Great Battle Scenes

Rating: 8/10 (5 February 2008)

In later years, when Pickett was asked what caused the failure of his famous charge, he reportedly said, "I always thought the Yankees had something to do with it". Perhaps an apocryphal story but a great line anyway.
Out of curiosity, I rented Gettysburg and re-watched it after more than ten years since my initial viewing. I still think Martin Sheen was a poor casting choice for the role of Robert E. Lee but, all-in-all, it's a movie well worth watching just for the battlefield scenes. Buford's initial engagement, the defense of Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge will never again be filmed with such scope and authenticity.
The historicity seems to be very good with a couple of exceptions, the main one being that Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine took no part in the defense of Cemetery Ridge and weren't present in that area of the battlefield. The scenes showing Chamberlain ducking the artillery shells are both specious and unnecessary.
Other complaints and quibbles:
The musical score is far too dramatically dominant and often drowns out the dialog; particularly in the battle preparation and execution scenes. Pickett's charge is made to seem glorious rather than misguided and futile.
The poor makeup job with the facial hair is very distracting -- especially with regard to Longstreet/Berenger in close ups.
Buford's mounted infantry men were mainly armed with breech-loading carbines, not the muzzle loading rifle-muskets shown. That was a principal factor in their ability to increase volume of fire, to delay and thwart the initial Confederate plan and thus to alter the entire course of the battle. This isn't a big quibble but a noticeable omission in my view. If the Confederacy had been able to take and hold the high ground at Gettysburg, the Civil War might've lasted much longer and ended quite differently.
Nevertheless, it's a good movie to watch and a "must-see" for civil war buffs.