A Cinematic Disappointment, but Good Historically

Rating: 3/10 (28 November 2006)

I never thought I'd say anything bad about Martin Sheen. After all, I think he's very good in the TV series "West Wing," and in many other efforts. But, here it comes: I'm afraid Martin Sheen had me actually physically wincing at his monumentally unsuccessful effort to portray Gen. Robert E. Lee in "Gettysburg". Sheen's acting was not good at all; I, for one, call it downright bad. His pseudo-southern accent was atrocious; worse, his out-of-place high-pitched, piping voice made a caricatured mockery of one of the world's greatest military figures. Ironically, all the other actors were just fine! I think craggy, gentlemanly Shelby Foote, the historian (not an actor), with a fine, low voice and truly beautiful southern accent, would have made a much better R. E. Lee portrayer! (edited later: I was quite sorry to see that Shelby Foote had died on 27 June, 2005.)
"Gettysburg" depicted battle scenes in quite convincing ways, not at all like the History-Channel-fake-slow-motion-substituting-for-good-cinematography method so often seen in similar flicks. That it was filmed in the Gettysburg National Military Park, on the actual battlegrounds, is a real plus. However, I was very disappointed to see at least one visual clip (of a Union Artilleryman next to a firing cannon) shown at least _three_ times; the first repeat was a bit of a sad surprise; the second made me quite angry at such a cheap, totally unnecessary cinematic trick used to "flesh out" the movie. Come On, Mr. Editor! Jeeeeesch!
The character-developing dramatic plots were fair, although they tended to go overboard at times, obviously to jerk tears from the audience. The music ranges from good to embarrassingly tear-jerking... in lock-step accompaniment with the drama; at least they got that coordination "right"!
I made a sad mistake in buying the "Gettysburg" DVD from a cut-out bin for $10; half that price may have been about right. I'll still use it to glean interesting history from the overlying drama. Although I have only a moderate knowledge of some Civil War battles (albeit not Gettysburg), as far as I have seen the historical facts in "Gettysburg" are interestingly portrayed and accurate.
Everything about the movie was at least adequate, except for Sheen's role in it; that was so bad it almost ruins "Gettysburg" entirely for me...