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Gettysburg
Confederate Cast:
Longstreet ................. Tom Berenger
Robert E. Lee
.............. Martin Sheen
George E. Pickett .......... Stephen Lang
Armistead .................. Richard Jordan
Federal Cast:
Col. Chamberlain
........... Jeff Daniels
Buford ..................... Sam Elliott
Tom Chamberlain
............ C. Thomas Howell
Kilrain .................... Kevin Conway
New Line presents a film written and
directed by Ronald F. Maxwell. Produced by Robert Katz
and Moctesuma Esparza.
Based on the novel by Michael Shaara.
Photographed by Kees Van Oostrum. Edited
by Corky Ehlers. Music by Randy Edelman.
Running time: 4 hours and 18 minutes, including 20-minute intermission.
This is a very informative film
about the pivotal battle in the Civil War. It is a drama, but it also has
all the elements of a good documentary. It is as if we were looking over
the shoulders of those planning and executing the strategy. I grew
up in Pennsylvania and have visited the battlefield several
times, but I never before knew what actually went on. Now I feel that
I do have a general idea of that, and it is quite a story. It is a
fit subject for documentary, and for drama too.
The pivotal dramatic point was the
overconfidence of General Lee and its genesis: bad intelligence, then
desperation, then a mystical faith. Lee had come to Pennsylvania fresh
from some major victories, hoping to wrap up the war in a few
days. Ironically, July 4 was approaching. Lee sensed the irony:
maybe he could achieve southern independence that very day. He hoped
to destroy the Army of the Potomac, headed by the ineffectual General
Meade, and then march triumphant into
Washington, offering peace to President Lincoln.
But various problems developed.
General J. E. B. Stuart, charged with tracking the union armies with his
cavalry, somehow got lost for some days and didn't accomplish his task.
(If the movie told me why, I missed it.) The south had to
fight, therefore, without their usual knowledge of the enemy's
positions and strength. Then another general failed to obey orders
given him to take a small hill which would have given Lee the
advantage of position. Eventually the union army took over that hill
and defeated the southern soldiers who tried to take it from
them. After this, ammunition and supplies were very low. Lee's
troops had to either fight or retreat. Lee saw a retreat as a
betrayal of the brave men who had given their lives to get this far,
and his past victories gave him the confidence that his men could
win another battle, even against substantial odds. With
the aforementioned mystical faith, Lee sent his troops on a
suicidal march for a mile across an open field in the face of union
guns. The defeat was
This is not a preachy film. However,
it does take some dramatic license, speculating about attitudes and
conversations among characters. As such, it certainly does more than
simply narrate the facts; it has a point of view. There are a lot
of conversations about the Meaning of Life and Death.
The southerners, the philosophical
ones, anyway, seem to be Bible-believing Christians for the most part. We
get the impression that some of their problems are caused by
an inordinate faith in God, or at least a proud confidence that
God was on their side. The northerners are also Christians, but
they seem more modern somehow. The Chamberlain character, played
by Jeff Daniels, is a Professor of Rhetoric and
Theology at Bowdoin College. He is the real hero
of the movie, incredibly courageous, resourceful, eloquent, wise,
compassionate. The theology of the northern soldiers is mainly a theology
of racial equality, presented in such terms as to suggest the "political
correctness" movement of the 1990s. Indeed, Chamberlain is a real
sensitive 1990s male who can nevertheless fight with the best of them
when he must.
In the end, Lee (in his
disappointment, to be sure) sounds less like a Christian than like a
nihilist: he observes that it really doesn't matter who wins or loses,
that we all play out our roles in life, but without hope that it will make
much difference. I doubt if the historical Lee was that close in
his philosophy to modern existentialism.
So there are hints of modern ideologies,
both equality and nihilism, without much reflection on the consistency
between these two ideas.
In general, however, the movie is a learning experience. There is some graphic violence, but that isn't overdone considering the subject matter of the movie. Four hours is a bit much, but I found the time spent well worth-while.