Pretty good but just a few gripes...

Rating: 8/10 (18 August 2014)

I liked the movie very much, as it was quite accurate in so far as the attitudes, tactics, and atmosphere are concerned. The battle scenes are very well choreographed, but (1) there needed to be more visible "blood" - I'm not a big fan of violence for violence sake, but this was the bloodiest battle in the Civil War, and nary a bit of it is seen in Pickett's Charge. Also, (2) it got "preachy" in spots. Most soldiers were fighting because that's what they were told to do and they felt they were defending their "country" rather than fighting for a higher, moralistic idea. Finally (3) the musical score just didn't fit in some spots (tried to be too dramatic) and was unconvincing in others (the repeated "Dixie" melody for instance). Berenger, Sheen, Daniels, Lang and Elliott were all marvelous in their respective roles, but Richard Jordan stood out head and shoulders above them all. Very good film, but it had the potential to be perfect and missed.