoid Rhett. Contrasting lighting and shadows are used to show the secrets. Nothing is out in the open like the brightness of the first picture where every single objects is clearly visible.
When outside large open spaces allude to freedom however indoors, like in this second picture the big open space shows the isolation of the characters. There is no small intimate spaces. The vastness alludes to the distance between Scarlett and Rhett, which lends a great sense of loneliness. Scarlett is literally lost amongst these overwhelming, opulent surroundings.I believe that the Art Direction shows another dimension to character. Here It shows Scarlett's emotional arc translated into colour and shapes allowing us more of an insight into her psyche, thus enabling us to try to understand her actions.
Bibliography
Gone With The Wind DVD, Turner Entertainment Co. and Warner Bros. 1939
Gone With The Wind documentary: The Legend Lives On, 2009
Gone With The Wind DVD commentary, Historian Rudy Behlmer, 2009
The Making of a Legend documentary, Warner Bros, 2009.
Historical Short film "The Old South" MGM, 1940.
Restoring a Legend documentary-Video restoration process, 2009.
Frankly My Dear: Gone with the Wind revisited by Molly Haskell, Yale Books.
The Art of Film: John Box and Production Design by Ian Christie, Wallflower Press.
The Invisible Art: the legends of movie matte painting by Mark Cotta Vas & Craig Barron.
