<P> From December 1939 to July 1940, the film played only advance - ticket road show engagements at a limited number of theaters at prices upwards of $1--more than double the price of a regular first - run feature--with MGM collecting an unprecedented 70 percent of the box office receipts (as opposed to the typical 30--35 percent of the period). After reaching saturation as a roadshow, MGM revised its terms to a 50 percent cut and halved the prices, before it finally entered general release in 1941 at "popular" prices . Along with its distribution and advertising costs, total expenditure on the film was as high as $7 million . </P> <P> In 1942, Selznick liquidated his company for tax reasons, and sold his share in Gone with the Wind to his business partner, John Whitney, for $500,000 . In turn, Whitney sold it on to MGM for $2.8 million, so that the studio owned the film outright . MGM immediately re-released the film in spring 1942, and again in 1947 and 1954; the 1954 reissue was the first time the film was shown in widescreen, compromising the original Academy ratio and cropping the top and bottom to an aspect ratio of 1.75: 1 . In doing so, a number of shots were optically re-framed and cut into the three - strip camera negatives, forever altering five shots in the film . A 1961 release commemorated the centennial anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and included a gala "premiere" at the Loew's Grand Theater . It was attended by Selznick and many other stars of the film, including Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland; Clark Gable had died the previous year . For its 1967 re-release, it was blown up to 70mm, and issued with updated poster artwork featuring Gable--with his white shirt ripped open--holding Leigh against a backdrop of orange flames . There were further re-releases in 1971, 1974 and 1989; for the fiftieth anniversary reissue in 1989, it was given a complete audio and video restoration . It was released theatrically one more time in the United States, in 1998 . In 2013, a 4K digital restoration was released in the United Kingdom to coincide with Vivien Leigh's centenary . In 2014, special screenings were scheduled over a two - day period at theaters across the United States to coincide with the film's 75th anniversary . </P> <P> The film received its world television premiere on the HBO cable network on June 11, 1976, and played on the channel for a total of fourteen times throughout the rest of the month . It made its network television debut in November later that year: NBC paid $5 million for a one - off airing, and it was broadcast in two parts on successive evenings . It became at that time the highest - rated television program ever presented on a single network, watched by 47.5 percent of the households sampled in America, and 65 percent of television viewers, still the record for the highest rated film to ever air on television . In 1978, CBS signed a deal worth $35 million to broadcast the film twenty times over as many years . Turner Entertainment acquired the MGM film library in 1986, but the deal did not include the television rights to Gone with the Wind, which were still held by CBS . A deal was struck in which the rights were returned to Turner Entertainment and CBS's broadcast rights to The Wizard of Oz were extended . It was used to launch two cable channels owned by Turner Broadcasting System: Turner Network Television (1988) and Turner Classic Movies (1994). It debuted on videocassette in March 1985, where it placed second in the sales charts, and has since been released on DVD and Blu - ray Disc formats . </P> <P> Upon its release, consumer magazines and newspapers generally gave Gone with the Wind excellent reviews; however, while its production values, technical achievements, and scale of ambition were universally recognized, some reviewers of the time found the film to be too long and dramatically unconvincing . Frank S. Nugent for The New York Times best summed up the general sentiment by acknowledging that while it was the most ambitious film production made up to that point, it probably was not the greatest film ever made, but he nevertheless found it to be an "interesting story beautifully told". Franz Hoellering of The Nation was of the same opinion: "The result is a film which is a major event in the history of the industry but only a minor achievement in motion - picture art . There are moments when the two categories meet on good terms, but the long stretches between are filled with mere spectacular efficiency ." </P>

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