Excellent!

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2013)

Movie Review - Gettysburg: This is one of my all time favorite movies. It was released in 1993 and stars Martin Sheen, Tom Berenger, Stephen Lang and Jeff Daniels. For those that aren't history buffs or Civil War buffs this movies tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg fought during the Civil War on July 1 through July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg, PA. For those that are history buffs or Civil War buffs you might agree that there are some discrepancies but not enough to make this movie a complete disaster in the telling of this battle.
Gettysburg is based on a book called Killer Angels written by Michael Shaara, published in 1974. Michael Shaara passed away five years before the release of Gettysburg in 1988. Usually the adaptation from book to movie is quite different, names are changed, scenes are changed, but this is not the case with Gettysburg.
It would be counterproductive to give a detailed account or retell the whole story about this battle based on what is depicted in the movie. I say this because the movie is four and half hours long. I will point our the three scenes I find most poignant.
The first scene I like is actually a collection of scenes that lead up to the death of Major General John F. Reynolds, played by John Rothman. A Union Calvary unit under Brigadier General John Buford has engaged the Confederate Army at Gettysburg and has held his ground waiting for Reynolds to bring his unit to Gettysburg. When Buford finally sees Reynolds' unit arrive Buford visibly is relieved.
The second scene is of Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's 20th Maine Infantry defending their position at Little Roundtop. After several hours and successfully repulsing the Confederates at least a half dozen times the 20th Maine Infantry is dangerously low on ammunition; this prompts Chamberlain to make the decision to have his soldiers to fix bayonets and charge down hill into the Confederates. Do this catches the Confederates off guard and many surrender.
The final scene I like another collection that depicts Pickett's Charge. I won't go into detail about this scene as I would like very much if you watch the scene for yourself. I will say that in 2010 I took a course for my Masters in which we took a tour of nine Civil War battlefields in seven days. Gettysburg was the final battlefield we visited and we walked the route that was used for Pickett's Charge. It is a march of more than a mile over open ground, in which the Confederate soldiers were within range of Union Artillery. Imagine walking more than a mile wearing wool in heat, probably near 90 or 100 degrees, with high humidity and high dew point.
I recommend this movie highly for those that are interested in Civil War history or history in general. I recommend this movie for those that even like war or action movies. There are some very graphic scenes, especially after the second days fighting is done and General Longstreet is walking through a makeshift hospital where amputations are being depicted.