Review of Gettysburg (1993) by Jay L — 24 Apr 2011

"Gentlemen I think if we lose this battle, we lose the war.".

A absolutely astounding epic masterpiece from Director Ronald F. Maxwell, I don't know how he pulled this off with such flawlessness. No CGI, no special effects, just pure manpower. No film that I have ever seen has gone this far in depth, no film portrays an epic Civil War battle, or any battle for that matter, with such realistic intensity. A truly gorgeous, yet tragic film that's an absolute marvel to watch on screen. Gettysburg was filmed on location on that extremely hallowed ground where the battle itself was actually fought (I've been there in person, it is a breathtakingly beautiful piece of land.) Its a vast and sprawling piece of expert craftmanship crammed into a 4 hour long film. The best Civil War film out there by far, it's an absolute visual marvel to watch the entire battle of Gettysburg unfold in front of your very eyes. The viewer is thrown straight into the thunderous battle that took place, everything from the detailed strategic points to the astounding battle scenes are just a true spectacle to witness. It's the most vast, the most epic, the most sprawling, and the most in depth film that I have ever seen by far.

Knockout performances by everyone involved. Jeff Daniels gives an absolutely brilliant performance here, the best performance that Ive seen from him, he is a true talent and the man put his heart into this role. Tom Berenger is excellent throughout, a very engaging and convincing performance that was just a pure rush stone cold talent. Martin Sheen was great, and awesome performances by tye great many others that were involved in making this film become a reality. Pure genius any way you look it at, Gettysburg goes down as one of the finest war films ever.