Most viewable war film produced since the Sixties.

Rating: 10/10 (1 August 1999)

I saw Gettysburg the week of its premier and found it deeply moving with a superior camera eye on action and characters developed with deep reverence for their historic role. Jeff Daniels and Richard Jordan should have won Oscars for their performances. Maxwell's direction was excellent and music at all times was stirring without sentimentality. Ted Turner and company were not treated with the same respect as their California contemporaries. I watch it regularly at home on video, especially on hot nights in July and August. This, like the thought provoking Pulitzer Prize novel, Killer Angels the film is based on, helps us know why the Union had to fight and how lucky we are of the outcome.