Gettysburg

Rating:
Summary: Oh YES!
Review: As a Brit, it may seam unusual to have an interest in Civil War history, but having read Killer Angels, I just had to get the DVD. Fortunately I have a multi region player, and was not dissapointed. The film sticks faithfully to the book's focus on charactres rather than the bloodshed & violence, and thus is extremely moving. Richard Jordan's pain during his final meeting with Longstreet is almost unbearable, and worth the purchase price for that alone. I would recommend this film to anybody, and would tell them not to be put off by the length...you do not notice it as you are utterly engrosed. One of THE best films.

Rating:
Summary: Gettysburg-the Movie
Review: I highly recommend this movie. It is one time when the movie is better than the book. Very action packed and puts you into the battle. My favorite part was at the Battle of Picketts Charge. There is a stirring speech that brings tears to your eyes. I do not want to get into details because I do not want to ruin the movie for others by telling them about it. Mr. Sheen portrays General Lee as if he were actually him. Also you will not believe that the actor that plays Chamberlain is comedy actor Jeff Daniels from such movies as Dumb and Dumber! He is excellent at General Chamberlain. See this movie before visiting the battlefield and it will give you a greater appreciation for what happened there. Also I recommend this movie to homeschool familes and teachers in the public school system as a preview to teaching the Civil War (High school age for battlefield violence). Both sides are evenly depicted so that both are represented as they should be without prejudice toward the north or the south.

Rating:
Summary: Best Civil War DVD
Review: Gettysburg captures the drama of the Civil War better than anything I have yet seen. The special features on the DVD raise it to another Level. This movie is a must see for all Civil War enthusiasts

Rating:
Summary: A much-underrated movie (edited!)
Review: (I am editing this review to correct some mistakes and add more insights)

1993. What do you think of? The Fugitive? The Three Musketeers? Jurassic Park?
Or how about a film that was so unsuccessful in the box-office that it was never even released in my country, Australia?
I discovered this film while reading a book on war films. I hired the video - and the film became a part of my childhood.

The story is based on the Pulitzer prize winning novel "The Killer Angels," by Michael Shaara. The plot is a dramatisation of the greatest battle in American history: the Battle of Gettysburg.
In three days, more men were killed than in the entire Vietnam War. And while hippies and sit-ins were awaiting a more psychedelic generation, history was made in the fields of Pennsylvania. The battle is so suited to drama - sheer, epic, powerful drama - that I initially took the film to be mainly fictional. But no! Barely a shred of fiction will you find in this film. It is highly authentic - yet so dramatic.

The theme of this film is the clash of two equally understandable ideologies. This makes the film highly dramatic at a level above what one would normally expect from a war film.
We feel for both sides. We in fact feel torn, just as the Americans were torn. Which ideology to sympathise with? Which one to curse? We flip flop from North to South to North again. States rights or emancipation? Romantic South or machine-age North? Aristocracy or equality?

I am an Australian, by the way. Perhaps only an outsider can see this film with perfect clarity. An Australian is no fonder of the North than the South. And so the conflict between the two ideologies reenacts the conflict of the original event.

The battle-scenes not perfect - well below the quality of Glory, for example - but the huge number (3500) of reenactors help, because they look absolutely authentic. If sometimes a little overweight...
The DVD: This disc is not perfect either. In the original version of this review I thought the disc was non-anamorphic. I was wrong, it is enhanced anamorphic. So in fact, I am downgrading my opinion of this transfer. It is not perfect; a little dull and soft. The detail is not razor-clear, and sometimes the colours bleed, especially Colonel Fremantle's red coat, which looks literally fluorescent. Ouch!
However, overall, it is a watchable image, stable and clean.
The extras on this DVD are formidable. My favourite is the commentary which is given by various people, including famous historian James McPherson. There is a documentary on the making of the film, which includes nice interviews with Shelby Foote, the grey-bearded Southerner in Ken Burns' "Civil War" - and in fact, even features Ken Burns himself!
There are also battlefield maps, taken from a book, with a full and fascinating commentary over the top.
Overall, this is a DVD definitely worth buying for fans of history. The film itself is marvellous; and the DVD is very good, though not perfect.

