Review of Gods and Generals (2003) by Greg S — 11 Sep 2011

As someone who is into the history of the Civil War, I there is quite a lot to like about the film and quite a lot to dislike. Good parts: Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville are VERY well done, especially the latter battle. Mary Fahl and Bob Dylan's works are also great bookend pieces for the film. Lang is spot on as Jackson. Also a lot of subtext to the film; notice the Union soldiers AND their commanders camping outside for the winter? And the Confederate commanders are inside nice houses while the men are outside in horrible conditions? Subltle stuff, but cool never-the-less.

Now the bad stuff: The first 30-minutes are awful. Just horrid, with a made-for-TV composition. Too much time is spent on Jackson, though to be fair its time better spent than on Duvall as Lee, who in retrospect should not have played the role. Of course, they have another 3 to 4 hours of footage that they never used - including much of the Union stuff and the entire Battle of Antietam (which I hear had some potential from the extras who were on set)!

Maxwell should re-release the film with the cut footage and rejig the beginning portion. If he does he will have winning package that will equal his excellent earlier work, Gettysburg.

Oh yeah...another reason the Confederates are promenent in the film is because it was MADE by Southerners! If you want to have a Union-foucs Civil War film, then someone north of the Mason-Dixon will have to make it!

Oh, yeah: 3 stars. If I have to tilt to "see it" or "pass it", I would say "see it".