Gods and Generals, Glory or Gettysburg (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter debrito
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Napoleon1er
2nd Lieutenant
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I like Gettysburg, but although G&G was kind of...well.... you just gotta love the battles and the Jackson scenes- well not the slave one{sm4}....
-Sandor:salute::
-Sandor:salute::
Scott
Major
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Throw in Raintree County and The Horse Soldiers for context.
maddadicus
2nd Lieutenant
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Gettysburg, Glory and if I could personally edit G and G, IT might make #2 on my list...Michael
Warrior
Lieutenant General
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Glory is my #1 personal favorite, very accurate uniforms, tactics, excellent acting, several very good battle scenes.
Gettysburg is #1A, enjoyed it very much.
The Fredericksburg battle scenes in G & G were excellent, the rest was a snoozefest...........
Gettysburg is #1A, enjoyed it very much.
The Fredericksburg battle scenes in G & G were excellent, the rest was a snoozefest...........
UKReb
Command Sergeant Major
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Hi Rod
I'm joining the party a little late, however, I agree with the rest of the guys that Gettysburg has to be the best civil war epic ever committed to celluloid. I have watched it umpteen times and never tire of it.
Considering that Civil War cinema-according to Hollywood- is and will ever remain box office poison (I have never fully understood that). Subsequently, credit is due to Ted Turner and Maxwell for this effort which originally was destined to be a six-to eight hour TV mini-series. But Turner realised when he viewed the first rushes that he had something really special here and quickly decided to halve the planned running time and put it on the big screen.
You asked what movie is the most authentic well Maxwell was known on set to be a rigid martinet demanding authenticity in every detail. He got some things wrong but he knew they were incorrect which caused him apparently to lose sleep-but he was stuck with it. Some examples:
The Englishman Col Fremantle's uniform should have been blue instead of the red on screen (historically Fremantle wore civilian clothes during the three days) but Maxwell did not want to confuse the audience by putting a character in a blue uniform amongst the Confederate gray.
The 2nd Maine mutineers scene when asked by Chamberlain to join his 20th Maine had taken place 3 months before Gettysburg.
My avatar John Bell Hood was a young 32year old where the actor Patrick Gorman who played him was a good 20 years older.
But these are pure pedantry points but they most certainly worried Maxwell. He also closely followed Michael Shaara's book-but one must remember that Shaara was a novelist and not a historian. His book overly elaborated the connection between Armistead and Hancock. Yes they had served together in California but there is no firm evidence that Armistead's love and respect for Hancock and vice versa as seen in the film was as strong and as poignant as Shaara had written.
Truth is that Hancock's very best and life-long friend was in fact the Confederate General Harry Heth (I don't think a lot of people know that). They renewed their friendship following the war and Heth was the main pall-bearer at Hancock's funeral.
But all this is just artistic licence and it fitted into the story and the film like an interlocking jig-saw and it worked. So Rod my vote goes to Gettysburg and as soon as I hear that stirring Randy Edelman's music score open the film I'm hooked!
Reb
I'm joining the party a little late, however, I agree with the rest of the guys that Gettysburg has to be the best civil war epic ever committed to celluloid. I have watched it umpteen times and never tire of it.
Considering that Civil War cinema-according to Hollywood- is and will ever remain box office poison (I have never fully understood that). Subsequently, credit is due to Ted Turner and Maxwell for this effort which originally was destined to be a six-to eight hour TV mini-series. But Turner realised when he viewed the first rushes that he had something really special here and quickly decided to halve the planned running time and put it on the big screen.
You asked what movie is the most authentic well Maxwell was known on set to be a rigid martinet demanding authenticity in every detail. He got some things wrong but he knew they were incorrect which caused him apparently to lose sleep-but he was stuck with it. Some examples:
The Englishman Col Fremantle's uniform should have been blue instead of the red on screen (historically Fremantle wore civilian clothes during the three days) but Maxwell did not want to confuse the audience by putting a character in a blue uniform amongst the Confederate gray.
