Gettysburg

Rating:
Summary: A Sadly Flawed DVD
Review: Having thoroughly enjoyed Gettysburg in the theater and on VHS, I excitedly preordered it on DVD when it became available. After watching the DVD version I am extremely disappointed in the formatting. Such a superb visual production should demand an anomorphic letterbox format that would give the viewer the whole picture. This DVD doesn't - it merely gives one a cheap TV-style format. What a waste of a great movie! I still love the movie itself but this decision by the DVD's maufacturer is a major mistake.

Rating:
Summary: Gettysburg
Review: After wearing out 2 VHS copies of Gettysburg, this DVD is a joy. Despite the fact that it is Digital 5.0 (no LFE channel), the sound field is good. The widescreen image is very good with only a few digital artifacts. While the film, like the book, touches mainly on the high points of the battle, those points are depicted fairly accurately. While 19th century warfare is difficult to imagine let alone depict, the film does an excellent job of showing the confusion and carnage without a lot of gore. Its very difficult to watch the 20th Maine stand on Little Round Top and not get goosebumps. The acting in this film is outstanding, the actors all seem to realize the power of the material they are given and Gettysburg has the ability to suspend time and draw the viewer into the film. One thing I love is that many scenes are put together like Mort Kunstler paintings giving the movie a classic look and feel. I do miss the Low Frequency Effects channel (and thus only giving 4 stars) Without it, Alexanders cannonade of the Union center is very good. With it, the cannonade would have been awesome and guaranteed complaints from the neighbors. Any Civil War buff should love this film and anyone who likes high drama, fine acting and dramatic visuals will love Gettysburg

Rating:
Summary: Great film, yet mediocre DVD...
Review: Let me get this out first: I'm thankful "Gettysburg" has finally made its way onto DVD. Still the awe-inspiring film that I remember, the digital and audio transfer seems to be even better than the laser disc version. But the features could have been so much more....and that is a lingering issue for me.

My main problem is the commentary: Ron Maxwell and his director of photography Kees Van Oostrum take a big back seat to two (that's right, two) distinguished historians. I'm sorry, but whoever's going to purchase this DVD is probably not going to need cliff notes from two history tutors on why the Civil War was fought and what General So-and-So's motives were. If I wanted that, I would read a book (and Mr. MacPherson is kind enough to suggest his own work at one point). I was genuinely looking forward to hearing what Maxwell and Van Oostrum would have to say about various sequences and dialogues. Unfortunately, the producers of the DVD have opted to delagate most of the talking time to our scholars (it seems the four gentlemen featured on the commentary track were recorded at seperate times). I just don't get how this opportunity was fumbled.

But enough whining. The theatrical trailers and TV spots were fun, and I especially enjoyed the "on location" feature. The two documentaries are also true bonuses. As for the maps and interview galleries? Perhaps an isolated score and some of the deleted scenes from the laser disc would have been vastly more appreciated. It probably would sold more copies, too. Come to think of it, if there was EVER a DVD to deserve an isolated score and deleted scene feature, this would have been it. But alas, what's done is done...still a terrific film.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Good
Review: This was a surprisingly enjoyable film. Most films about historic events of some importance in a nations past tend to lay on the saccharine by the bucket load. Further there is often a tendency to make films on the basis that most of the audience is brain dead and every simple element has to be explained. The makers of Gettysburg don't fall into these traps and are happy to let the narrative bubble along and tell us what happened.

The battle is generally seen as a significant event in the history of the United States. General Lee had won a series of remarkable victories against a number of timid union generals. At every turn Lee had generally been outnumbered and out gunned. He hoped that by defeating Meade he could negotiate and peace which would allow the South to remain independent and to continue the slave system.

This however was not to be and over the three day of the battle Lee and his subordinates made a series of mistakes which allowed Meade to hand on and emerge victorious. As a result the battle is seen as the high tide of the fortunes of the Confederacy. From then on the victories vanished and defeat followed defeat.

In America the soldiers of both sides have always been admired. Lee seemed to be a decent gentlemanly type of man even if he was fighting for a cause which we could now hardly understand. The union was fighting for values which were timeless. One of the strengths of the film is that those American viewers from the South can cheer at the bravery and courage of their side and the Northern viewers can cheer at the philosophical speeches made by their side.

The actors in the film look like the originals. Martin Sheen is the perfect Lee a quietly spoken gentleman who is shattered at the failure of Pickets charge. Longstreet, Picket and the others all fit into their parts.

The film goes for four hours but it seems shorter than that. Well worth a watch.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding piece of historical filmmaking
Review: "Gettysburg" is one of the more ambitious film projects in recent memory; it tries very hard to be historically accurate and make that history entertaining.

Unforunately, "Gettysburg" fails on the second count, but the events and ideas in this film are so compelling that you can't help but be swept up in it.

Think of this film as the best history lecture you'll ever attend and you'll get the idea; like a lecture, "Gettysburg" is chock full of facts, and like the best lectures, it's absolutely compelling. But you don't expect a lecture to have real emotional punch, and except for isolated moments, "Gettysburg" doesn't either.

The star of this film is the history of the battle itself, which is re-created on the actual battlefields of Gettysburg by thousands of Civil War re-enactors. We learn about the strategies of both sides, the fateful decisions and why they were made, and even get a glimpse into the humanity of the men who fought.

