Gods and Generals

Rating:
Summary: Horrible film that had lots of potential
Review: I love the Sharra books, and have read them several times. I also enjoyed the Killer Angles film adaptation 'Gettysburg' from the same filmaker in 1993. However I was appalled when I saw 'Gods and Generals' in the theater. Many people say they liked how the movie didn't focus wholly on the slavery issue, or how the religous convictions of the characters were well portrayed, etc. All of that is in the book 'Gods and Generals'. However where the book shines the movie falls off a thousand foot cliff. The reasons for this are not political issues, or reasons for the war or any other portrayal of social or political motivation. It is just simply one of the worst scripts I can think of combined with bad cinematography and editing.
As far as the script goes, just imagine this. A major battle is being fought and fresh soldiers are moving into formation. As they wait for their time to move, the commander, played by Jeff Daniels (Joshua Chamberlin) doesnt do what any normal commander would do. He doesnt adjust his lines, give additional orders, anything you might imagine. Instead he stands grim and tall, quoting a five minute stretch of poetry reminicing the glories of Ceasar back in ancient Rome. Now Chamberlin was an academic, and he may have quoted poetry right before all his boys lined up to get slaughtered. However in the film it comes off as one of those hold your hand up to your eyes and shake your head as people get up to leave because it is so stupid scenes. Another gem is the one where Stonewall Jackson (played as a hard rolling religous zealot with none of his famous eccentricities) is talking with his slave cook under a stary night about how God must show them the way away from slavery if he wills it. The film is full of badly concieved scenes like these that draw the movie out to a horrendously unwatchable length.
The film also jumps all over the place with little thought for those who might not know the history of the time. The movie Gettysburg at least gives an historical highlight and shows where the armies are positioned before the film really begins. It allows the audiance a time to really understand what is happening. Gods and Generals tries to do this with exposition from the characters in the film and falls flat. There are scenes where characters are talking with friends or loved ones, then a scene with a rousing of troops and cheers for the cause, and before you know it your off to a major battle with little understanding of where it is, what its siginifigance is, and at what point in the war it takes place at. If you do know some of the history its not that difficult to piece it together. However I have talked to several others who have seen the film (most of whom walked out during the intermission) and they couldnt make heads or tails of it.
That leads to the cinematography. The film uses the same old shots from Gettysburg and tries to come off as well as the first film. The shots from Gettysburg were good at the time but alot has happened in the last ten years. Many excellent war movies have raised the bar on what audiences expect from these types of films. Its like watching a re-hash of 'The Longest Day' and finding the D-Day landing scenes are as lame as the originals.
The last gripe are the backdrops and cut scenes where they show a town before a battle or long lines of soldiers as they march in battle lines during the fight. They look like they were done by a university special effects team and a high school art department. Definitely low budget.
I get the feeling the filmaker bit off more than he could chew with this piece. I wish they could do it again and make it right, but alas, its too late. I don't recommend this film to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Good Civil War
Review: Gods and Generals is one of the first major recent movies to give the Confederates the light of day. The movie shows Southerners rallying to defend their homeland, including blacks. This is accurate but a tad misleading because the movies omits the blacks who sought to escape to the Union army.

The battle scenes are well done despite the fact that several of the re-enactors are older and more overweight than the average solider of the time. There were also several errors and inaccuracies in the battle scenes. The soundtrack is superb and adds to the film.

The movie is slightly easier to follow than the 1993 Gettysburg because it follows the central character Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson from VMI to his death in May 1863. The main drawback is the great length of the movie. It seems it would have made more sense to make it a miniseries like Band of Brothers.

Ultimately, if you are a Civil War buff, you will love this film. If not you'll probably leave after the first two hours.

Rating:
Summary: "Gods and Generals"
Review: This is a great film. Its totally differant than I expected. As you probably know the picture is 4 1/2 hours long! The first half of the movie is battle sequences and the second half is human drama and emotion and I loved that. Ron Maxwell who also directed its sequel "Gettysburg" did something really special here and the human aspect was truely toughing. Definatily buy this DVD not rent (because you'll probably have to return it before the movie is over) Its an amazing picrure and The DVD will be great! It you love war movies a Must-have!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Finally, A Movie From A Southern Viewpoint
Review: Gods and Generals is one of the greatest war movies I have ever seen. I am glad to see a movie that portrays the true history of the war and not the Yankee textbook version of the war. People need to understand that the South was not fighting for slavery and the North was not fighting to abolish slavery. 98% of Southerners did not own slaves. Why would they fight for something that they did not own? Anyway, there are always 2 versions to a story. People taught in public and most private schools only know one version of the story. This movie is a great way to see and understand the 2nd version of the story, the Southern version. Also check out the book Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara, son of Micheal Shaara (The author of Killer Angels which inspired the movie Gettysburg)

Rating:
Summary: A Modern Epic
Review: A great historical drama one must see several times to fully appreciate. Much has been said by several past reviewers of why they feel Gods and Generals is so good: the acting, the battle scenes, the historical accuracy, the music, etc. I can't agree more. I found this film to be a very enjoyable experience and saw it five times in the theatres, appreciating it and gaining more each time I saw it. This is a movie that you'll definitely want to add to your home DVD-video collection, and I'm sure is destined to be a modern film classic.

Rating:
Summary: Importance of Manassas battle not evident
Review: Gods and Generals accurately shows the South winning the first few battles, but completely lets slip the importance of Manassas in the South's loss of the war.

