Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

fredroyer Holy cow, is this a terrible movie. Maxwell got the title right but got everything else wrong. I've read all 3 books countless times: Gods and Generals, The Killer Angels, and The Last Full Measure.This movie is 4 hours long and there are long, long, long stretches where Maxwell made stuff up. This movie has nothing to do with the book. There's nothing about Hancock and Armistead in California, Jackson going to see his mothers grave. Why would Maxwell cut out the Battle of Sharpsburg just so he could write endless scenes of Stonewall Jackson that never even happened?The point of view is entirely from the Confederacy - the movie smacks of "Lost Cause". The whole point of the book was to establish the point of view from both sides: here we get nothing but Jackson and little bit of Chamberlain.The death of Jackson is endless. I think it goes on almost 25 minutes. By the way, Robert E. Lee was a Lt. Col when he resigned from the US Army, not a full bird Colonel.

zardoz-13 Director Ron Maxwell's "Gods and Generals," the prequel to "Gettysburg," appears far more polished than his initial American Civil War movie. In "Gettysburg," lots of critics carped about the bogus beards that the actors sported, principally Tom Berenger's Longstreet. Maxwell made sure that his prequel didn't suffer the same fate in the facial hair department. Indeed, the beards look far better. Indeed, lenser Kees Van Oostrum's widescreen cinematography looks immaculate as does most of the sprawling sets. Of course, the Virginia Military Institute looks contemporary for its day because dirt has been put down to cover the asphalt road. Nevertheless, despite the sheer brilliance of this lengthy spectacle, "Gods and Generals" has some problems that some Civil War buffs, particularly historians, may not charitably tolerate. For example, the film refuses to address the issue of slavery, and most of the slaves seem more reminiscent of the loyal slaves from "Gone with the Wind" and "So Red the Rose" era. Basically, this epic war movie was designed to showcase Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Confederate General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson, Union General Winfield Scott Hancock, and Union Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. Maxwell devotes the bulk of the film to Jackson, and Stephen Lang performs splendidly in the role as the pugnacious but religious leader who died accidentally at the hands of his own men.. Robert Duvall replaces Martin Sheen, but Duvall resembles Lee more than Sheen. The action unfolds with Lee's refusal to take Abraham Lincoln's offer to command all Union forces. Lee explains to Preston Blair that he cannot take up arms against his home state of Virginia. Meantime, Jackson serves as an instructor at VMI when he notices cadets tearing down the Union flag. Later, at the Virginia secession convention, state officials vote to secede from the Union and they offer Lee the job of commanding all their troops. Naturally, Lee accepts this offer without a qualm. When Maxwell shifts his attention to the North, he takes us to Maine, where Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain explains his views about the complicated issue of slavery to his class at Bowdoin College. This is Chamberlain before he entered the Union Army, and this time around we meet his concerned wife, Frances Caroline 'Fanny' Chamberlain (Oscar winning actress Mira Sorvino). Unlike "Gettysburg," women play a larger role in this Civil War film.The film takes place between April 1861 and May 1863, and Maxwell depicts the battles of First Manassas, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and concludes the action less than two months before Gettysburg. This magisterial film will no doubt be a chore to sit through, but it does have its rewards. If you don't know much about the Civil War, prepare to be changed. For example, one seasoned military officer shows Chamberlain and his brother the proper way to load a musket, using a nine step method. This same officer impresses upon Chamberlain the necessity for rigorous discipline and training so the soldiers can responds to commands in an expeditious manner. If you saw "Gettysburg," you will learn, too, how the Chamberlains met Sergeant Buster Kilrain (Kevin Conway) and came to be fast friends. Most critics lament the long speeches, but this is a chessboard movie. Unfortunately, Maxwell is probably more ambitious than he should be and the narrative becomes quite unwieldy at times.

