AmateurMovieReviews.com

I usually take very little interest in war movies; my mantra is that, if I want to see violence and gore, I'll just pick up a newspaper or turn on the news channel. We get enough of that in the real world, don't we? However, if the war movies are historical and actually have a plotline behind them, I might be enticed to watch. Maybe I'll even like one or two, especially if the content is familiar to me. This is how the high-action two-part movie "Gettysburg" became part of my collection. It isn't just any other war movie to me; I've visited Gettysburg countless times since I was a tiny little thing and it is very close to my heart; it speaks to me, really. When I found out a new movie was being filmed there (and that it was actually being filmed where the battle happened, and not behind a Hollywood set) I was enthralled.

It's a war movie, so of course there is some violence (the Civil War did have guns and cannons, after all) and scenes that you may not be comfortable with, but the visuals are so stunning and striking that you quickly get swept up in the excitement. If you've even been to Gettysburg, it will be extra fun to pick out buildings and places you recognize. "Gettysburg" isn't just a bland documentary (after watching some of these, I understand why some people aren't as fascinated with history as I am); rather, there are great scenes, compelling relationships, and living, breathing characters. You probably recognize some of the characters if you've studied the war era; General Robert E. Lee, celebrated hero of the South; Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, later to become a general, who led the famous bayonet attack near Little Round Top; and many other generals, staff, and soldiers who are now scattered throughout the pages of our textbooks.

The cast does a fantastic job of bringing their characters to life. After hearing Martin Sheen as he drawled his way through the movie as Robert E. Lee, I found it extremely difficult to believe he doesn't really have a Southern accent. Jeff Daniels shone as the dignified and straight-forward Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, and George Pickett, sweet and businesslike all at the same time, was superbly portrayed by Stephen Lang. There wasn't really a character I didn't like. I couldn't help but feel that more than enough attention was given to the commanding generals, but few personal stories were told about the common soldiers. Some names were given, such as Sergeant Tozier, the 20th Maine's colorbearer, but their cameos were soon gone. The movie is so realistic that you wonder how someone can feign being shot to pieces and lie there for who knows how long, just to show what the horrendous battle was like for the soldiers in July 1863.

If you're like me, you will quickly choose certain parts of "Gettysburg" as your favorites. The beginning of the first movie goes rather slowly, leading up to the two armies' arrivals in the town and the initial confrontation. My personal favorite part of the first half (which ends with the July 2nd engagement at Little Round Top) is when Chamberlain's 20th Maine, a small company with only scant backup and very little ammunition, is met by company after company of determined Alabama soldiers under Col. William Oates. Even when the Maine men lose every last bit of ammunition, Colonel Chamberlain makes a surprising decision; they will lead a bayonet charge. When the command is given to raise bayonets, if sends a shiver down my spine every time. I almost believed that the spirit of Joshua Chamberlain landed in Jeff Daniels at this moment. Some other characters mentioned in the movie are General Lewis Armistead (Richard Jordan), General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger), and Colonel Chamberlain's endearing Irish friend Buster Kilrain, played by Kevin Conway.

If you are emotional (I am also guilty of this charge) you won't be able to get through the end of the second half without a tear; this is where Pickett's Charge is portrayed. Thousands of Southern soldiers make their way across open farmland with no cover in sight; they aren't even allowed to fire until they are closer to the enemy, so they are virtually helpless. When General Lee rides among the soldiers as they get ready to march, he shakes their hands and they cheer him voraciously. It's very hard to remember that it's a movie you are watching, and that they didn't somehow zap you back to 1863. The camera pans along the expanse of field as the countless unnamed soldiers march to the copse of trees; most of them won't make it there alive. Again, I have walked at Pickett's Charge so many times that it was a very emotional part of the film. Surely these reenactors who gave their services for the movie must have felt odd at best, walking the same ground where so many died.