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Gone with the Wind
Less than 24 hours after HBO Max pulled Gone with the Wind from its platform, the 1939 film has jumped to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list. A DVD copy of Gone with the Wind currently sits at Number 1 on Amazon’s chart, while the 70th anniversary Blu-ray and DVD editions occupy the eighth and ninth spots, respectively.
Amazon users seem to be paying top dollar for a relatively limited selection of Gone with the Wind hard copies. The top-selling DVD edition of Victor Fleming’s film is currently available for $32.49 from an independent seller, while the majority of 70th anniversary copies have already been sold. Sellers have jacked up the prices on the remaining products: one 70th anniversary Blu-ray is listed at an astounding $334.01 (for a new set), or $83.48 used.
The demand for hard copies of Gone with the Wind is surprising given that the controversial Best Picture winner is readily available to stream. Amazon Prime Video users can rent Gone with the Wind for just $3.99 or purchase it for $9.99. The controversial film is also available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, and YouTube.
Gone with the Wind has long been criticized for its racist depiction of Black people and glorification of slavery in the antebellum South. Last week, 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley published a Los Angeles Times op-ed denouncing the film, and after a few days of controversy, HBO Max finally opted to temporarily remove the film from its platform late Tuesday. When Gone with the Wind returns to HBO Max, it will feature a disclaimer about “its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions” of Black people.
In a statement, an HBO spokesperson said that Gone with the Wind is at odds with parent company WarnerMedia’s values. “Gone With The Wind is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society,” said the rep. “These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”
