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As a fan of Vivien Leigh, I was hoping for a biography that would delve more into her personal life. Instead, it dragged with pages and pages dedicated to mostly her career. However, if you can breeze through the boring parts, the rest is worth it.

"Vivien" is proof positive that there can be a well-written, well-researched, realistic yet understanding biography of a messed-up star. This book could have been a sordid tangle of tabloid sensationalism, but Alexander Walker carefully crafts it into a tapestry.

Vivien Leigh was one of the most memorable actresses of the twentieth century, playing the headstrong Scarlett O'Hara. Yet Vivien was not as strong or indomitable as she appeared onscreen. The book starts with a poetic interlude during a peaceful time in her life, with several guests attending a dinner, then shifts back to her girlhood. Her first marriage fell as her fame rose, and she soon met the man she would fall in love with, her also-married costar Lawrence Olivier. But Vivien's life, despite her fame and idyllic life, was never a happy woman, her mental problems plaguing her to the end of her life.

Very few authors are able to strike a balance between admiration and reality; they'll either idolize the object of their biography, or pour vitriol on them. Walker does neither. While he acknowledges Vivien's faults, he also seems to care about her and her struggles. Nothing could more poignantly convey Vivien's pain than when she shrieked at a nurse, "I'm not Scarlett, I'm Blanche!" (Blanche being a character she played who went mad).

Vivien herself is a vivid presence from the first pages onward. Her struggles with mental illness are done with great delicacy, as is her relationship with Olivier. He himself is almost as strong a presence, even though he ultimately could not stay with her; another impressive real-life presence is Jack Merivale, the understanding younger man who remained with her until her untimely death. The scene where Merivale brings Olivier to his dead ex-wife's beside is another extremely effective anecdote.

The writing style is lush for a biography. Quite uniquely, there is also a lot of focus on Vivien's movies as well as her personal life, especially her dogged pursuit of roles that she desperately wanted to play. The pictures are well-suited for this book -- they're clear, elegant, well-laid out, relevant to the different parts of Vivien's life, and balanced well between her on-screen roles and her personal life. Walker keeps these pictures of her roles grounded by mentioning what was going on in Vivien's life while she filmed the movie.

Alexander Walker's biography of Vivien Leigh is a treasure for all of her fans. Without being sordid ior adoring, he creates a believable biography about a troubled, talented and passionate actress. Outstanding read.

Even though this actress is known to the world from her role as Scarlet O'Hara, many do not know the woman behind the role. This biography does an excellent job of giving her fans a chance to know who she was. I would recommend this to both Vivien Leigh fans and anyone who enjoys a good book. Her life even though not always a fairy tale, was very interesting and Alexander Walker hold the readers attention with ease.

The movie is great, totally worth keeping a copy of. I like the music a lot too. I would hope that a collector's edition can include a music CD instead of many extra stuff. Two DVDs of them seem unnecessary to me: they can definitely be trimmed and squeezed into half a dvd.

The timeless classic has been long overdued for a release such as this to display the magic, restoration, and behind the scenes look at the movie and personal lives of the actors/actresses. With ten Oscar wins, this film is sure a treasure and the glorious box set and features serve it companionly well.

The only downside from this box set is the long overly detailed interview with Olivia De Havailan, as I began to lose interest and nearly fall asleep entirely to the documentary on the fourth disc. However, nothing can degrade the five star rating that the rest of the collection deserves.

I just can't understand the high praise given to the movie. To the book, yes. But the movie?!? Let me start by saying that I LOVE the book version of GWTW. I've read it at least 20 times since the age of 16 (MANY years ago!).

However, the movie version does no justice to the book. Interestingly, I've learned over the years that many people who love the movie have never read the book. So maybe that's where the high praise for the movie comes from.

And now, I'll commit the worst heresy. Clark Gable is just AWFUL as Rhett Butler!! Yes, he does look like him, but the resemblance ends there. I'm wondering if he was brought in for "box office draw." Gable does not even begin to capture the character of Rhett. First, Gable refused to play the part of Rhett with a Southern accent. How arrogant! This was a character born and raised in the deep South, who emphasized his drawl when angry. Also, Clark Gable is one-dimensional in the movie. The only part of Rhett Butler's character that he manages to successfully play is the mocking, sarcastic part. However, he plays Rhett's character completely in this mode. Much of Rhett's character is very subtle; shown only in a glance or an expression. Gable either does not understand this, or chooses to ignore it.

Vivien Leigh is much better. She puts a great deal of effort into her part. The other parts that are left in the movie (and many are deleted) are fairly well acted.

My advice? Skip the movie, and go directly to the book.