Gettysburg (1993)

Directed by Ronald F. Maxwell. Starring Jeff Daniels, Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang, Sam Elliott, Maxwell Caulfield, Richard Jordan, Richard Anderson, Patrick Gorman, C. Thomas Howell, Andrew Prine, Warren Burton, John Rothman, Dwier Brown, Morgan Sheppard, Royce D. Applegate, Donal Logue, George Lazenby, Tim Scott, Billy Campbell, Brian Mallon. [PG]

Recreation of the famed pivotal Civil War engagement; the longest film ever released by a major American studio was originally conceived by Ted Turner as a miniseries for his cable station TNT, but ended up getting a limited theatrical run. So massive in scope in length that it often dwarfs the human drama, leaving most of the major actors to stand around solemnly making dewy-eyed speeches in between skirmishes. The meticulous attention to strategy, detail, regimental maneuvers, and so on will make this film appeal mightily to Civil War buffs, but will leave the average viewer restless waiting for the next good part (and there are many good parts along the way, especially in the spectacle and horror of battle). More judicious editing might have made this a near-great undertaking, though there’s no saving the script’s dedication to duty, loyalty and liberty over the individual concerns of the average weary, frightened soldier. Of the large and uneven cast, Union boys Daniels and Elliott stand out, as does Jordan as the doomed Confederate Brigadier General Armistead, the poignancy of his part magnified by the fact that it was the actor’s final film role before dying from cancer. Filmed at Gettysburg National Military Park, Kees Van Oostrum’s sweeping yet eloquent photography is also praiseworthy. Adapted from Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer-winning historical novel “The Killer Angels.” Turner cameos as a Reb soldier who gets to shout one line…then get shot. A prequel (Gods and Generals) came out a decade later.

67/100