It bears mentioning that this film doesn't even mention slavery, the issue that caused the Civil War. It would have been easy to demonize the Confederates for fighting for slavery (or, as "The Patriot" did, gloss over the subject completely), but instead, we see them simply as men who fought for a bad cause. That they fought nobly for that cause adds an extra layer of depth and richness to this history.

The only count this film failed on, in my opinion, was making the key players portraits instead of real characters. They talk a lot about what the war means (usually accompanied by swelling music), but the overall effect is to make them portraits, not real characters, and the talented group of actors portraying them seem to be sleepwalking.

Only Confederate General Armistead (Richard Jordan, in his last role) comes off as a true character with a problem we can relate to: his best friend from West Point is at Gettysburg fighting for the Union. His speech about the sad situation is absolutely heartbreaking, and brings one of the real tragedies of the war into sharp relief.

I wish the filmmakers had done the same thing for other characters, especially Robert E. Lee.

These quibbles aside, "Gettysburg" is quite a filmmaking achievement, and it's a worthy investment of your time.

Rating:
Summary: History Relived
Review: By far one of the most moving motion pictures you will ever see. If you like history you will not be bored at all. If you love history you will rank this as one of the best. This is what I consider an "impact" movie. It's recreation is right on target from what I have ever read about the Ciil War. The acting is fantastic. Do yourself a favor, and relax and enjoy a moment in history that will live forever. Martin Sheen as General Lee .........you can feel the pain as he made some big decsions of which cost his army dearly. Tom Beringer as General Longstreet in which General Lee thought of him as his right arm. I get a chill thinking about this epic. It is to bad that more people do not appreciate this movie. Enjoy and relive a moment in history that no one has ever tried to re-create such as this picture. If it is ever released on the big screen try and catch it again !

Rating:
Summary: This movie is exactly like the book Killer Angels...
Review: If you ever read a book, then watched the movie and were disappointed, this movie is for you. This movie EXACTLY matches the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.

From the speeches by Chamberlain and Buster on humanity, Pickett on states rights, Armistad on divided friendship, to Lee on keeping a unit together towards a common goal, there is plenty of inspiration in this movie. Add the music, panoramic scenery, and other performances, and this movie should have won oscars.

Rating:
Summary: Gettysburg
Review: Finally on DVD! It's about time.

I cannot watch this movie with other people in the room because it is so powerful. A definite 1-box-of-kleenex film, it's even more tragic because it is mostly true with some "artistic license" taken. The parts of the actual battle that are portrayed here are accurate as well as true to the book (Killer Angels). Remember though- it is not a portrayal of the battle as a whole- merely select portions and patricipants.

Tom Berenger firmly cemented my view that Longstreet is one of the most interesting and complex generals in the war, and Jeff Daniels portrays Chamberlain with a thoughtful and learned air that makes you forget he's also capable of such broad humor as "Dumb and Dumber." Martin Sheen as Lee is good, but he is overshadowed by other actors.

The soundtrack is a work of art unto itself, and I highly recommend the boxed set with the booklet.

I guarantee you'll never look at the Civil War in the same light after you watch this film.

Rating:
Summary: "unlike other armies, we're out to set men free"
Review: Jeff Daniels' surprising, great performance in words could serve as another Gettysburg Address as he utters them; his words in a speech to Maine's "mutineers" alluded to the only other army in recorded history with just such a mission -but without a powerful political state behind it- That of Spartacus!

It's most agreeable that Richard Jordan's portrayal of Confederate Brigadier Gen. Armisted was admirable; a complex part to play, considering Armisted's divided sympathies between both devotion to the State of Virginia and his love for the Union's Hancocks. What a performance Jordan handed in before he died! Not to mention Martin Sheen's equally admirable performance as Gen. Robert E. Lee - I must admit that I wouldn't go see Gettysburg because I didn't think Sheen would carry the role well: He's a dead-ringer for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant!! 1960s TV great Andrew Prine's return to the screen as Confederate General Garnett is as cool as Hitcher star C. Thomas Howell's Lieutenant Thomas Chamberlain (borther of Col. Chamberlain).

The action scenes in here were superbly done ... Little Round Top's surprised me, but Pickett's Charge in this film has no past comparison and is the most impressive I've ever seen: With few or no special effects, as Braveheart had aplenty, it pushed the envelope in dedication to the "Passion of Gettysburg" - so well carried out by the reactivated Civil War units on the same historical locations.

A film writer myself (Isn't everbody?), I watch this one repeatedly with envy of its conception and execution of materials in a manner consistent with actual historical context and human emotions.

Hesitant to see this movie because of Daniel's contemporary appearance in Dumb and Dumber, and Sheen's casting as Lee, I now realize what a fool I'd been - I couldn't wait to buy it on tape and anxiously pre-ordered it on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Civil War Epic
Review: I first saw this film a couple of years ago. It was a great effort to attempt a realistic account of those terrible three days in 1863 when the history of the United States was changed forever. A little slow in parts but this can be overlooked as the battle scenes are extremely well done, although perhaps not as realistic as Saving Private Ryan. Many of the men who survived the battle suffered terrible injuries which left many of them losing limbs, but not their spirit. A must see film if you want to develop some understanding of what Gettysburg was all about. Many good performances from Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen, and the late Richard Jordan who portrays General Armistead who died two days after the battle.