Rating:
Summary: The Civil War Masterpiece
Review: We all "know" what happened here, but in reality we have no idea. This is by far the best movie about the Civil War you may ever see. Tremendously well plotted, portrayed brilliantly in the real life scenarios their characters faced, and acted out superbly, this is one great movie. The four hours you spend watching it goes by instanteously, and at the end you will be asking for more. If you ever get to see the director's cut, shown now and then on TNT and TBS, you will like the movie even more (yes they cut out good stuff for the theatre/DVD/VHS release). The story is amazing, it is a must have for your collection for any movie fan.

Rating:
Summary: Gives you the feeling that there is more to life
Review: Gettysburg provides Americans a view of what Civil War troops faced in battle. I show this film to every class I teach. Students love it. It helps show the debt that has been paid for our freedom today.

Rating:
Summary: Epic Sweep, a Cast of Thousands, and Some Great Acting
Review: If for no other reason than his production of GETTYSBURG, Ted Turner deserves to be remembered with thanks by generations of filmgoers to come -- long after everyone has forgotten the flap over colorization.

When you think about it, the idea was a natural. Bring together some talented Hollywood actors, a very competent director, and join them with thousands of Civil War re-enactors -- those hardy hobbyists who live to commemorate the War Between the States. No other war film can boast thousands of authentically dressed extras for the many battle scenes. The result is an epic sweep which really gives one an idea what a tragedy the death of 55,000 brave Americans looked and felt like.

Because Civil War re-enactors tend to be over 40 and a bit generous of girth, the soldiers may not have looked quite like the gaunt figures captured by the cameras of Matthew Brady. No matter: They more than made up for it in enthusiasm.

For the sake of simplicity, we see three parts of the battle. First Union Cavalry General Buford (ably played by Sam Elliott) takes possession of the town of Gettysburg and its adjacent high ground and keeps the battle hot until the infantry arrives. On the second day is the brilliant defense of Little Round Top by Col Chamberlain (played by Jeff Daniels) and his 20th Maine Regiment at the far left of the 20-mile-long Union Line. The climax comes with Pickett's Charge on the third day against the center of the Union Line.

We see the action primarily from the point of view of the South. While the commander of the Union forces, General Meade (Richard Anderson), appears in only one short scene, there are numerous meetings between General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger) and Robert E Lee (a superb performance by Martin Sheen). We get to meet and know Pickett (Stephen Lang), Lewis Armistead (Richard Jordan), and several other members of the Confederate General Staff. On the Northern side, there are all too few scenes with Winfield Scott Hancock, the general who takes the full brunt of Pickett's charge.

Since I saw the premiere of this film on TNT in 1993, I have come back to it again and again; and I am particularly happy to have obtained the DVD recently. If you like the Civil War, if you like history, if you like war films, if you like GREAT films, you too will come back for more.

Rating:
Summary: a must-see
Review: An outstanding movie - gripping, subtle, and engaging. Yes, parts of it seem somewhat romanticized for film (Chamberlain's speeches, various wistful glances) but even those are probably not too far from possible truth. One thing which continually stirrs up controversy, apparently, is Sheen's depiction of Lee. I thought it was sensitive, compelling, and possibly quite accurate. Senile? I don't think so. Careless and/or irresponsible? Nope. It is true that his actions in that campaign stirred up his own commanders (who debated it years after the war and Lee's death). I still get chills watching Sheen in this role. Lee's evident sincerity, commitment, and absolute dedication are all apparent. Someone commented that "it's amazing his men didn't shoot him", or something like that... I think this is a remarkably myopic thing to write... remember - this was just one campaign in a long war, and Lee had won many victories prior (and after).

Rating:
Summary: Today's post-9/11 world could take a few lessons from this.
Review: What??? You're asking yourself, "What?" How could a film about the climatic battle of the American Civil War have any relevance on today's post-9/11 world? Well, it's in the dialogue, not the "action". Let me explain. Go to Chapter 20 and listen to the dialogue between the Confederate General Kemper, (I think) and the British officer. The dialogue talks about how that in a democracy, the government derives its power from the consent of the people. However as the South's major gripe is that it doesn't consent with the laws of the Federal government, so that is what it bases its griefance to secede from the Union in favor of strong State governments. Sound familiar? That's what today we call "Europe". Instead of a united union as the European Union is trying to accomplish, there's still international animosity over there. Just think of the power the "Union of European States" could accomplish if they banded together.

