I read the book as a kid a gazillion years back. Didn’t have the slightest knowledge of the historical context, or American history in general. Saw (rather tried seeing) the movie recently for the first time and stopped less than quarter its way, even after fast forwarding. It was mostly due to the sub-human portrayal of the slaves (not sure if portrayal is the right word since the writer/ director hardly seemed have any interest in them other than to use them as props). On the other hand, the parts involving only the lead characters seemed to drag on forever for their shallowness (or perhaps I lack the depth to see the depth in them). For those saying that the movie was made a long time back, 1939 is far from ancient. 1939 is when people were fighting fascism and colonialism in most parts of the world.