Highly Disappointed

Rating: 1/10 (2 October 2011)

I have always loved American History, as I grew up with a father that encouraged me and my brothers to educate ourselves in it. So, after being inspired by the History Channel's recent airing of various Civil War battles, I purchased Gettysburg online and couldn't wait to watch it when it arrived.
Honestly, I cannot understand why the majority of the reviews in here are praising this film. Although there are several bright spots and some very good actors involved, this film is unnecessarily long and clouded by ridiculous over dramatized scenes. From the very opening scene the acting was unbelievable. Even Tom Beringer's first appearance made me cringe as the dialogue between him and the scout (Harrison, I believe) was anything but believable. I only hoped it would get better as the film progressed. Unfortunately, Stephen Lang, as General Pickett, was the only bright spot, in my opinion.
Not even the best actors, however, could have come away delivering Academy Award deserving performances with the horrible scripts they were given: unrealistic dialogue, contrived interaction between the characters, unprovoked emotions...the list is simply too long.
The battles, given praise by most of the reviewers in here, came across to me like Civil war reenactment performances (and they probably were). Not to mention, there were so many scenes that were repeated over and over again to lengthen the effect. A great example is on day three at the onset of the final battle as the cannon fire begins. Watch and notice how many times the same sequence is repeated. I even caught several scenes where the actors stopped performing, as if the cameras were supposed to cease filming - and somehow were overlooked in the editing room. One scene in particular, during Chamberlain's charge downhill, you'll catch several soldiers lifting their guns to pummel the onrush of enemy, and then halt in mid swing, as if waiting to hear the word "cut!" from the Director. Horrible. Embarrassing.
The over-saturated dramatic speeches by one General after another made me glad I had a "forward" button on my remote. The emotions spoke for themselves due to the loss of so many lives and the tragedy of a Country torn apart by ignorance and differences of values and opinions. We didn't need their speeches to rub it in and create an unnecessarily long, drawn out movie.
The soundtrack was the worst part. I own over 200 soundtracks and believe that music can make or break a movie. Knowing when to elevate climaxes, stop to breath, draw forth emotions, and support the dialogue are no different than a cook knowing what spices to use and how much. Randy Edelman drowned this movie in the major chords of over-embellished patriotic nonsense that lost its luster when he repeated the same theme over and over again. If you want to enjoy all 4 and 1/2 hours of this movie's music, just repeat each track ten times and you're there.
Now I understand that a film about our History that requires thousands of "extras", stand ins, and the need to have as many physical bodies as possible is going to result in some poor acting or those in the background who have no experience in acting, but if you really want to see a great Civil War movie, which doesn't fall into these obvious traps and flaws, pick up Glory. I am pretty sure, anyone who has seen that movie will find "Gettysburg" nothing short of laughable.
I'll refrain from continuing this review in fear that the producers of this film might see my somewhat long, over dramatized, and possibly unnecessary rambling, and ask me to participate in their next film, seeming that I meet all of their qualifications.
P.S. If there are any misspellings or poor grammar, I am sure they pale in comparison to the inaccuracies of this film.