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Gettysburg

Gettysburg

List Price: $19.96
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gettysburg: A Movie to Remember
Review: This movie is to me, an inspiration to all the people of the world. This movie puts us right there on the battlefield with great men such as Robert E. Lee, Winfield S. Hancock, James Longstreet, etc. The Pickett's Charge sequence itself is worth the price of the movie. It makes us look to our past, and follow the examples of the our past leaders. This is my favorite movie of all time. Even though, it is 4.5 hours, it is well worth it. Sitting there watching it, you get sucked into the time period. You can't stop watching it. Because of this movie, the world will never forget what thousands of men did the first 3 days of July 1863.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AWSOME MOVIE!1!
Review: Ghettysburg is a great movie, it may be slow at times, but it goes by pretty fast at other times. If you watch the whole thing through, you wont be dissapointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gettysburg is Awsome!!
Review: Though this movie is long, in the end you will be glad to have watched it. It may seem slow to some people, but if your interested in the Civil war, this is your movie. it is awsome!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Average at Best
Review: Gettysburg is a mediocre reproduction of Michael Schaara's historical novel the Killer Angels. There are some parts of Gettysburg that are quite good, such as Pickett's Charge and the 20th Maine's defense of Little Round Top, but the excess speechifying and moralizing, along with some poor casting choices and poor production qualities, hurt this movie badly. Killer Angels the book gets a strong 5 star rating, Gettysburg the movie gets a tepid 2 star ranking at best. Gettysburg is not nearly as good as Glory, but it is mildly better than Gods and Generals.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: High Water Mark for Civil War Movies
Review: This is one excellent movie which takes the time to develope and show the true drama of what was a turning moment in the Civil War. Despite all the legions of books written on the Civil War, few good movies have been attempted. I think some of the bad reviews this movie receives are from those who have little knowledge of the history and just get bored because they can't follow what's going on. Pity that they can't widen their minds a bit to enjoy what this film has to offer. Also I think people are so use to politically correct messages in movies today that they can't appreciate something that does not do that for a change. Gettysburg tries to tell a story of courage, tragedy and humanity during a pivital moment in American history. It seeks to do no more or less than this. Some may find the acting a little preachy or stiff, but that was they way people comported themselves 130 years ago. Having been a one time Union re-enactor myself I can appreciate what these guys did to make this movie. None of the re-enactors in this production were paid for their efforts. They did this for the love of the hobby and to leave a lasting monument for the Civil War for future generations to see and enjoy. The movie stays close to Michael Sharra's original book "Killer Angels" with only the tile changed to Gettysburg to make it more marketable to audiences. Ted Turner financed this project, and while it might be considered vanity on his part, the end result is a classic of its kind. I only wish he could have paid the re-enactors for their fine efforts. As it was he got a great movie for a fraction of the costs. The current production, "Gods and Generals" done by Sharra's son Jeff continues the saga in the
earlier period of the war. The new movie is fine, but probably not quite as good as Gettysburg. Its too bad the DVD version does not contain the director's cut which was offered as a special collector's edition a few years ago on VHS. Still, this standard version is good and contains a lot of nice features to enhance the enjoyment of the movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Very Good Movie Just Became Even Better
Review: I saw the movie 'Gettysburg' a few years back and thought it was good but not great. I felt that there was something missing, that it really didn't have a beginning or a fitting ending. Of course, I know the beginning and the end result of the Civil War itself, but I felt the movie should have shown that. That is, until now. I very recently saw the pre-quel to Gettysburg - 'Gods and Generals,' and it's a fitting beginning to what will eventually become a trilogy, with the third installment due in 2004.
Gettysburg, like Gods and General, is historically correct - NOT politically correct, which is so prominent in most of today's movies, music, tv shows, news reports, and everything else the media has control of. It shows this most horrific of all battles ever fought on U. S. soil to be so accurate (at least according to the history books I've read) that this movie could be used as a text book/documentary for American history classes. I feel the biggest reason for this is due to the fact that re-enactors have played such a prominent role in the making of both of these films, making sure that they're historically correct right down to the buttons on the uniforms worn by the fighting men. And the battle scenes are as realistic as can possibly be done. I have such a greater, clearer understanding of the Civil War due to both movies being so historically correct. The men on both sides who fought in this war are no longer just old pictures in a history book, or silly 1950's b-movie style characters, but real men who fought and died horrible deaths. I wish more historical epics would use re-enactors in the movie making process. They truly bring the past to life.
Do I recommend Gettysburg? Most definitely! Before seeing Gods and Generals, I would have given it a rating of 4. Now, however, a 5 rating seems too low! And I'm anxiously awaiting next year's sequel to both movies!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: History Comes Alive
Review: "Gettysburg" represents that rare occasion in the movies where the filmmakers are painstaking in their attempts to get all of their facts right and still make a watchable movie. And though you can quibble about a few of the dtetails, they succeed quite well. The movie is based on the hugely popular novel, "The Killer Angles," which placed dialog in the mouths of the leaders who fought the battle and breathed life back into the legends. The movies is quite faithful to the book, and places its emphasis on Maine Colonel Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) as well as Confedrate Generals Lee (Martin Sheen) and Longstreet (Tom Berriger).

