Product Description

Depicts the famous Civil War battle which was the turning point of the war.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: BERENGER/DANIELS/SHEEN
Title: GETTYSBURG
Street Release Date: 06/21/2005
Domestic
Genre: ACTION / ADVENTURE

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #577 in DVD
• Brand: BERENGER/DANIELS/SHEEN
• 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

Gettysburg
A Magnificent Production! Remains true to the book on which it is based, "The Killer Angels."

The Civil War film for the history student!
Being an active professor, a war film collector, and a twenty-five-year military veteran, I sometimes tend to be overly-critical of war films, mostly in terms of historical accuracy and "situational believability." The pains the producers took make this both an enjoyable film yet as historically accurate as they could are especially noteworthy.

Numerous other reviewers have accomplished excellent detailed descriptions of the unfolding events that evolved into the Battle of Gettysburg, as described in the film, so I will limit my comments to those that I believe will focus on overall quality.

The film accurately presents the evolution of events that slowly build into one of history's most important battles, one that neither side really wanted to fight on this site, despite the fact that it proved to be "good ground" for such a massive engagement. One aspect of this "crescendo approach" that I most appreciated was the presentation of many views of the characters and personalities of the military figures from both sides of the conflict.

One of the most important revelations was the fact that General Robert E. Lee was not the strategically infallible figure that many historians portray, and that certain decisions he made, despite the opposition of his excellent corps and division commanders, ultimately turned the battle in the Union's favor. The film also subtly presented the effect on the battle's strategy and outcome of the untimely death of General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, as presented in "Gods and Generals."

When I first saw the listings on the cast of this film, I was taken aback, since I had mentally stereotyped some actors' in previous roles that would not seem to be a "fit" for their roles in this film. However, Martin Sheen did a fine job as Robert E. Lee, Tom Berenger was superb as General Longstreet, Stephen Lang excelled as General Pickett, and so on. The greatest surprise was the performance of Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, whose performance is followed here and further expanded upon in "Gods and Generals," "Gettysburg's" prequel. This film, and his performance in "The Crossing" clearly showed what a fine and versatile actor Daniels is.

It would be redundant to describe some of the most fantastic battle scenes ever filmed, as this has been well-covered by other reviewers. "Utterly fantastic" about covers it, in terms of realism and a "spare no expense" attitude on the parts of the producers who desired historical accuracy in the making of the film.

I seriously cannot imagine any collector who would not place this film near the top of most valued films of all time. Simply priceless, especially in terms of emphasizing the always elusive "human side" of war films.

Read the book it's much better than the movie.
This movie is based on the book "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara The Killer Angelswhich is an excellent read, especially if you enjoy the history of this war. The book is based largely on the writings and letters of Longstreet. The book covers in depth the feelings and ideas of the men who planned and fought the battle, something I felt the movie failed to do. When reading the book I found myself deeply saddened by the losses the confederates had because you got to see inside the men's minds and know what they were thinking and feeling and that they were extremely brave and gallant men, this does not happen in the movie. In the movie the fault of the southern disaster lies fully with Lee but when I read the book I had to place some of the blame on Longstreet and other southern generals for not standing up to Lee more forcefully to press their point to fight elsewhere where they would hold the high ground. Something they had done very successfully up until now. In the book Lee thinks that the second day of battle was almost a success while Longstreet does not see it this way. Longstreet, however, does not press this point with Lee. In the book Longstreet goes through every step of the last day of battle in his mind. He knows his men will be cut to pieces but also knows that it is useless to argue with Lee, because Lee will not change his mind. He lets himself and his men down and he knows it. After giving the order to attack on the last day of this battle Longstreet walks off alone and leans against a fence with his head down while tears run down his face as the battle rages around him, he knows what the results of the battle will be and what he has done. You don't get this kind of feeling in the movie. In the movie you get to see the battle but it fails to make you realize what the men were about and the vast amount of men that were killed and wounded in this one battle. Over 50,000 men killed.

Martin Sheen was horrible as Lee, very poor acting on his part as far as I am concerned. He managed to make Lee look almost lifeless and almost retarded. Picket never seemed to lead the infamous charge that bears his name and that virtually destroyed his division. Most of the other main parts, those of Longstreet, Pickett and Chamberlain were well acted which saved the movie from being a total flop.

Read the book and you will get a better feeling of what this battle, and the men who fought it, were all about.