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Summary: Outstanding Film! 16 year old history buff
Review: I have never seen a film like this before. The special effects, the story telling and the historical accuracy. so amny people hated this movie and gave it bad reviews. These people are used to the normal Hollywood garbage and don't understand history at all. This was magnificent, i never even realized that the film was 4 hour, I was enjoying it so much, it never felt that long. Any one who has good tast and a love of History will love this film. and you should read the book, the film is very different from the book, but you will still enjoy it/
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Summary: Excellent- not just for the CW buffs among us
Review: I saw this in the theatres, and I must say at first I was put off by the fact that it doesn't follow the book "Gods and Generals" to the letter. Not enough Brian Mallon as Hancock for one thing! :)That said- this is an excellent movie. I took my 11 year old son to it, and he was enthralled. Stephen Lang as Jackson is one of the best examples of perfect casting I've seen in years. Duvall as Lee really was much better than Sheen as Lee in "Gettysburg" In short- see this. Maybe you don't sit down and watch it all at once, maybe you wait for a day that you're home sick from work- BUT SEE THIS MOVIE! We've been teased that a full length (6 hour!) DVD may be released in a year or two, but don't let that stop you from getting the theatrical version.
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Summary: Best combat scenes around!
Review: Gods and Generals is awesome!! Buy this movie because it is a super story about America's worst time and the famous and not so famous people and places that were changed forever. Death ruled the hour, and the devil his harvest during this time. The devastating events that took place enfold before your eyes, with incedible acting and an exciting story. The battle scenes are unmatched on film and there is enough drama and battle action to put a smile on anyone's face. The best Civil War film ever!
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Summary: I LOVE THIS MOVIE!
Review: I can only echo the words of other reviewers - This is a great movie! I saw it 7 times in the theater and can't wait to own the dvd! Do not let the length of the movie deter you from seeing it. There are two outstanding things about it. Stephen Lang's performance as Thomas Jonathan Jackson is breath-taking. The musical score is hauntingly beautiful. Do yourself a favor and add "Gods and Generals" to your collection. You will not be disappointed.
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Summary: They don't make movies like this anymore!
Review: ...The fact is that "Gods and Generals", which covers the first two years of the war and is the prequel to "Gettysburg", is a great movie. It is painstakingly accurate, wonderfully filmed and scripted, and the acting was suburb. Stephen Lang deserves an Oscar for his brilliant portrayal of Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson. Robert Duvall is also excellent as Gen. Robert E. Lee. Jeff Daniels, who played Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain in "Gettysburg", reprises his role in G&G, as do other actors from "Gettysburg". If you're expecting something like "Saving Private Ryan", you'll be disappointed. It's not that kind of a movie. "Gods and Generals" is part documentary, part drama, with the right mix of both to make it both highly entertaining and historically intriguing. As you listen to the characters, you almost believe that they're from the period and places in which the story is set. What stuck in the craw of the critics is that this movie didn't present the Confederates as fire-breathing, racist, slavery-defending apes, and the Federals as saintly freedom-fighters. It would be simplistic and wrong to characterize the war as a struggle between good and evil. The vast majority of the Confederate soldiers didn't own slaves and didn't fight for the right to keep slaves. A lot of the Union soldiers, probably most, weren't fighting to free the slaves. There were flawed men on both sides of the war, as well as deeply moral men. You can debate all you want about how much slavery was an issue in the Civil War, but as to this movie, all points of view were well represented through the characters: Lt. Col. Chamberlain of the 20th Maine, a professor-turned-soldier who was sympathetic to the plight of the black slaves; Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, a man of outstanding military service in the Federal army prior to the Civil War and a most beloved commander, who chose to defend his home state of Virginia against what he saw as an unlawful invasion by the North; Gen. Stonewall Jackson, a fearless and deeply religious man, devoted husband and a brilliant military tactician who loved the Union, but was fiercely loyal to Virginia; Martha, the house slave, who bravely turns away looting Union soldiers from her masters' home during the seige in Fredericksburg, but later takes in the Union's wounded, and who yearns to be free; Jim Lewis, Gen. Jackson's black cook, who prays that one day all of this family will be free. Unforgettable characters, all of them. If you are uncomfortable with religious overtones and poetic dialogue (sorry, but that's how people were back the), don't buy this DVD. If you don't care at all about American history, skip this one. If you can't watch any historical movie without the filter of 21st century values or political correctness, this movie isn't for you. If you have a short attention span, forget it. This movie clocks in at about 3:37. If you are interested in the Civil War, or just curious and want to learn about it, if you're tired of all the [stuff] coming out of Hollywood these days, and you're willing to let a movie make you think for a change, if you can put your 21st century frame of mind on hold, I think you'll enjoy this DVD. No matter what the critics are saying, "Gods and Generals" will stand the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is a great war film. You feel that you were at the charge at 1st Manassas, or alongside with the Irish Brigade as they bravely try to reach Marye's Heights at the battle of Fredericksburg. Chancellorsville was good as well but could've been longer. Duvall is outstanding as Lee and makes you think that he is Lee. Lang's performance as Stonewall Jackson is stupendous and really deserves and deserves an oscar at the academy awards. Jeff Daniels is good as well. After reading the reviews from the critics, it was obvious that they did'nt see the entire movie or don't know ANYTHING about the Civil War. The songs from Bob Dylan and Mary Fahl really deserve an oscar nomination. I just hope the six-hour version gets here soon, I'm dying to see it!
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Summary: An Epic Masterpiece
Review: Just as he did in Gettysburg, director Ron Maxwell avoids drawn-out fight scenes and distracting special effects, choosing instead to delve into the complexity of the characters. His vision, along with the Stephen Lang's superb portrayal of Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson, brings to life one of the most elusive and enigmatic figures of American history. A sheer joy to watch from beginning to end, this masterpiece will surely go down as one of the greatest historical films of all time.
