Rating: 
Summary: One of the best movies I have ever experianced.
Review: The film has great cinematography, music and acting. The movie is historically accurate and was an absolute pleasure to experiance. Even though the film was long I did not notice since I was enthralled the whole time. This film will eventually become one of the classics. This is one you don't want to miss for your collection of epic films.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Historical Drama!
Review: Let me start off by saying that I am a non-reigious person and I love this movie. If you are into historical movies, movies that are intelligent, and portray persons acting heroically, then this movie is the one to watch over and over again. The acting is great, Stephen Lang's portrayal of Stonewall Jackson is magnificient, and this movie portrays the many viewpoints and causes of the civil war. It does not demonize the different sides like other movies that only portray one side. Plus it is filled with emotional scenes that bring tears to your eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Best Ever Historical Drama
Review: Not pro-war, not pro-North, not pro-South, this one is pro historical accuracy as it follows people from all walks of life as they laugh and cry, live and die, just trying to make it in a world falling apart around them.. If you don't feel tears welling up sometime in this movie, check your pulse. Yes, these were real people and yes, they really acted and dressed and talked like that. But guess what? They were human, too and their humanity is what makes this movie so marvelous!!
Rating:
Summary: Not a movie for the Adam Sandler crowd
Review: I am always intrigued, or should I say "frustrated" with the Establishment's process for reviewing movies. Granted this is a long movie filled with historical detail and dialogue quite similar to that of countless letters filling the attics of Civil War descendants. Instead of acknowledging this to viewers, it seems that some in the movie reviewing community prefer to simply mock this movie as "epic-length" and filled with "silly dialogue". While I am hesitant to be so blunt, I'm afraid that some of this criticism comes simply from either the inability to recognize such historical accuracy or simply a short attention span. This is NOT a movie for the person wanting to view yet another example of Hollywood's "movie-in-a-box" formula that countless "blockbusters" seem to follow these days. You will not see a man and woman argue, somehow fall in love, find their love challenged in some way, and then discover a quick resolution. No, the only formula here is one that carefully studied a broad sample of both Northern and Southern lives and compiled them into a story that follows Jeff Shaara's novel somewhat, though not completely. I found it refreshing, not offensive, to see religion used in a movie in a non-derogatory way. It is a simple fact that Thomas Stonewall Jackson was an incredibly devout man-- a fact substantiated in many letters. To ponder his convictions against his brutal demeanor on the battlefield in fascinating. Stephen Lang in this role is simply amazing. He personifies Jackson. I also find the sanctimonious criticism of how slavery is handled in the movie quite ironic. Gone With the Wind's most memorable characters are slaves who are "part of the family", so to speak, who struggle with both fear and excitement at the notion of freedom. Because Gods and Generals portrays two different slaves who show affection to the families of their owners, the movie is called "racist". What is ignored are the direct statements these slaves make expressing their desire to have the same freedom for their own families that they are witnessing in their owners' families. It required little critical thinking on my part to see the character development that some of the reviewers failed to see. I think that our culture has become so quick to point out racial oppression that those with shorter attention spans are unable to follow a less-than-mainstream movie's journey to a quite satisfying conclusion. So yes, if you're looking to pass a Sunday afternoon by watching the latest Hollywood mindless formula, you probably won't want to purchase Gods and Generals. If you desire to make a truly positive, mind provoking (not mind-insulting) addition to your movie collection, especially a war collection, Gods and Generals is a must.
Rating:
Summary: Best Civil War Combat Ever!!
