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Gods & Generals (2003)
Front Cover Actor
Movie Details
Director Ronald F. Maxwell
Language English
Audience Rating PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Running Time 229 mins
Country USA
Color Color
Plot
The more you know about the Civil War, the more you'll appreciate Gods and Generals and the painstaking attention to detail that Gettysburg writer-director Ronald F. Maxwell has invested in this academically respectable 220-minute historical pageant. In adapting Jeffrey Shaara's 1996 novel (encompassing events of 1861-63, specifically the Virginian battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville), Maxwell sacrifices depth for scope while focusing on the devoutly religious "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang), whose Confederate campaigns endear him to Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall, giving the film's most subtle performance). Battles are impeccably recreated using 7,500 Civil War re-enactors and sanitized PG-13 violence, their authenticity compromised by tasteful discretion and endless scenes of grandiloquent dialogue. Still, as the first part of a trilogy that ends with The Last Full Measure, this is a superbly crafted, instantly essential film for Civil War study. For all its misguided priorities, Gods and Generals is a noble effort, honoring faith and patriotism with the kind of reverence that has all but vanished from American film ? but provides abundant proof that historical accuracy is no guarantee of great storytelling. --Jeff Shannon
Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Index 1578
Collection Status In Collection
Links Amazon US
Product Details
Format DVD
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio 2.35:1
085392341320
Release Date 7/15/2003
Subtitles English; French; Spanish
Audio Tracks English Dolby Digital 5.1
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1