The 2nd Maine mutineers scene when asked by Chamberlain to join his 20th Maine had taken place 3 months before Gettysburg.
My avatar John Bell Hood was a young 32year old where the actor Patrick Gorman who played him was a good 20 years older.
But these are pure pedantry points but they most certainly worried Maxwell. He also closely followed Michael Shaara's book-but one must remember that Shaara was a novelist and not a historian. His book overly elaborated the connection between Armistead and Hancock. Yes they had served together in California but there is no firm evidence that Armistead's love and respect for Hancock and vice versa as seen in the film was as strong and as poignant as Shaara had written.
Truth is that Hancock's very best and life-long friend was in fact the Confederate General Harry Heth (I don't think a lot of people know that). They renewed their friendship following the war and Heth was the main pall-bearer at Hancock's funeral.
But all this is just artistic licence and it fitted into the story and the film like an interlocking jig-saw and it worked. So Rod my vote goes to Gettysburg and as soon as I hear that stirring Randy Edelman's music score open the film I'm hooked!
Reb
Scott
Major
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As a film Gettysburg succeeds because one CAN watch it multiple times. Not the general movie going public but we "buffs". I used to put it on the player while getting my reenactment gear ready. The music in Gettysburg (and Glory) is magnificent while G&G's themes are entirely forgetable. Sure you laugh at Sergeant Santa but for reenactors, one can spot folks we know, and sadly knew on screen.
jazzeum
Four Star General
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Overall, Gettysburg although some of the acting is rather pedestrian. The music saves the movie in spots and is very effective in Little Round Top. Many a time I found myself cheering for 20th Maine to annihilate the Rebs 
For the more interesting story (particularly one not known to many at the time it was made) and acting Glory gets the nod.
Interestingly, both movies represent two different strands in American memory or recollection. Gettysburg represents the reconciliationist strand (although some nods are given to why the War was fought and not some nonsense about the "late unpleasantness") whereas Glory attempts to show why we had a War, the emancipationist impulse.
For the more interesting story (particularly one not known to many at the time it was made) and acting Glory gets the nod.
Interestingly, both movies represent two different strands in American memory or recollection. Gettysburg represents the reconciliationist strand (although some nods are given to why the War was fought and not some nonsense about the "late unpleasantness") whereas Glory attempts to show why we had a War, the emancipationist impulse.
Scott
Major
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Overall, Gettysburg although some of the acting is rather pedestrian. The music saves the movie in spots and is very effective in Little Round Top. Many a time I found myself cheering for 20th Maine to annihilate the Rebs
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Yep! Not dry seat in the house during that scene in Northern theaters.
debrito
Command Sergeant Major
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Thank you very much to all this résumé, really appreciated. Bob, appreciated that you took the time, as a connoisseur as you are, to explain to me, I was hopping listen from your expertise and of course thanks to all you guys also....
I am very interested to know about the ACW; I will be painting soon a 54mm figure this why I asked about accuracy on the uniforms...
Have a great weekend to all of you...
Ciau
I am very interested to know about the ACW; I will be painting soon a 54mm figure this why I asked about accuracy on the uniforms...
Have a great weekend to all of you...
Ciau
Gettysburg is an all-time classic..G&G was the pits..I tried hard to like it but the Confederate general Staff singing Christmas songs and Stonewall's constant looking up to the skies and praying just made me cringe..A waste of celluloid when he could have done more with the time spent on it all..Glory was a great movie, the opening scenes when the reb firing line fired their volley all at once was great. The Horse Soldiers is an excellent movie, with the military academy's boys march into battle and battle scenes. Cold Mountain was a great ACW movie/story, Petersburg battle scenes were great.
Did none of you see or like "The Red Badge of Courage", with Audie Murphy playing the lead? I know it is an older BW film and doesn't have the accuracy aspect that so many of us appreciate, but it is an excellent POV movie of the common soldier and his thought and fears of "seeing the elephant". -- Al