Review: This movie without a doubt is going to be the all-time classic Civil War motion picture. People will refer to this movie over and over, as the centerpiece epic in American military film history. The picture tells the story of the first several years of the epic struggle in our past, that tore the United States apart. Do yourself a favor and go buy this movie, you won't be dissapointed in the least. You'll like it whether a Civil War buff, or a fan of one of the actors. It is a great movie!! It starts with Robert E. Lee turning down the command of the US forces, before the start of major military action in the Eastern Theater and proceeds through the battles of First Manassas, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. The battle scenes are awesome!! The human interest stories are there too, with the drama a war torn nation, the life in the ranks of the army privates and officers in both the Northern and Southern armies comes alive. Plus the love of a husband and wife and the strength and religion that compelled many to fight for their personal beliefs in this war. It shows how religious and dedicated these Generals could be to family and children and how on the other hand they had a ruthless, undeniable fervor for defeated and routing their enemies. Real life characters like R.E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Winfred Scott Hancock come to life by, famous, seasoned, well-respected actors, who did a great job. The make-up and period costumes are first rate and the many reenactors, who made up a large portion of this picture, and without them they could'nt have made this movie, are incredible also. From the music by Mary Fahl in the beginning to the death of Stonewall Jackson played by Stephen Lang, the director Ron Maxwell has create all-time unbeatable Civil War epic! Move over North and South, Glory, Red Badge of Courage, Shenandoah, The Blue and Gray, The Horse Soldiers and yes Gettysburg too.....Gods and Generals is has taken it's place as the best Civil War movie EVER!!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This was a great movie and can't wait till the DVD comes out. It is about time that history is told more correctly. Religion was a big part in people lives in the 1860's, and this is demonstrated in the movie. The actors did a good job of portraying the way people talked and mannerism. Also beards were in style and this is portrayed as well. It is a long movie but interesting. The movie tells a side of history that people want to deny and and also it cuts out modern thinking, language and ideals unlike so many movies of today. After all it was the 1860's.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST CIVIL WAR FILM EVER MADE
Review: Perhaps The Best Civil War Film Ever Made
"Gods and Generals" should be on the "must-see" list of all fans of great movie-making. This historical epic is the second installment in what well could be director Ron Maxwell's supreme life's work -- bringing Jeff and Michael Sharra's novel trilogy of the American Civil War to dramatic and unforgettable life. It is perhaps the best film ever made about that conflict. This film is worth every minute. Joshua Chamberlain is portrayed by Jeff Daniels (who played the same role in "Gettysburg" and returned for this prequel). He is drawn as a noble northern officer whose reflections on the Emancipation Proclamation (in the new film) reflect accurately a steady shift in the war's stated purpose -- away from preservation of the union into a crusade against the ancient institution of human slavery. The two films contain enough hints about Chamberlain's character and certainty of purpose that his remarkable post-war career (as an educator at Bowdoin College and one of the most successful politicians in Maine's history) is understandable. The new film gives a balanced and faithful (to the novel and to history) treatment of Thomas Jackson (portrayed by Stephen Lang), the professor at Virginia Military Institute who, as Robert E. Lee's strategist, worked his way onto the lists of the world's greatest commanders. (Lee is portrayed subtly by Robert Duvall.) Again and again, in 1861 and 1862, this man of absolute faith and confidence led the heavily-outnumbered Confederate Army of Virginia to victories over the Union. The North simply had no one to match wits with Jackson, who earned the nickname "Stonewall" for leading his brigade's heroic stand in the first Battle of Bull Run. Maxwell's framing and use of characters are beautiful. Many things about "Gods and Generals" are distinctive. Perhaps the most notable is the explicit portrayal of the touchstone of Christian faith that illuminated the lives of warriors and observers on both sides of the conflict. Women play a much larger role in this film than in "Gettysburg." Mira Sorvino's portrayal as Chamberlain's wife is luminescent. Jackson's wife, Anna, is played with sensual emotion and believability by Kali Rocha. The love and fidelity of both couples is central to the story of this film. The desire and care at the heart of each relationship seems so authentic, so faithfully rendered, that it becomes, in the viewing, remarkable and mysterious. The passionate bonds of marital love portrayed here are an extension of the love the characters themselves feel for God. Similarly, excellent black performers appear in notable supporting roles in this film (that was not the case in the middle segment of the anticipated trilogy). Particularly notable is Frankie Faison's rendering of Jackson's servant and cook, Jim Lewis, who conveys the awkwardness and complexity of that era's black-white relations in even the most cordial circumstances. In another scene, as a young soldier lies dying in a home shattered after the Siege of Fredericksburg, Martha, a slave portrayed by Donzaleigh Abernathy, tearfully discusses the war's course and purpose with a heart-broken General Winfield Scott Hancock, portrayed (as in "Gettysburg") by Brian Mallon. These utterly believable moments further humanize this most human of conflicts. Jackson's victory at Chancellorsville is rendered with integrity. Maxwell conveys memorably the heroic long march of Jackson's soldiers before a bold attack. He captures the utter surprise of Union forces -- and the late, desperate stands that prevent complete collapse of the North's cause. This, rather than the South's victory under favorable conditions at Fredericksburg, is probably the emotional high point of the film -- as was the collapse of Pickett's charge in "Gettysburg" (where a different-looking Lang gave a sympathetic reading to the unfortunate division commander). The depiction of Jackson's demise is unforgettable -- including Lang's delivery of some of the most memorable last words in human history. "Gods and Generals" is an authentic retelling of key moments in the first two years of the Civil War. It can help today's audience understand why honorable men who worshipped the same Creator and who lived on the same continent could come to such a horrible and bloody crossroads of division.
