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Movie Description
This epic film from writer-director Ron Maxwell chronicles the early events of the American Civil War. It's a prequel to his earlier GETTYSBURG, with some of the same cast, and is part of a planned trilogy. Stephen Lang plays Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, the famous (and deeply religious) Confederate general who, along with fellow General Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall), must weigh the mighty consequences of his actions, as each battle costs the lives of thousands of men. Over on the Union side there's Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, who, like Jackson and Lee, is fond of making long, poetic speeches to his troops. Beginning with the start of the war and ending with Jackson's death, the film chronicles the three main battles leading up to Gettysburg, using their actual locations and thousands of actual Civil War re-enactors as extras. Maxwell pays careful attention to authentic period detail as he chronicles the minutiae of the generals' domestic lives in the intervals between the harrowing battle scenes. While a little on the long side, the end result should serve as an invaluable document for history buffs. Mogul Ted Turner was an executive producer and appears in a small role.
Industry Reviews
"...[The film] should delight Civil War buffs....Beautifully photographed in various locations around Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia..."
New York Times - Stephen Holden (02/21/2003)
"...[With] rich and full-bodied widescreen cinematography..."
Variety - Todd McCarthy (02/17/2003)
"...The film is beautifully shot by Kees Van Oostrum and the sounds of battle by Stephen Halbert measure up to the greatness of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. There is much to relish in this epic..."
Box Office - Stephen Jared (05/01/2003)
"...GODS AND GENERALS is well-structured....Maxwell gives us a clear sense of the issues that divided America, a vivid sense of the cumbersome logistics involved, the complexity of battles and, in the instance of Fredericksburg, what it was like for a town to be overrun by warfare..."
Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas (02/21/2003)
"Solid, stirring stuff..."
Uncut - Andrew Sumner (07/01/2004)
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