Gettysburg / Gods and Generals (Limited Collector's Edition) (1993)

This is what the film IS and SHOULD be. It fills in many of the gaps from the theatrical release. And although there are still some slow parts I do not care for, they are now virtually drowned out by new and extended scenes. The battle scenes are better than any other Civil War film made to date. This newer version has more life to it and is certainly more cohesive.

We see more sides to Stonewall Jackson. He's less of the "Santa Claus-like" character some labeled him as in the theatrical release. Perhaps just as important is that his character doesn't dominate this version as it did in the original. He still has a major role, but the film doesn't revolve around him. And although Jeff Daniels' performance as Joshua Chamberlain is not quite as good here as it was in "Gettysburg," his added scenes enhance the film.

"Gettysburg" is the better of the two, but they are both worthy films.

So this short review basically amounts to little more than a recommendation to see the original vision for "Gods and Generals." Watch it and judge for yourself.

I have waited for this box set for a long time, but especially for the directors cut of God's and Generals. I thought the extra footage made it an entirely new movie! Now all I want is for Ted Turner to finally decide to make the final movie, The Last Full Measure... ignore how much money it makes at the box office (I think for this type of movie it creats a false negative), because the real money for these movies comes from the DVD and now Blue-Ray sales from people that are dedicated to this movie genre.

Buy Gettysburg / Gods and Generals (Limited Collector's Edition) (1993) Now

When I saw that Warner Bros. was finally going to release Gods & Generals and Gettysburg in the director's cut format I was elated beyond belief. These two movies are at the top of my list of Civil War movies. Yes, I know about some of the inaccuracies it's unfortunate that most (if not all) historical movies have their faults but I still really love these two movies up and beyond all others of their genre.

Being as anxious as I was, I did not want to wait until July for the box set and ended up purchasing both as individuals upon their release in May. Now, before I get into the actual reviews of the movies themselves I would like to review the packaging. The individual release packaging was one of the best I have seen for any movie. Not only does one receive the extended director's cut of both movies but a full booklet with each set! These booklets include notes from Ron Maxwell himself, information about the battles, the actors and the historical figures they portray, and loads of photos. There is also plenty of Civil War facts and figures including a time line.

I was like a kid at Christmas...better yet, these sets were released two days after my birthday what a gift!

Let's jump up a couple of months and I'm at the local department store and I see the Box Set of both movies. By purchasing this set I would also receive (besides the movies themselves) a commemorative bronze Lincoln coin, a 40 page photo booklet of Civil War artifacts and correspondence, a 32 page booklet from Time magazine's new book on the Civil War, and even a two-sided historical map. Okay, being the Gettysburg and Gods & Generals fan that I am. I went home and found it even cheaper on Amazon, so I shelled out the bucks (a good discount, I might add, so re-buying the movies wasn't too terribly wasteful) for the set. I figured I can give the extra movies away as a gift.

I have to admit I was slightly disappointed. Not necessarily in the items that came with the box set itself, but with the disc packaging: the awesome booklets that were in my May releases were nowhere to be found. Instead, the packagings of both movies were in simple average Blu Ray plastic boxes. I would have thought, without question, that the very same packaging from May would have been included in this collector's box set. I must say I am now glad I purchased the movies individually instead of only waiting for the box. To me, as a collector, it was well worth the money (especially at the discounted pricing). But, because of WB chinsing on the packaging for the box, I gave this set 4 instead of 5 stars.

So, now I am going to give away the box set discs and just slide in the booklet versions (I had to remove the cardboard insert from the box no big deal) and I will have the ultimate Gods & Generals and Gettysburg Box Set!

Now for the movies:

GODS & GENERALS:

Gods and Generals does a very good job at depicting the earlier battles of the Civil War. Although it's always leaned heavily toward the southern point of view in its original form, this new director's cut has been divided into chapters and totally re-edited to fit in the extra hours worth of scenes, some of which include involving President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, more of the Chamberlains, and, especially for fans of battles, Antietam. It now gives a more balanced perspective of North and South. Because the entire movie has been re-edited in this way I don't believe I could watch the original theatrical release again. Yes, all the scenes are there intact but the entire movie is so much less choppy and so much more cohesive (it would have been nice to show the picnicking civilians at Manassas oh well...).

A couple of my favorite parts of the newly restored scenes includes the showing of camp life in a union camp, including teaching the new recruits the way to load and fire a gun, and the meeting of Joshua and Fannie Chamberlain with actor Booth.

Pay close attention to the other actor who is with Booth toward the end of the movie...

Gods & Generals has much more drama than most battle-oriented films, but that just gives the viewer a much more well-rounded feeling of life during the early 1860's.

GETTYSBURG:

Except for a few exceptions (why are there always exceptions?) Gettysburg is another MOSTLY historically correct film. I feel the biggest reason for this is due to the fact that re-enactors have played such a prominent role in the making of both of these films, making sure that they're as historically correct as the producers would allow, right down to the buttons on the uniforms worn by the fighting men (yes, yes, I KNOW about the facial hair, but those aren't re-enactors! Blame the costume/make up people on that!). And the battle scenes are as realistic as can possibly be done. When you watch the men during Pickett's charge and see the anguished look on the general's face during the aftermath, one gets the feeling of actually witnessing the carnage that took place.

And the Little Round Top scene will get your heart beating just as it must have beat in the men who were there. Truly gripping.