Rating:
Summary: It could have been better, but I liked it!
Review: Minuses: 1-Poor graphic effects with the cannon fire and columns marching at Marye's Heights. 2- Actors aged their 10 years after Gettysburg, waited too long to film. 3-Music not as good as expected. Dylan's last song was ruined...it could have been sung better by others I believe. Pluses: 1- Correct rendering of Christianity within both sides. Despite detractors, reading period articles verifies this. 2- Excellent location choices. 3- Bringing back Jeff Daniels. Too bad Berenger couldn't be there too. 4- Duvall as Lee; great to have an actual direct descendant of Lee's play the part! 5-Installment of slavery as wrong in key areas. Possibly not enough of that shown, but the point got over. 6- Verifications of state's rights as a major player. Think about it...600,000 Southerners fought; 11,000 of them plus or minus were actual slaveholders. Regardless of your stance on slavery, do you really think 589,000 people would want to die for the wealthiest 11,000??? Sure, it was about slavery, but it was state's rights too. This movie pushed that idea. They will get in trouble for it, but that's the way it goes these days.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible Insight Into The Virginians' Tenacity
Review: I love to be thoroughly transported back into a different time and a different culture, to gain new insights and even to have old "knowledge" challenged while feeling relatively assured that I am not being victimized by historical fraud. In these regards, Gods and Generals was a wonderful movie experience. Gods and Generals primarily portrays the way the Virginians saw the conflict and why they fought so hard and long, in a way that prolonged the war and led to awful losses of life and limb. Without Lee and Jackson (and all the Virginians who loyally fought for them) the Confederacy arguably would not have lasted a fraction as long and the war would have been far less bloody. This movie reminds that the Confederacy easily could have been denied Virginia's participation and that Lee -- and perhaps Jackson -- could have fought for the Union. Gods and Generals suggests miscalculations on Lincoln's part that raised the spectre of invasion and changed Virginia's vote against secession to a new tally in favor. Exploring timeless themes of a people's mystical ties to land and culture and abhorrence of any semblance of invasion, Gods and Generals provides an empathy for the fierce-fighting Virginians, if not full respect. Because the movie covers the first half of the war in the East, it is one of the few Civil War movies that could be made in which the South is actually victorious. Nonetheless, for all its focus on the Confederate Virginians, the moral center of the movie clearly lies in the characters of Maine's professor-soldier Joshua Chamberlain and a Fredericksburg, Virginia slave who deliver the same judgment: For all their passionate defense of their own liberty, the white Virginians were mostly blind to the same innate desire for liberty among the enslaved black Virginians who in many ways shared a similar love for the land and even the culture. Viewers of the DVD will have a much better experience than those who saw Gods and Generals in the theatres because they will be able to stop, rewind and to view again and again. I saw the movie three times and found that during each viewing rich new insights were revealed. One of the chief weaknesses of the movie is that it is just too packed with historical detail, poetry and universal themes to be fully enjoyed in the first viewing. In that way it is more like a book that needs to be savored.
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for The Last Full Measure
Review: I saw this epic the day it was released & went to it again a few weeks ago. LOVED it!! The scenery, the acting, the script..all great. I'm a big history buff & demand authenticity, this movie has it. Stephan Lang deserves an Oscar.
A great great movie!!
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