It was fought in late July 1861 (known as the Battle of First Manassas in the South, the Battle of Bull Run in the North). The Federal army, under General Irvin McDowell, had amassed some 33,000 troops and attacked 22,000 Confederates thirty miles west of Washington, D.C. There was great optimism in Washington that the war would end on that day, July 16, 1861. Many Washingtonians rode out to Manassas Junction in their carriages with their packed lunches in hopes of watching the rebels surrender soon after the first shots were fired. General McDowell himself was confident that he could end the war then and there.

It didn't turn out that way, for the Battle of First Manassas was a resounding Confederate victory in the sense that it thoroughly convinced the Federal government that it was not going to be easy to defeat the secessionists. The battle ended with a wild scramble of Federal troops and civilians retreating back to Washington, D.C. The retreating army became a wild mob several miles long and a hundred yards wide as soldiers and civilians raced each other for whatever safety the Northern capital offered. It was here that "Stonewall" Jackson earned his nickname by fearlessly turning back a seemingly overpowering Federal force. After the battle he approached Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who had just arrived on the battlefield, and said, "Give me ten thousand men and I will take Washington tomorrow." Davis refused, and he would speak of his regret over that decision for the rest of his life, considering
it "one of the great mistakes of the war."

In a single day, Lincoln (and most of Washington) must have moved from a belief in the possibility of immediately putting an end to the "rebellion" to a fear that the capital city (and Lincoln himself) could be captured by the Confederate army of General P G. T. Beauregard and forced to sign a peace agreement.

None of this was evident in Gods and Generals.

Rating:
Summary: Boring as Urinals
Review: "Gods and Generals" is targeted directly at the CWBs out there, a.k.a. the Civil War Buffs. It is so painstakingly boring and dull that only the fanatics could care about it. It is as if any interest in the film is tossed aside, just so the small amount of true CWBs out there can enjoy it, and nudge each other when their favorite historical figure comes on screen. Which, by the way, is easy to note, as every time anyone comes on screen--or any location comes on screen--white subtitles appear at the bottom of the frame, telling us who or what we are looking at, in such a fashion that only the true illiterates in the audience would have a hard time following who's who and what's what.

"Gods and Generals" is notable for being a prequel to the 1993 hit "Gettysburg." I've not seen "Gettysburg" yet, and after seeing "Gods and Generals," I'm not so sure I want to. Unless "Gettysburg" is an entirely different breed of film, it will be boring, dull, unmoving, and 100 % cheesy.

In "Gods and Generals," every line muttered by a character is some grand, psychological metaphor. Sometimes the quotes are true, such as when Robert E. Lee found out that General "Stonewall" Jackson had lost his left arm. "He has lost his left arm, and I have lost my right." But when Lee (Robert Duvall) says it in this film, it seems forced. Everything they say seems forced. As if they are reading off a cardboard slate off-screen. And every scene is at least ten minutes long, even the most non-important snore-fest scenes. In one scene, Jackson lies in bed with his wife and expresses his wishes to have a child. Well, he could easily say it and they could end the scene in two minutes flat. But by sticking to what I will call the "Every Line Must Be Memorable and Be a Metaphor" pact, which no doubt was formed before the film went into production, Jackson mutters on in fancy style for TEN minutes (yes, I checked my watch) about his desire to have a child. There are only so many words that can express the feeling of wanting a child. Jackson uses them all, and after that, uses a few more. No wonder it took so long for him to have a child - after that long speech, all his wives probably died of boredom.

"Gods and Generals" has good potential to be a sweeping epic, but it tries to hard to live up to something it can never be. Every scene is at least ten minutes. Ten minutes short for history buffs, and ten minutes long for a regular audience. Every line is smart yet forced. And as every minute went by, another person in the screening room left. I wish I had.

Just for the record, in the course of exactly 3 hr. 40 minutes running time, the screening I participated in went from about twenty viewers to eight. You can take that as whatever sign you want - good or bad - but I suggest that you do not drink any soda if for some astronomical reason you decide to sit through this snoozer.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Movie!
Review: This is a great movie full of the horrors, the humanity, and the spoils of war. The greatest movie ever created for the Civil War, or any war, in fact before WWII.

Rating:
Summary: Best Movie Ever Made
Review: Gods and Generals is as stunning in its insights into the minds and motives of these 19th century characters as they are faithful to the historical text. That the critics excoriated it says nothing of the film and speaks volumes of their pathetic grasp the events. Roger Ebert began his critique with "Now here's a film Trent Lott would like" proving he is more qualified to perform in an exercise video than understand and review this movie.
The language, customs, values, uniforms and events are so penetratingly accurate it is like stepping back into the 1860s. If you want to really understand this epic event for what it was and will allow yourself to be moved by its power and realism you cannot miss this movie. As an American, if you were to see only one movie in your entire lifetime, this should be the one. Unless you are a brainwashed PC automaton you will never be the same again.

Rating:
Summary: Not Propaganda
Review: This was a great film, and was as historically accurate as it could be. If you're interested in the Civil War, check it out. Don't listen to all of those who carp about its supposed pro-southern stance. Those people seem to forget that the Civil War was fought between two sides, not the "good guys" and a bunch of cardboard cut-outs. For pete's sake, any person who knows just a little bit about the run of the war can tell you that the reason this film seems to focus more on Southerners is because in the period of time this film covers the South was winning the war. To blams something like that on Ted Turner is ignorant and borderline racist. Move to Gettysburg (even the movie wasn't even-handed at all, no Civil War film until this one has ever tried to see past the ignorant "boogieman" image of the South) and things change. This film is useful because it helps dispel some of the stupid innacuracies that Americans are taught about the South and the War.