Great movie, despite a few flaws.

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 1999)

Gettysburg, based on the best-seller "The Killer Angels", is certainly one of the better war flicks I've seen. Despite some of the dialogue being fictional, the historical context of the movie is quite good...To have filmed the movie on the actual battlefield was wonderful, and kudos to the Civil War re-enactors who devoted their time to make this such a grand epic. I especially liked how the movie concentrated on several "unsung" heroes such as John Buford and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who went on to become one of the great generals of the war, and whom General Grant picked over all other generals to be with him at Lee's surrender at Appomattox....But there were a few problems with the movie. I had problems looking at many of the corpulent reenactors, knowing that the months of marching and being on lean rations would have made for a much thinner army. Also; Martin Sheen as Gen. Bobby Lee...Everything I have read about Robert E. Lee tells of him as a tall, handsome man; quite dominating, and a commanding presence.. Sheen merely comes across as dumpy and wimpy.However, all in all...these were only minor distractions in an otherwise excellent movie on the Civil War.