Another very long but engulfing movie filled with battles and tactics, this truly brings the viewer into the horrific time of early July 1863.

Both movies help to bring the people of the Civil War alive the men on both sides who fought in this war are no longer just old sepia-toned pictures in a history book, or silly 1950's b-movie style characters, but real men who fought and died horrible deaths. I wish more historical epics would use re-enactors in the movie making process (The Conspirator did!). They truly help bring the past to life.

Jeff Shaara, author of the original book on which Gods & Generals is based, stated in an interview (from the Gods and Generals magazine), "Hollywood has a dismal record of portraying history. Historical films have one purpose to make money and it seems they have two means of realizing that. One, tell a story the studio thinks the audience wants to see, and thus tilt the story to whatever political correctness is in vogue. The second purpose is to allow one particular big time actor the chance to do 'cool things' on the screen. Though many of these films are entertaining, the one thing missing is any responsibility to give the audience the truth about the event being portrayed."

It's unfortunate that too many people take Hollywood historical movies as fact and the majority of movie watchers usually do not get a good part of the truth. Gods & Generals and Gettysburg are different they do a better job than most at accuracy. Do not let the length scare you off. From beginning to end, I was held to my seat, greatly anticipating the next scene of both films.

I highly recommend purchasing both movies whether through the box set or individually and spending a weekend (and it will take an entire weekend!) in the early 1860's.

By the way, I would absolutely love to see a movie showing what the civilians of the town of Gettysburg had to endure during that summer and even into November for Lincoln's visit of 1863. Many folks do not realize what they went through during (and for months after) the battle. Every bit as exciting as the battle itself!

One more thing, if you get a chance, please do yourself a favor and

(A) take a trip to Gettysburg to see for yourself the awesome battlefields and still-intact town. And it's within an hour from Antietam, an hour and a half from Harper's Ferry, and just a few hours from most other east coast battle fields. It would be a vacation steeped in history.

(B) Go to a Civil re-enactment and see for yourself the excitement of battle.

Thank you to all involved for bringing our history to life accurately!

Read Best Reviews of Gettysburg / Gods and Generals (Limited Collector's Edition) (1993) Here

I'm taking a leap in faith or as some would say, going out on a limb to give this review. Before my life became absorbed with War, History, Cooking and Family I enjoyed casual reading on the Civil War and read Killer Angels in fits and spurts before Gettysburg hit the big screen. I worked my way through college earning a BA in History and an MA in Social Sciences, and ended up studying the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam.

I then moved to Shepherdstown WV, the very doorstep to Antietam National Battlefield. In doing so I finished my masters degree by completing my thesis on "Afternoon at Lower Bridge", focusing on the tactics and strategy that took place at the Lower Bridge, now known as Burnside Bridge. I came to realize that there were a lot of different perspectives, viewpoints and theories on what took place, and the only thing we know today is that the battle took place on that hallowed ground. Everything else is up for speculation, including the thoughts of the commanders, soldiers and even more so the historians that later transposed the early words of those that fought the battles.

With that being said these movies are interpretations of what took place on the battlefields 150 years ago. True, we know who fought on what side, but other than that, we really don't know exactly what took place. Suffice to say Battlefield Historians, Park Rangers, Noted Historians and Tour Guides that have spent years studying the war and they are the ones we need to go to for exact information.

With that being said I really enjoyed the 1 hr addition to Gods and Generals, and loved seeing the theatrical release of Gettysburg last week at the Gettysburg Visitor Center hosted by Ron Maxwell. The extended version of Gettysburg has an additional 17 minutes and it was nice to here Ron's words as to why they produced the movie. It was also shocking to see that at least 20 in the audience had never seen the movie and this was their first time.

Gods and Generals really filled out with addition of cutting room floor video such as the John Wilkes Booth subplot, Antietam battle scenes and reworking the entire movie to flow better. It really gives you a wonderful cinematographic representation of what took place leading up to Gettysburg, and you need to take it in with a grain of salt. If you want exacting science then take the time to walk the fields and read into what the soldiers said and ask park rangers to explain what took place. Remember this movie was historically based but there is always room for artistic licensing and movie drama to make a good picture.

Gettysburg is pretty much the way it was when it came out with snippets here and there added in and I've not had the complete opportunity to fully watch the extended version from start to finish. When I get the chance I'll spend some time watching Gettysburg uninterrupted and come back to give a final accounting as to the extended version.

The Limited Collectors Edition with Sesquicentennial coin, booklets of Civil War information and nice storage box make a nice movie package. I recommend this package to anyone interested in a well research theatrical version of the Civil War. My apologies to anyone I may have offended, but as my good friend Ed Bearss told me, "...movies get people to the battlefield to walk the grounds to see and understand what happened and to talk to the rangers about what took place."

One last point to make The Blu-ray version at the Gettysburg Visitor Center is selling for $130.00 and the DVD version is selling for $100.00. Save some money and purchase on Amazon, it's the same package for 50% less.

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I've read some of the reviews here stating that the prospective buyer would rather save some bucks and buy the $15 blu rays at Walmart; please benefit from my experience! Inside the blu ray boxes from Walmart there resides but ONE disk containing the movie, and perhaps the same commentary from the theater release. There is NO SECOND DISK in these! Just wanted to save someone else the trouble, time, and money. (Once the cellophane is removed, Walmart will NOT take the DVD back, except to exchange it for the same title.)

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