Gone With The Wind has been released in an 80th anniversary edition which prompts a very good question:
Gone With the Wind turns 80 – frankly is it still worth a damn?
The answer is clearly going to be subjective. Scoring 92% on the tomatometer some certainly think so:
Filmed and presented on a scale not seen in modern productions, Gone with the Wind is, if not the definitive Hollywood film, then certainly near the top of the list.
As to why not the scale these days, actors were cheaper back then. As to the plot synopsis:
A manipulative woman and a roguish man conduct a turbulent romance during the American Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
That might not quite do the sweeping grandeur sufficient justice.