The Re-Enactors (And Jeff Daniels) Carry This One.
When this came out, there was a lot of excitement. After all, Gettysburg was the pivotal battle of the American Civil War, a bloody three-day toe-to-toe battle that saw the end of the Southern army's move north. I quickly came to be disappointed with much of the casting. It seems to me that the Confederate generals (Lee, Longstreet, Stewart) were made to look somewhat ridiculous. Martin Sheen as General Lee fell short of the mark, and the fact that they mounted him on a lame horse annoyed me no end. As a horsewoman, I also found his incessant bouncing up and down in the saddle as he spoke extremely annoying. His subordinate offcers with equally unconvincing southern accents and fake beards were just plain silly. Better efforts were made in casting the Union officers, and casting Jeff Daniels was genius. His portrayal of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was so believable, it seemed he had been reincarnated before our eyes.
Much of the film seems to drag, and only when we get to the battle scenes does it get "good", in my words. The Battle of Little Round Top, Pickett's Charge, the opening salvos the first day of Gettysburg were riveting. Hundreds of re-enactors showed up to participate in the filming, and in my opinion, they carried the movie. In my opinion, these scenes made the movie. They were exceptionally well done and realistic.
I would watch the battle scenes without hesitation. Most of the rest is simply filler. There is a lot of historical fact included in the scripting, but one must remember that this was based on the book "Killer Angels", and therefore, some aspects of this movie are purely fictional.
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