Happy Independence Day my fellow Americans and friends of America. I decided to review a film I saw last week, the 1993 film Directed by Ron Maxwell and starring Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang, Richard Jordan and a whole bunch of actors you probably know from other films. Well, let’s get to it.
A little background: The Battle of Gettysburg took place from July 1st-3rd of 1863 and it was the bloodiest battle of the war. It started when Union General Buford and his cavalry came in contact and engaged Confederate General Heth and his forces in a skirmish. With more troops on both sides arriving which quickly transformed it into a bloody battle that would last for two more days culminating with a Confederate Charge by General George Pickett’s division being repulsed by Union forces under General George Meade.
Here's a video detailing the basic points of the battle.
The Film: The film is an excellent portrayal of the battle with both sides getting their dues. I heard it said that it was America’s answer answer to Waterloo, which I also plan on watching. It truly was an epic from a time where “historical movies” were still popular and being made, I wish I live to see them make a come back.
The Characters/Performances: Every actor brought their A game to the move. Stand-outs would be Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee, Tom Berenger as General James Longstreet, Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Sam Elliot as Brigadier General John Buford and Richard Jordan (dying of cancer at the time) as General Lewis Armistead. Rip
Best scenes: I loved the opening with showing the historical pictures of the men with the actors name underneath or next to them. The Battle of Little Round Top was excellent and The Charge of Charge of Chamberlain's Men was an true case of courage and determination.
The Best scene however wasn’t even in the script. It was completely natural. All the volunteer civil war reenactors (which is fantastic that so many helped to create this film) gathered around Martin Sheen on top of his horse chanting: LEE! LEE! LEE! And the camera crew just rolled with it and got it on camera. Combine that with the excellent score, which in my opinion is the greatest film score in the history of cinema comes out to the closest to perfection a film has ever reached.
One more scene that deserves mention is a wounded and probably dying General Armistead surrounded by Union soldiers and he asks to speak with his old friend General Hancock and the union soldier says that he’s been hit and Armistead’s response got me teary-eyed. One of the few times I cry watching movies, the other is the ending to Return of the King, but I digress. Armistead says, “No! Not both of us. Not all of us. Please God!” This war was a tragedy. Yes, it ended slavery, but Britain showed that it was possible to end it peacefully. We instead chose a bloody civil war that we’re still feeling the effects of today. These men, fought ate together, fought together, bled together in West Point and in past conflicts like the Mexican-American War, so to see them on opposite sides is heartbreaking and makes me wonder, could it have been avoided? I honestly don’t know.
Soundtrack: Like I said, I believe this is the greatest cinematic soundtrack in cinema history. Better than Star Wars, better than Lord of the Rings, etc. Don’t believe me, have a listen to this piece from the soundtrack. The way it builds and then explodes into an orchestra of sound is mesmerizing.
Conclusion: Overall this is just a really damn good movie and an epic at that. It’s focus is one battle, so there’s more time devoted to the characters and their points of view. The performances are top notch and the soundtrack is perfection. Easy 10/10
Have a Happy Independence Day! God Bless you all and God Bless America!
Great film; extended version *very* long for non-Americans though