Angry About Ill ‘Wind’

On July 13, Mitchell Goldman, the New Line marketing and distribution president, stated in Counterpunch of “Gone With the Wind” that “ . . . during opening weekend, we worked swiftly with Technicolor . . . to replace approximately 20 damaged reels . . . and we have not received any complaints since this rotation took place.”

They have now. I saw “Gone With the Wind” during its June 26 opening weekend at Burbank’s AMC Theatre and it was out of focus for the complete length of the picture. On July 12, I saw it again at the Mann Granada Hills, presumably with some of those new or replaced reels. It was equally, if not more, blurry the second time. On both occasions the audiences sat through the entire presentation; no one complained, possibly because they realized that this was as good as they were going to get. Goldman is correct about one thing: People genuinely appreciate the opportunity to see such a classic in theaters, even in a print that would do a 10th-rate film pirate proud.

Where is Ted Turner in all of this? Turner, now vice chairman of Time Warner, parent of New Line, has in the past defended his passion for “Gone With the Wind.” He is even said to possess a monumental oil painting of himself as Rhett Butler. Yet on the subject of this mega-botched re-release, the outspoken Turner has remained curiously silent. Have we at last reached the point in civilization where only money talks?

ROSE M. PEREZ

Granada Hills

Now comes Mitchell Goldman to absolve himself and his superiors, as well as those of Technicolor and Warner Bros. of any blame for having distributed a defective product--namely, “Gone With the Wind.” Instead, Goldman blames the messenger, Bill Desowitz, labeling him a “film purist,” for failing to note the superiority of his company’s product.

Though he pays brief lip service to “some isolated problems with presentation during the opening weekend,” Goldman does not even mention the defects. I viewed the film, first in San Diego, and then in Orange County, and found Desowitz’s criticism mild. In both screenings, I found:

* The prologue and intermission music sounded like they were played from a badly warped 33 1/3 rpm disk.

* At least one hour of the first half of the film is blurry or out of focus.

* The film is badly out of synchronization for the final 20 minutes of the first half of the film.

So much for “currently monitoring each venue through theater management, and taking every possible precaution to ensure that those wishing to see [it] . . . have a thoroughly memorable, one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.”

In my view, New Line Cinema/Technicolor/Warner Bros. should recall all 2,800 reels out and destroy them, issue a public apology and reimburse the theatergoing public for having to sit through a despoliation of a national treasure.

SALVADOR RAMIREZ

Carlsbad