Absinthevideo I can understand why this failed at the box office and in the theatres; where people with the attention span of goldfish start reaching for their phone after 15 seconds, but as a movie to watch on your own time in your own pace; it holds up pretty well after a little shaky start.I must disclaim that I don't know anything about the American Civil War; apart from the fact that it was a nasty business and about that slavery business; it is probably for the best the Union won. Otherwise, every movie claiming to be absolutely 'truthful' about a war has to be taken with a grain of salt. For some reason the moral high ground in the film does seem to be occupied by the Confederacy; as a film about the conflict it simply didn't investigate enough the reasons for or indeed why the war started. We simply see Lee refusing command of the US. army in an opening scene and that's about it as to politics. Indeed the war just starts and everything else from that point onwards could be seen as propaganda seen from one side or the other.But - it is as a character portrait of general Stonewall Jackson and an investigation of the early course of the war itself where this movie really starts to shine. I found Stephen Lang's portrayal of a man who at one hand is a devout Christian given to compassion and prayer and on the other a merciless general; how those elements mixed up in him to be very interesting and compelling. The film does lean very heavily on his shoulders for depth and psychology, even Robert Duvall's general Lee story seem to be unable to do anything but to orbit around Jackson's character. There are a lot of long speeches and prayers going out left right and centre; but like Jackson the movie stands alone in the room like an antiquated piece of furniture and is very comfortable doing just that; being weird and slow and spiritual compared to our modern sensibilities. I liked that eccentricity about the film.Second; the battle scenes are just excellent, beautifully shot and choreographed and by the looks of it; historically accurate. Most movies can just afford about one large scale encounter; here you have a whole campaign. If you like that sort of stuff here's an abundance. Little details like fraternisation at Christmas between forces, the Irish ending up fighting their own down to the music and plays they enjoyed at the time really adds to the dimension of conflict. We also see examples where the bad decision making of high-end generals mean certain death for the foot soldier. As a side note; as a European I admit to having had an image of the southern armies being a provincial rabble; I can see clearer now that they had some excellent leadership and quality to them; it was a refreshing revelation to me.The entirety of this film is a strange nest of different story lines weaving in all sorts of different directions. I liked the inclusion of Chamberlain's story. It may seem an odd match up against Jackson's story; but they were both teachers and fought out of a sense of duty to their country. The film also includes a play with in the play, where we see actors playing actors playing at war within a war. It's a nod to us the audience about what we ourselves see on film; that we have a responsibility to make our own minds up about who was right or wrong. Everyone was playing some part in that war and we all project our own thoughts and fears into a story. I am not one for glorification and I am fully aware that the film may have a rosy-tinted view of the Southern states in the war; but I wasn't watching it for political reasons. As a slow-paced war film to watch in your own time while pondering about the human consequence of conflict; it is time well spent and enjoyable too.

crtolman Any intelligent person knows that truth has many sides and Gods and Generals shows the many sides of a conflict. It shows the reasons why men would risk their lives in a war which would devastate innocent families and whole communities. The only thing that I did not like about this film was the overly long dialog and monologues. I understand the need to have each character vocalize what is going on but I felt there could have been more in the way of physical acting and less in the very long and almost Shakespearean soliloquies. The battles are fantastic and the extended version has the battle of Sharpsburg which was the bloodiest day in the history of America.You get an insight to the brave men who would march hundreds of miles away from their homes to fight to protect their families. The story focuses mostly on the Confederates who were fighting on the home soil and often time within sight of their actual houses. I wish the film would have covered the Valley Campaign more, but at nearly 4 hours it is long enough. People often wonder why Confederates are represented so often in film. It is because they have a dash about them an old world chivalry as well being the ones on whose soil the battles were fought. They also had the best generals tactically and daringly speaking. Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign is still taught in military academies around the globe and Robert E Lee is revered in countries all over the world. This film might be long, but it does not disappoint when it comes to the battles. While not filmed on location like Gettysburg, it does not really lose anything. Gettysburg had famous locations such as Devils Den and the stonewall which needed to be included. Other than Fredericksburg most of the battles took place in normal fields and woods. It is a great film and one worth multiple viewings.