Pretty decent

Rating: 7/10 (4 July 2004)

Pros - The cinematography was mostly good; it seemed to capture the epic scope of the subject matter appropriately. The movie did an ostensibly good job at incorporating various skirmishes to portray an overall picture of the three-day battle. I especially liked Col. Chamberlain's defense of Little Round Top-- probably my favorite part of the movie, I suppose because of the way it showcases the beleaguered resolve that was no doubt a large part of many commanding officers' decision-making during the war.
Cons - The score. It's very overbearing, and comes up far too often. Also, it's really high in the overall sound mix, so that increases its intolerability, but that could also be attributed to the copy I saw. The facial hair, particularly Tom Berenger's, is really quite bad.
Overall, I think this is really worth seeing if you have an interest in Civil War history. I know it preserves the actual COs involved in the battle, and it was shot on location. Granted, I have yet to look further into the historical specifics of the battle, so who knows how much is Hollywood inaccuracy, but I will say that it provided some impetus for me to look into the war further, so that in itself is meritorious.