Gettysburg

Rating:
Summary: Gettysburg make civil war humanity come alive.
Review: The movie Gettysburg brings alive the humanity of the civil war soldiers. The friendship between Armistead and Hancock is so believably potraited by Richard Jordan and Brian Mallon that I felt I was part of their 'brotherhood'. Jeff Daniels as Joshua L. Chamberlain is a part that most actors would kill for. You could see the pain of war in these actors faces. Sam Elliot (General Buford)plays an excellent part, as does Stephen Lang (General Pickett). Did anybody notice George Lazenby (James Bond in 'On Her Majesties Secret Service') as General Pettigrew? Along with 'Glory' this is without a doubt the best civil war movie I have ever seen. The producers managed to make a movie that could be shown to any jr. or sr. high school history class that is basically accurate and without all the blood, guts, and profanity that seem to go along with war movies. 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: TOO LONG!
Review: The movie was ok. But for one thing it was tooooooooooo long. I fell asleep during it. It would not have seemed so long if they had made the battles longer and the talking alot shorter.

Rating:
Summary: Very moving film, brings the characters to life.
Review: One of the best films I've ever seen! The actor's did a superb job. Truly brought a slice of history to life. I felt drawn into the hearts of the characters. My husband and two teenagers also enjoyed this video very much.

Rating:
Summary: You should HAVE to see this movie to remain a citizen!
Review: The casting of Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee is so ridiculous that it would have destroyed this movie- if Sheen's performance were not so superb that you end up believing that he IS Robert, despite the lack of any conceivable resemblance! Jeff Daniels is a perfect Chamberlain; ditto Tom Beringer (amazingly, to me) as Longstreet. The defense of Little Round Top at the conclusion of the movie's first half is one of the most gripping half-hours in cinematic history. The ending of "Zulu" is about the only thing that comes close!

I was disappointed at what was left out. About the same time Chamberlain and the 20th Maine made their charge down the slopes of Little Round Top, the 262 surviving members of the First Minnesota stopped a breakthrough of 1500 Confederates dead in its tracks along Plum Run, suffering nearly 90% casualties in the process. But there is no way every piece of heroism at Gettysburg could have been retold; in any event, the film was limited by its nature as a cinematic version of Michael Shaara's "The Killer Angels," which focused on Chamberlain and the 20th. It is enough that if you see this superb movie, you will have a pretty good idea of what happened at Gettysburg, and why. That is a pretty significant service both to historical literacy and to our nation's heritage. Ted Turner- not exactly a hero of mine- deserves a medal for making this movie!

Rating:
Summary: The Editor's Cut is Fabulous
Review: While the theater release of GETTYSBURG was very well recieved, the DIRECTOR'S CUT is much richer and far more entertaining. For the uninitiated audience the first 15 minutes are critical for setting the historical stage. Especially scenes cut from the theater release (i.e. Buford's dialogue with the citizens of Gettysburg, etc.), The 35 extra minutes of footage makes this epic work truely engrossing. ALSO, the Gift Set includes a wonderful video on THE MAKING OF GETTYSBURG.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant !!! Puts you on the battlefield !
Review: Truly outstanding movie.

Jeff Daniels' performance as Joshua Chamberlain is his finest to date. Martin Sheen and Tom Berenger give Lee and Longstreet humanity and depth.

This is intended for the serious student, and is by far the best Civil War movie ever filmed.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, if flawed, epic
Review: What could possibly out do the sheer drama of the greatest crisis this country ever faced? Gettysburg is an excellent film, magnificent in scope, filled with truly great performances (did you ever see Jeff Daniels any better than this?). Just a few flaws: the battles scenes were quite good, but I've seen better, and the film occasionally takes its own historical importance too seriously. Still, a good film, and I can't complain too much, I own a copy. Look fast during Picket's Charge to see Ted Turner as a Condeferate and Ken Burns as a Yankee.

Rating:
Summary: Fat Reb's make this movie tough to digest
Review: Good movie to watch the first time but I felt like I was watching a mini series. Fat Confederate reenactors make this a tough movie to take seriously.

Rating:
Summary: The best Civil War epic ever!
Review: What makes this movie so powerful are the 5,000 Civil War re-enactors. They allowed no theatrical shortcuts to uniforms or equipment. They needed little rehearsal before filming the battle scenes. Their cannon made the artillery battle so riveting. Without them, the movie would have been just another theatrical release. Add to that the magnificant acting by Sam Elliott, Jeff Daniels, Tom Berenger, et. al., and the story based upon Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, and it couldn't be anything less than outstanding. If you can get it, I strongly recommend the director's cut, which adds about thirty minutes to the theater version, and gives far better continuity. When you get it home, hook the TV up to your stereo, so you can get the full effect of the artillery bombardment. Then enjoy a real experience.

Rating:
Summary: Astounding
Review: The absolute best. The few errors in this film are effectively covered over by the pure spectacle. Balanced presentation. Jeff Daniels shines. Thank you, Ted Turner! END