Average Rating: 
Rating:  - One Of The Best Civil War films of all time
What makes this one of the best civil war fils of all time is the accuracy, the uniforms were accurate from the hats to the boots or in the Confederacy's case, bare feet.Almost all the battle scenes were filmed at the actual location except for Little Round Top because the hill was too steep and there were too many monuments, so it was filmed at a nearby hill instead.The 4 hour length was a bit shocking at first, but I'd prefer this in an heartbeat to some inaccurate, hollywood style 2 hour film. "Gettysburg" wasn't the least bit boring at all. The acting was great Jeff Daniels did such a fine job I didn't think of him as the idiot from "Dumb and Dumber" once throughout the film. Tom Berenger did a great job as General James Longstreet sruggling with the agony of sending his army into a valley of death. Martin Sheen was excellent as the quiet gentleman Robert E. Lee, who is faced with many hard choices and problems. Jeff Daniels was touching as "citizen soldier" Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a former Bowdain college proffesor with no military experience. Stephen Lang who will be playing "Stone wall" Jackson in "Gods and Generals", is great as Pickett but I can't picture him as the tall, lean, and heroic Jackson. Richard Jordan is excellent as my great-great-great-grandfather Lewis Armistead. I like how the film focuses on the character's emotions more then the action. There was no good and bad side to the Civil War. Same God, same land, different dreams.We go back and forth from the Confederate camps to the Federal camps and your heart goes out to the men on both sides.They both share the same conflicts and heartbreaks.The score and cinematography are beautiful as well. You feel how badly Fedaerals want to preserve the Union and get justice for the slaves and how the Confederacy wants preserve the Olde South. This makes Gettysburg perhaps the best Civil War film ever.
Rating: - A brilliant recreation of America¿s most famous battle!
"Gettysburg" is one of my all-time favorite war films! It re-creates the Civil War's battle of Gettysburg with superb acting, an excellent screenplay, a hauntingly beautiful musical score, and some of the most authentic and stirring battle scenes I've ever seen in a movie. Based upon Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Killer Angels," this film follows the principal characters, and chronicles the main events, which occurred at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from July 1-3, 1863. The events depicted in the film are notable for their historical accuracy. Some of the most exciting battle scenes in the film are General John Buford's engagement with the Confederates on the high ground north of Gettysburg on July 1; the defense of Little Round Top by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine on the following day; and, of course, Pickett's Charge on the final day of the battle. The battle scenes contain plenty of smoke and fire, but are also very tastefully done with a minimum of blood and gore. The acting in "Gettysburg" is excellent throughout. Jeff Daniels , who portrays Chamberlain, probably gives the best overall performance, but Martin Sheen (Robert E. Lee), Tom Berenger (Gen. James Longstreet), Sam Eliot (Buford,) Stephen Lang (Gen. George Pickett), and Kevin Conway (Sergeant Kilrain) also give performances which are outstanding for their realism, grittiness, and historical accuracy. Special mention must also go to the late Richard Jordan, whose portrayal of Confederate General Louis Armistead was consistently eloquent and moving. "Gettysburg" is a long movie; it runs to just over four hours. Still, it held me spellbound from start to finish, mainly due to its dramatic intensity and realistic battle scenes. I highly recommend this outstanding film not only to Civil War enthusiasts, but for anyone who loves a sumptuously produced and well acted war film.
Rating: - CALLING ALL CIVIL WAR BUFFS...
This is an outstanding film. Based upon Michael Shaara's Pulitzer prize winning book, "The Killer Angels", it tells the story of the battle at Gettysburg, which took place over the first three days of July in 1863. For the most part, the film examines that pivotal battle, one of the bloodiest of the war, from the perspective of the commanders who were calling the shots (no pun intended).The viewer will be enthralled by the film's recreation of the battle at Gettysburg, which examines some of the militairy stratagems employed and the reasons for them. It attempts to explain how it was that over fifty thousand (50,000) men lay dead at its conclusion. It also recreates one of the most amazing routs in history, when Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, defying the odds, held off the Confederates at Little Round Top, part of the high ground that the Union needed to retain at Gettysburg. Chamberlain, who was not a professional soldier but a professor at Bowdoin College in Maine, ultimately received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor and success in holding the Confederacy at bay at Little Round Top. Jeff Daniels, who plays the role of Chamberlain, is superlative. The rest of the star studded cast is likewise marvelous. Tom Berenger as General Longstreet, Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee, Richard Jordan as General Lewis Armistead, and Stephen Lang as General Pickett, in particular, all deserve a standing ovation, as does Jeff Daniels. This is a film that attempts to be historically accurate, and it succeeds brilliantly. It does not glamorize war, but shows it in all its heartbreaking reality. It even depicts General Pickett's audacious charge, which saw the loss of an entire division of Confederate soldiers. This is a film entirely about the men who took part in the battle at Gettysburg and the outcome that set the course for the country we know today. Kudos to director Robert F. Maxwell, who directed this film. It is simply a magnificent movie. Bravo!
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