This biographic war drama saw limited released in October of 1993, where it managed to only
earn back $10 of its $25 million dollar budget. Originally conceived as a six-part miniseries
for television, this sprawling epic was foolishly left unedited, and released as a feature film,
becoming officially, the longest American film ever made. At over four and a half hours,
this watered down, PG-rated experience is quite nearly a real-time depiction of the
Civil War's deadliest battle from which it borrows its namesake. Director Ronald F. Maxwell's
unfocused story feels more like a low-rent dramatization from a historically accurate
Discovery Channel documentary than a true Hollywood movie. There are no true protagonists
or an actual plot, but Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen, Stephan Lang, Sam Elliot,
a host of other character actors, and a dozen battalions of amateur war re-enactors float
in and out of the script as history's events allow. They all doing a fantastic job sporting
ridiculous facial hair, and recreating the unimaginable emotions of such a turbulent
time in America's history. Daniels' especially puts forth a remarkably inspiring and emotional
performance, breaking down in front of his brigade when professing the importance of
fighting not for freedom, or slavery, but for each other. As a last-minute replacement
for the Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Sheen remarks, on the requirements of war,
"To be a good soldier you must love the army. To be a good commander you must be able to
order the death of the thing you love." Based on the novel "The Killer Angels" by Michael
Shaara, this movie meticulously recreates the strategy, intrigue, and heartbreak surrounding
those three July afternoons in a Pennsylvania field - and should be required viewing for
all school children and Civil War buffs. The wide, and
patience visual style allows for ample time to appreciate the scenery, understand the
cluttered battles, and the grand landscapes filled with thousands of dueling soldiers.
Randy Edelman's patriotic and moving score thankfully lends a great deal of legitimately
and mood to the film, but is hardly enough to keep things interesting. The climax of
the movie, faithfully depicting the famous Pickett's Charge contains, and I kid you not,
EIGHT full minutes of soldiers marching to music... no fighting, no gunfire, no dialogue...
just a few thousand people walking across a field to their certain death. It's sequences
like this, and a dozen other entirely extraneous scenes that make this film's laborious pace
entirely inexcusable. At a more traditional length, and a tigher edit, this would be a
compelling, engaging, well-acted, and moving story of the Battle Of Gettysburg, but at
271 minutes it's excruciatingly insufferable to actually sit through. I set out to watch
this film last July 1st on the 150th anniversary of the battle, but because I kept falling
asleep watching the movie (in the middle of the day, no less), I didn't finish the film
for two days. Meaning my viewing experience literally lasted as long as the three-day
battle itself. It's unlikely I'll ever watch this again, or its equally lengthy prequel,
"Gods And Generals" -- but on a single viewing, there are some important and redeeming qualities.
"Gettysburg", "Incredible dramatization, but painfully long." Now lets see what you had
to say about this war epic in the YouTube comments.
The rate-o-matic for "Gettysburg"... a SIX and a FOUR. You applauded the realistic battle
scenes, acting, and visuals, but bemoaned its length, scoring this a GOOD. I appreciated
those elements as well, but thanks to long boring stretches and poor pacing, I just wasn't
able to truly enjoy this film. I thought it was MEH....