I wore out my fast-forward button

Rating: 1/10 (28 August 2000)

I'm a history buff, and while my area of expertise is WW-II, I figured that I should watch this movie to find out more about the American Civil War (which I believe strongly contributed to the push for the Confederation of my country -- Canada -- in 1867).
I should have watched "Glory" again rather than this pompous atrocity. I got sick of watching people standing ramrod straight, wistfully gazing into the distance as they deliver a long, melodramatic soliloquy. Gosh, who knew the army was so full of philosophers?
I'd better read up on the battle from another source. Otherwise, whenever I think of the Battle of Gettysburg, I'll picture a bunch of guys standing around making speeches which are occasionally interrupted by a bit of a brawl.
The problem with this kind of presentation is that you know that the writers are just making stuff up (i.e. putting protracted proclamations into the mouths of people who never uttered them). As a result, you just don't know how much else was made up or bent to fit.
Also, the movie doesn't have any sense of proportion. The coverage of the first day focused on a valiant defense by one group, but there's barely a hint that any other men are doing more than composing their next oratory endeavor.
Definitely a film for Americans to watch if they want to remake their history into something even more epic than it already is. Definitely not a film for anybody trying to learn some history, as I was.