The DVD version of the movie places the whole 254 minutes on one double-sided disk. The film looks terrific and there are a number of extras, including a "Making Of" sequence and a documentary of the battle itself. There are also battlefield maps to help the viewer and audio commentary by the filmakers. If you add it all up, it makes for one great package for any devoted Civil War buff and even those less committed who merely want to understand their history better.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: There's a reason cinematic narrative is not realistic.
Review: Gettysburg and its director Ronald F. Maxwell proudly wear their "historical accuracy" on their sleeves. The result? The story moves like it really is unfolding second-for-second, the characters yak on and on about inconsequential details, and the central narrative thrust is -- well, there isn't one.

I don't think I've ever been as bored by any war film. Even historical essays make for a more exciting experience. Maxwell's characters refer endlessly to small details, yet we are never told what those details mean in the grand scheme of things. Worst of all, there is never any conflict -- the root of all works of drama. The stakes are low, there is endless talk and little action, and when the battle scenes do occur, they are perhaps the most lifeless ever filmed. The charge down the hill, for example, was referred to as a suicidal gesture, yet the Union soldiers simply seem to waltz right through their enemy without any sense of danger. Maxwell simply has no idea how to either write or direct a good, tense dramatic scene.

Miserable acting caps the whole deal off. Martin Sheen has never looked more ridiculous as here, ironically, where he plays Robert E. Lee, one of the most charismatic generals in U.S. history and certainly one of the Civil War's figureheads. Tom Berenger's performance could have been given by any number of bit players. Even on the music front the film is an utter failure. The usually resourceful Randy Edelman's score somehow sounds entirely anachronistic, possibly due to a generic orchestral arrangement without specific flavour, and there is entirely too much of it, as if Maxwell is trying to rely on the music to generate some kind of interest. And he is -- trying, that is, and failing miserably.

I feel insulted when this film is compared to -- and, horrifically, sometimes even cited above -- the 1989 Civil War classic Glory, which featured an immortal performance from Denzel Washington and astonishing writing, directing, cinematography, editing, sound, and music. And Glory took a little over two hours to say oceans more about the Civil War than Gettysburg does in its entire four-hour running length. Don't even rent this, unless you're a fan of gross ineptitude and historical accuracy above dramatic interest. This is as bad as filmmaking gets.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not bad overall
Review: Gettsyburg is too historical to grab the casual viewer, but this isn't North and South after all. At the same time, many Civil War buffs can see all the omissions here, as the epic three day battle is reduced to three pivotal events. Despite this, Gettysburg is a must-see for those interested in the Civil War and history in general. The battle scenes are quite good at times, and the larger issues are explored as well, albeit in some overlong scenes of philosophizing around the campfire.

Martin Sheen is an acquired taste as Lee, but he does portray the general's temperament pretty accurately. Lee was an aggressive general, and Sheen plays him as a stubbornly willed man who means to take on "those people" in a direct assault, despite the risk of disaster. Tom Berenguer plays Longstreet as the calm voice of reason and devil's advocate, with his continued urgings to Lee to "go to the right".

Other good performances include the ever-crusty Sam Elliot as Union cavalryman John Buford, Richard Jordan as Confederate brigadier Lewis Armistead, and Stephen Lang as Pickett. Jeff Daniels is the citizen/soldier Joshua Chamberlain who has to hold off the enemy at Little Round Top, and he plays him as a sensitive yet resolute individual.

As a film this could have been edited and scripted better, the battle scenes won't satisfy everyone and so much is left out. (you'd have to read a book to learn about the Peach Orchard, Culp's Hill and other main events). Still, it's an interesting movie and quite objective overall.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing! Absolutely Amazing!
Review: This is hands down, the most accurate war movie ever created! This movie recreates the battle of gettysburg, and the events which led up to it with great detail and marvelous acting by the star studded cast. The war scenes in this movie were well acted out. Even though this movie was made in 1993, it's many battle scenes are better and more historically accurate than movies being released today! This movie truly gives you the full scope of what it would have been like to actually see the battle and really takes you back to 1863. The attention to detail put into this movie is truly amazing.


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