'Gone With the Wind' is back on HBO Max with a video disclaimer warning the film 'denies the horrors of slavery'

• 1939's "Gone With the Wind" has returned to HBO Max with a video disclaimer addressing its depictions of slavery.
• The film was pulled from the streaming service earlier in June.
• Turner Classic Movies' host and film scholar Jacqueline Stewart introduces the film, explaining why it should be viewed in its original format and discussed.
• "The film's treatment of this world through a lens of nostalgia denies the horrors of slavery as well as its legacies of racial inequality," said Stewart.
• HBO Max previously told Variety that altering the film on the service "would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed."

After pulling the film earlier this month, "Gone With the Wind" is back on HBO Max with an over four-minute video disclaimer warning viewers of its depictions of slavery.

"Producer David O. Selznick was well aware of that Black audiences were deeply concerned about the film's handling of the topic of slavery and its treatment of Black characters," said Turner Classic Movies' host and film scholar Jacqueline Stewart.

"Before shooting began, he assured the NAACP that he was 'sensitive to the feelings of minority peoples,'" she continued. "Despite Selznick's assurances, the film follows the lead of Mitchell's novel, presenting the antebellum South as a world of grace and beauty without acknowledging the brutalities of the system of child slavery upon which this world is based."

"The film represents enslaved Black people in accordance with longstanding stereotypes, as servants, notable for their devotion to their white masters or for their ineptitude," said Stewart. "And the film's treatment of this world through a lens of nostalgia denies the horrors of slavery as well as its legacies of racial inequality."

The 1939 movie follows Scarlett O'Hara's (Vivien Leigh) romance with Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) during the American Civil War.

Hattie McDaniel won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as the slave, Mammy. As Stewart noted in the film's opening, McDaniel wasn't permitted to sit with the rest at the Academy Awards.

"When Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to receive an Oscar for her powerhouse performance as Mammy, she was not permitted to sit with the rest of the cast in the "white's only" Coconut Grove club, but instead at a small table at the edge of the room," said Stewart.

The three-hour and 41-minute film is presented on HBO Max unaltered.

Previously, HBO Max told Variety that doing otherwise "would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed."

"Watching 'Gone With the Wind' can be uncomfortable, even painful," said Stewart. "Still, it is important that classic Hollywood films are available to us in their original form for viewing and discussing. They reflect the social context in which they were made and invite viewers to reflect on their own values and beliefs when watching them now."

Below is Stewart's introduction in full:

You are about to see one of the most enduringly popular films of all time, 'Gone With the Wind,' the best picture Oscar winner of 1939. The film won eight of the 13 Academy Awards for which it was nominated as well as an honorary award for its use of color. And when adjusted for inflation, it stands as the highest-grossing film of all time.

'Gone With the Wind' was the highly-anticipated adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel about the last days of the old South. It follows 12 years in the life of Scarlett O'Hara, a strong-willed Southern belle, who's determined to survive the Civil War and restore her family's home in Georgia to what it was before the war began.

The making of the film was nearly as dramatic as the movie itself. Multiple screenwriters worked to adapt Mitchell's novel and three directors worked on the picture: George Cukor, Sam Wood, and Victor Fleming, who received credit and the Oscar for best director. The film's highly publicized casting process increased the public's anticipation.

An estimated 300,000 people filled the streets of Georgia for the film's premiere. But "Gone With the Wind" was not universally praised. The film has been repeatedly protested, dating back to the announcement of its production. From its prologue, the film paints the picture of the antebellum South as a romantic, idyllic setting that's tragically been lost to the past.

Producer David O. Selznick was well aware of that Black audiences were deeply concerned about the film's handling of the topic of slavery and its treatment of Black characters. Before shooting began, he assured the NAACP that he was "sensitive to the feelings of minority peoples."

Despite Selznick's assurances, the film follows the lead of Mitchell's novel, presenting the antebellum South as a world of grace and beauty without acknowledging the brutalities of the system of child slavery upon which this world is based. The film represents enslaved Black people in accordance with longstanding stereotypes, as servants, notable for their devotion to their white masters or for their ineptitude.

And the film's treatment of this world through a lens of nostalgia denies the horrors of slavery as well as its legacies of racial inequality. Indeed, when the film was released, Black cast members were not permitted to attend the premiere due to Georgia's Jim Crow segregation laws.

And when Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to receive an Oscar for her powerhouse performance as Mammy, she was not permitted to sit with the rest of the cast in the "white's only" coconut grove club, but instead at a small table at the edge of the room.

Watching "Gone With the Wind" can be uncomfortable, even painful. Still, it is important that classic Hollywood films are available to us in their original form for viewing and discussing. They reflect the social context in which they were made and invite viewers to reflect on their own values and beliefs when watching them now.

These films indicate what images and stories Hollywood has deemed as acceptable, and what mainstream audiences have found to be appealing and entertaining fare. Classic films have been, and continue to be, a major influence on popular views of history. "Gone With the Wind," in particular, with its landmark production values, signature scenes, and iconic characters, has shaped the way generations of viewers worldwide have pictured slavery and the reconstruction period that followed.

The film's style, plot, and legendary status are so extravagant, in fact, that, for many viewers, its racial politics are hardly noticed. 80 years after its initial release, "Gone With the Wind" is a film of undeniable cultural significance. It is not only a major document of Hollywood's racist practices of the past, but also an enduring work of popular culture that speaks directly to the racial inequalities that persist in media and society today. Let's take a look. From 1939, here are Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Oscar Polk, Butterfly McQueen, and Hattie McDaniel in "Gone With the Wind."