Gettysburg
The fiercest battle fought on American soil comes to the screen in a stunning production that painstakingly re-creates the events of three fateful days in July 1863. Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen and Richard Jordan play key roles in this magnificent epic (based on Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning), which was filmed at actual battle locations and rigorously authenticated -- right down to the boots.
Member Reviews
Long, But Worth The Effort Of Watching - revsdd
This interesting take on the Battle of Gettysburg is marred by its excessive length of well over four hours. I actually timed one point when a full six minutes went by showing nothing but troops marching. This was absolutely tedious! Length aside, we all know that the North won, and students of the Civil War know most of the military manoeuvres used, as well as the fates of the major combatants. So, it was up to director Ronald F. Maxwell and the various actors to give us a unique spin to hold our attention. For the most part, they were successful.
Martin Sheen's portrayal of General Robert E. Lee was intriguing. Lee came across as a man of vision and courage, and yet also very human. The debates between Lee and General James Longstreet were realistic, and the fact that Longstreet was proved for the most part to be right demonstrate that Lee - while a great General - was subject to human failings. Sheen portrays a Lee coming to terms with his hero status among his troops, but also subtly uncomfortable with it. Also interesting were the repeated reflections on the pre-war relationship between Union general Winfield Hancock and Confederate General Lewis Armistead. Good friends before the war, they now find themselves on opposite sides of this battle. Tears well up in both as they speak to fellow officers about the relationship - a believable portrayal of how many Americans must have felt in this conflict which divided friends and families. Most interesting of all, though, was the portrayal of General Joshua Chamberlain, the colonel of the 20th Maine Infantry. Hardly a classic soldier (he was a university professor of English and Religion back in Maine) Chamberlain displays a solid grasp of tactics, and comes across as the great Northern hero in this account of Gettysburg.
Although this is long, it's worth hanging in to get a very realistic and largely historically accurate picture of perhaps the greatest battle of the US Civil War.Stiff dramatically, but with great battlefield scenes - Superdave
Excellent, historically accurate to the last waistcoat button re-creations of the assault on Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge make up the middle and last third of the film respectively, and these are the highlights of this sprawling four hour epic by far.
An all-star cast is featured with Martin Sheen headlining as Robert E. Lee, but the real standouts are Jeff Daniels as Col. Chamberlain and Tom Berenger as Gen. James Longstreet as two ordinary seeming men thrust into an extraordinary situation and trying to provide leadership for frightened men headed likely to their deaths. Most of the character drama of the film however is stiff and ponderous with everybody pontificating at each other much of the time and aiming for doom-laden significance with every syllable. Director Ronald Maxwell never could direct actors very well, a deficiency that continued into this movie's later prequel 'Gods and Generals'.
The thing Maxwell does best is staging period battle recreations; the location cinematography is excellent and this pulls the viewer back into the moment very quickly any time the action starts up, however much the stagy theatrics might have earlier distracted.
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Long, But Worth The Effort Of Watching - revsdd
This interesting take on the Battle of Gettysburg is marred by its excessive length of well over four hours. I actually timed one point when a full six minutes went by showing nothing but troops marching. This was absolutely tedious! Length aside, we all ...Stiff dramatically, but with great battlefield scenes - Superdave
Excellent, historically accurate to the last waistcoat button re-creations of the assault on Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge make up the middle and last third of the film respectively, and these are the highlights of this sprawling four hour epic by ...