The finest battle movie ever.

Rating: 10/10 (26 June 2002)

One battle, one movie, one nation. This is the promise of The Killer Angels, and Gettysburg delivers. Sure, it's long. Sure, there are historical inaccuracies (20th Maine). But people criticizing the dialogue? You have got to be kidding. Not only did people at least write that way, they certainly spoke that way. Here in Mississippi, there are plenty of fine old Southern gentlemen of the WWII generation who talk in speeches (of course, most of the ones I know are from Oxford, which is a trifle more literary than the average Southern small town). Some of the speeches are obvious soliloquies, turned into dramatic monologues to inform the audience of what is on the soldier's mind. In particular, Buford's speech was completely ahistorical. But Sam Elliot handled it wonderfully.
As for the rambling Virginian who says "People in my state do not talk that way," I say, of course not. But do you want modern dialogue in a period film? Pshaw. Martin Sheen was not the best choice to play Lee, but he played him marvelously (although yes, his accent was stagey and overwrought). Tom Berenger as Longstreet is a revelation, as was Jeff Daniels. Richard Jordan was magnificent in this, his final role, looking less like James Mason than ever. My favorite part, besides Buford's heroism, is Kilrain's rant on gentlemen. Every time I reach that part of the movie, I cheer.