But anyway, how does that tie into 9/11, well it doesn't directly, but in a round about way it does. It ties in to that a united union as the United States is today, due to the victory of the North in the Civil War, is as strong as ever in time of crisis. Hence the ol' quote, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall."

Now, enough about politics. Let's talk about the film itself and the DVD. First of all, the film itself is the definitive period piece of the battle of Gettysburg. No other film to date has captured the essense of those three glorious and gory days in July 1863. For one it uses actual Civil War re-enactors for all of the common foot soldiers. Not only that but it was all filmed on location in Gettysburg National Park. By using actual re-enactors, they already had their equipment and most importantly their heart into making this film. Mostly because they filmed it on the hallowed ground that is Gettysburg.

Now for the DVD itself. The picture transfer is excellent. In 16x9 enhanced mode it is extremely sharp and detailed. I find [the] rating of 3.5 a bit low. I'd say it's more like a 4.5. The only thing keeping it from a 5 is that the colors are a bit on the "cool" side. Meaning that the ultra-violet comes through a bit more than it should. (My TV has a color temp control and a setting to Warm makes them look a little more natural.)

The sound is actually quite good as well. Much clearer than my old VHS copy. It's recorded in a 5.0 Surround, so no .1 LFE. But the bass still comes through quite nicely on the cannon shots and in Randy Edelman's score.

Now for the extras, are not bad, but not all that great either. You get a vintage documentary that covers the actual battlefield and whatnot. Then you get a few short clips of cast and crew interviews. A few trailers and TV spots. Actually a relatively short narrated overview of some archived maps of the battle is quite informative. But apparently the running comentary is supposed to be really informative, but I have't got the time to watch a 4 hour movie with the commentary on.

Well so if you want a long lasting version of this 1993 Turner Entertainment film of Gettysburg, be sure to grab this DVD. ...

Rating:
Summary: Old Virginia
Review: This movies is my all-time favorite for the war genre. It was well worth the $20 million price tag for Turner Pictures. Gettysburg is the classic war saga minus the romance along the lines of Gone With The Wind. The performances of all the actors are splendid. My personal favorites are the performances given by Tom Berenger as Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, Richard Jordan as Gen. Lewis Armistead, Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua Chamberlain, Sam Elliott as Brig. Gen. John Buford, and of course Stephen Lang as Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett. The performance by Jordan was to be his last as he became ill with a brain tumor and died 9 months after the filming of Gettysburg. He is caught between love and war with his long-time friend Maj. Gen Winfield Hancock (Brian Mallon) on the opposing Union side. Armistead suffers considerable agony which is obvious to even the casual viewer especially when the director Ronald F. Maxwell spends considerable time on Armistead trying to bait Lt Gen Longstreet (Tom Berenger) into relieving Armistead of the upcoming battle. Jeff Daniels was a very big suprise for me. I picture Daniels in the toilet scene from Dumb and Dumber and would not have cast him myself in this epic, but that just shows the genius behind casting director Joy Todd. Sam Elliot's role as Buford can be summed up in the following quote "Meade will come in slowly, cautiously, new to command... And then, after Lee's army is entrenched behind nice fat rocks, Meade will attack finally, if he can coordinate the army. He'll attack right up that rocky slope, and up that gorgeous field of fire. And we will charge valiantly, and be butchered valiantly. And afterwards men in tall hats and gold watch fobs will thump their chest and say what a brave charge it was. Devin, I've led a soldier's life, and I've never seen anything as brutally clear as this"...wonderful! Alot of love was given to the filming of this movie. 5,000 non-paid re-enactors were hired to play the roles of the thousands of anonymous faces. Even Ted Turner himself picked up the musket and was among the ones counted during Pickett's charge. He can be seen, but only for a nano-second. I can write forever on this films' qualities but to finish it up, the accuracy in this film is phenomenal. The greatest example of this is how Ronald F.Maxwell uses actual quotes recorded by soldiers from that famous battle. Gen. Pickett: "Up men, up! And let no man forget today that you are from old Virginia!" Gen. Armistead: "Virginians! Virginians! For your land - for your homes - for your sweethearts - for your wives - for Virginia! Forward... march!"