Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #865 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-02-03
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 254 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Three days in the summer of 1863, at a place called Gettysburg. Although it received a theatrical release, this four-hour depiction of the bloody Civil War battle was shot as a made-for-television film. But no taint of cheapness or shortcuts should stick to this magnificent picture (well, except maybe for those phony-looking mustaches). Based on Michael Shaara's book The Killer Angels, this film takes a refreshingly slow, thorough approach to the intricacies of battle. In ordinary circumstances, those intricacies might seem of importance only to fans of military strategy or Civil War enthusiasts, yet in Gettysburg they come across as the very stuff of life, death, and unexpected heroism. If the film has a problem, it's that it climaxes too early: the first long segment, detailing the struggle of a "civilian soldier," Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels), to hold his ground against long odds, is an enthralling piece of moviemaking. Daniels, in a heartbreaking performance, does his best film work. Other cast members include Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott, and Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. Richard Jordan, in his final role, gives a powerhouse performance as Confederate general Lewis A. Armistead. Oh, and you can also try to spot Ted Turner, whose company produced the film, as a Confederate soldier. Writer-director Ronald F. Maxwell seems inspired by the gravity of the battle; long as it is, every moment of Gettysburg is informed by a nobility of purpose. --Robert Horton

DVD features
Even without the movie, the Gettysburg DVD would qualify as a valuable document for Civil War enthusiasts. The feature-length commentary is highly informative for filmmakers and historians alike, and the making-of documentary, while not strictly about the production of Gettysburg, incorporates historical insights from the film's entire primary cast. Equally noteworthy is the Oscar-nominated 1955 documentary The Battle of Gettysburg, narrated by Leslie Nielsen. Produced and written by MGM studio executive Dore Schary (just as Nielsen was about to star in Forbidden Planet for the studio), the film relates the events of history through scenic views of the Gettysburg battleground as well as the many statues and landmarks that serve as timeless reminders of Gettysburg's historical significance. Battle maps and strategic descriptions are also provided, making this DVD a concise and compelling tribute to the soldiers--North and South--who perished on those fateful days in 1863. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

I would recommend this picture to everyone.
This ia an excellant picture The acting and everything pertaining to the picture is in my view a 10........SEE IT, YOU WONT BE DISSOPOINTED

Where is Part 2?
I love this movie too and I purchased this DVD. However, when Part one is finished it goes to Special Features and I cannot find the second half of this movie. Does anyone know here it might be located? Or did I recive a bad DVD with only half of the movie?

Not as good as most of these reviews claim.
This movie is based on the book "The Killer Angels" which is an awesome work of art (Pulitzer Prize winning novel). I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading the book thoroughly before attempting to watch this movie. The book is flat out phenomenal. The movie, on the other hand, was disappointing for me. I'll try to explain why I thought so. First of all, the acting in this movie is not the best work done by the actors that appear in the movie, most of whom have impressive resumes. The way Martin Sheen portrays Robert E. Lee makes one wonder how this General could have achieved such a lofty reputation. I think Sheen was off base in his effort here. Tom Berenger, however, plays a great General Longstreet. The fake beards in the movie are terrible and hard to over-look as you're watching it and trying to follow this gripping story. You almost can't stop yourself from laughing at the makeup. The movie itself is very long, around 4 hours, and you have to flip the DVD over after viewing the first half, which in itself is not a problem, but I would think that the director could include more important scenes in a movie of that length than some of the scenes left in. For example, I would have liked the movie to explore the interaction between Lee and Longstreet AFTER the battle (which the book does some). This movie is hard to follow if you haven't read the book and already have an idea where the story is going. The movie jumps around and it is easy for the first time viewer to get lost and not understand where the movie is going as it bounces around from one side of the battle to the other and from one character to another. The movie makers didn't do a good enough job transitioning from scene to scene to keep the audience clued in to what was happening and why a particular chain of events was important to the story and the outcome. If you are a true civil war "buff" I definitely think you should watch the movie, but don't expect a masterpiece or a great piece of work. Movies are NEVER as good as the books they are based upon. It seems that the acting in this movie is "wooden" with the actors reading from pages of script, as if hurried along to get finished. The way the scenes were shot gives the movie an "artificial" feel as if they are on a stage with a bunch of props and as a result the movie doesn't feel "realistic". It seems as though you are watching a re-enactment instead of actual events (other war movies escape this trap and make the audience feel they are watching the actual event). In summary, I'm glad I watched it but I thought it could have been better. This movie is average at best.