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Gettysburg Customer Reviews (58 - 60 of 64 Reviews)

Good History, Good Film
Movies based on history fall into one of two categories. They're either wonderful stories that are flawed on facts (Braveheart, JFK, for example), or they're faithful to the facts but lack drama (The Battle of Britain, produced by Harry Saltzman in the late '60s). This film, written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, manages to be fairly accurate storytelling and compelling drama at the same time. That Maxwell's movie embodies these two qualities in an almost four-hour picture is no small feat either.

The movie recreates the pivotal battle of the Civil War, when General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia sought to destroy the Union forces under General George Meade at Gettysburg, a small town in Pennsylvania. Maxwell's towering achievement in this movie, besides the many well-staged battle scenes, is to highlight the personal, emotional anguish of the soldiers on both sides, some of whom had been quite close before the war began. Witness the scene in the tent of General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger) as General Lewis Armistead (Richard Jordan, in one of his last screen roles) speaks emotionally about his friend, General Hancock, who he knows is just over the ridge where they will attack the next day. Tears well up in Jordan's eyes as he recalls the deep affection that he developed for Hancock and his wife many years before.

Gettysburg is not a great movie, but it is a very good one, and well worth viewing for any American who is interested in the war that tore this nation asunder and, in some ways, made it more unified afterwards.

General Lee Portrayed
I have read all 338 reviews and it is amazing to me how many people did not like Sheen as General Lee in Gettysburg and raved over Duvall in Gods and Generals. I take the opposite view that Duvall was at best a mediocre Lee hardly showing any emotion at all. I felt virtually nothing for the man in his performance as Lee. He also is not on the screen very much. We really never get to know him or like him. On the other hand, Sheen as Lee is someone who truly has emotions, he cares about his troops, we see him in a human light and we like him. We see more of him in Gettysburg and we get to know him. How can one forget the emotions of "Reviewing the Troops". Gettysburg is by far the better movie of the two (proven at the box office) and Sheen's stellar performance leads the way.

Old Virginia
This movies is my all-time favorite for the war genre. It was well worth the $20 million price tag for Turner Pictures. Gettysburg is the classic war saga minus the romance along the lines of Gone With The Wind. The performances of all the actors are splendid. My personal favorites are the performances given by Tom Berenger as Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, Richard Jordan as Gen. Lewis Armistead, Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua Chamberlain, Sam Elliott as Brig. Gen. John Buford, and of course Stephen Lang as Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett. The performance by Jordan was to be his last as he became ill with a brain tumor and died 9 months after the filming of Gettysburg. He is caught between love and war with his long-time friend Maj. Gen Winfield Hancock (Brian Mallon) on the opposing Union side. Armistead suffers considerable agony which is obvious to even the casual viewer especially when the director Ronald F. Maxwell spends considerable time on Armistead trying to bait Lt Gen Longstreet (Tom Berenger) into relieving Armistead of the upcoming battle. Jeff Daniels was a very big suprise for me. I picture Daniels in the toilet scene from Dumb and Dumber and would not have cast him myself in this epic, but that just shows the genius behind casting director Joy Todd. Sam Elliot's role as Buford can be summed up in the following quote "Meade will come in slowly, cautiously, new to command... And then, after Lee's army is entrenched behind nice fat rocks, Meade will attack finally, if he can coordinate the army. He'll attack right up that rocky slope, and up that gorgeous field of fire. And we will charge valiantly, and be butchered valiantly. And afterwards men in tall hats and gold watch fobs will thump their chest and say what a brave charge it was. Devin, I've led a soldier's life, and I've never seen anything as brutally clear as this"...wonderful! Alot of love was given to the filming of this movie. 5,000 non-paid re-enactors were hired to play the roles of the thousands of anonymous faces. Even Ted Turner himself picked up the musket and was among the ones counted during Pickett's charge. He can be seen, but only for a nano-second. I can write forever on this films' qualities but to finish it up, the accuracy in this film is phenomenal. The greatest example of this is how Ronald F.Maxwell uses actual quotes recorded by soldiers from that famous battle. Gen. Pickett: "Up men, up! And let no man forget today that you are from old Virginia!" Gen. Armistead: "Virginians! Virginians! For your land - for your homes - for your sweethearts - for your wives - for Virginia! Forward... march!"

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