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Summary: Excellent Movie!!!!
Review: It's too bad I can't rate this more than 5 stars. I saw this movie 6 times at the theatre, and everyone I took to see it loved it. It is Christian based, but appeals to all crouds. Action packed, drama based, historically accurate, just simply one of the BEST Civil War movies I have ever seen! I'd say that this is a great gift for your husband, or anyone fascinated with history!!!
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Summary: If you're a Christian, you should watch this film!
Review: Let me start off by saying this this movie promotes the Christian faith more than any movie in the past twenty years. I cannot see anyone who believes in Christianity not loving this film. That said, I think the movie stands on its own merits as a film for everybody. Gods and Generals transplants you back to a time and place most 21st century Americans have never seen. Critics argued that the film had to many seemingly long speeches, but the critics forget that they spoke like that back then. If you can get past the mid 19th century dialog, you will love this movie. The battle sequences, while less gory than Saving Private Ryan or We Were Soldiers, conveyed the suffering and the amount of human loss. While I liked SPR and some other new war movies, G&G does not try to shock you with heads blowing off or guts spewing from soldiers. Stephen Lang as Stonewall Jackson should win an Oscar for his performance. This movie is an excellent choice to watch with the whole family.
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Summary: A Grand Movie that will Endure Through the Years
Review: The Civil War movie Gods and Generals is a prequel to the movie Gettysburg. Gods and Generals covers much more than a single battle-the two years from the beginning of the War to Gettysburg. Ron Maxwell wrote, produced and directed both films. Movies about the War have been regularly produced for one hundred years, as is appropriate for a cataclysmic event that is still reverberating though our culture. The most successful was a four-hour epic, Gone with the Wind (GWTW). GWTW is a romantic monument to the Old South -homage to a vanquished culture, told though the eyes of the O'Hara family. The opening title tells the story: "There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave. Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind." Wildly popular, GWTW is the most successful film ever. But, it has been sixty-four years since GWTW was released in 1939, and the times have changed-boy, have they changed. Maxwell has tried to combine entertainment with historical accuracy and a balanced treatment of North and South. He does not impugn the motives of either side. He presents the characters as they saw themselves and not as the Politically Correct (PC) crowd sees them today. This means that Robert E. Lee, with dignity and honor, rejects command of the army raised to attack his native state and home. The Virginia legislature gives command of its army to Lee, not to preserve slavery, but because the state was being invaded, something Virginia would "never do to other states." It means that Colonel Joshua Chamberlain admits that the War was not started to end slavery and believed the Union should be preserved, even if by force. Although quick to condemn slavery, reviewers exhibited collective amnesia about the Union army's depredations against civilians revealed in the Fredericksburg battle scenes-acts that would be punished as war crimes now under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Most notably, the movie reveals Stonewall Jackson as a complex and admirable person; a lover of the union, a man who started a Sunday school for Negroes, and a dedicated family man. It also shows him as the superb warrior he was who was determined to defend his homeland. Because Southern military successes dominated the war during the period of this film, Jackson is the central character and is presented non-judgmentally and honestly; and for this, the PC press cannot forgive Maxwell, calling the film an "apologia." Many critics disliked the movie for its success in delivering Maxwell's objective: the truth. They can't stand the truth that many blacks had conflicting loyalties; wanting to be free, but having bonds of affection to the white families they served. A family servant says goodbye with unfeigned love for the two sons of her mistress that she helped raise and who are marching off to war. Jackson's cook, Jim Lewis, a free black, serves with Jackson to "help defend his country." Political Correctness (PC) is the dominant ethic of most of the movie critics. They simply will not allow for the expression of a cordial relationship between slave and master. More importantly, they do not realize that their view is in itself racist and denigrating. It denies to the slaves their own humanity, and the prospect of rising above their involuntary servitude to have meaningful lives and relationships. The critics bridle at the presentation of Confederate motives for fighting as anything other than the desire to maintain slavery. One reviewer was livid at Jackson's condemnation of the commercial war motives of the North. The movie reveals the embarrassing fact that most Union soldiers wanted nothing to do with blacks and were outraged when Lincoln said that emancipation would become a war aim. Desertions increased dramatically and the New York Draft Riots ensued. As with any film, Gods and Generals is not perfect. The music, while adequate, does not have the majesty of Gettysburg. The characters explain themselves by extended dialogue. Thus, the film is a series of historical vignettes. It is a learning experience delivered with great care, faithfulness and honesty. The only legitimate claim of the critics is that the entertainment objective of the movie was sometimes sacrificed to Maxwell's desire to tell the complete story. Perhaps, in trying to cover the entire story, he told a few too many stories. But, every American should see this movie, because it provides a needed antidote to the "big lie,"-one-dimensional portrayals of Southerners as evil people with no humanity and the invading Yankees as virtuous warriors slaying the dragon of slavery. It accurately shows the struggle both sides had with defining patriotism and duty. It is not surprising that most reviewers were bored. Most are immersed in the glittering entertainment-celebrity culture, focusing on the star of the moment. They find history too slow, too boring. In addition, most have been taught the current revisionist history that makes students ashamed of their past and have little hope for the future. They think we are much superior to our ancestors. Their attitude is self-righteous and ungrateful. Gods and Generals contradict those ideas and the reviewers squirm. So, if you simply want to be excited, and not think too much, or take too much time, and have no curiosity about your heritage, go see Ben Affleck in Daredevil. If you want to learn about your country's history, told truthfully, free of conformist PC genuflections; watch the three hours and forty minutes Gods and Generals. Don't trust the critics. They would trash Gone with the Wind if it came out today.
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