Superb Civil War Movie That Everyone Should See

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2001)

I have watched "Glory" many times since it first appeared in 1989, and was still thrilled to see that it was being aired again last night. I could watch this movie over and over again and never tire of it.
From the graphic depiction of the Battle of Antietam that open the movie, to the graphic depiction of the Battle of Fort Wagner that closes it, this must surely rate as one of the best war movies ever. The battle scenes are meticulously recreated, the acting is absolutely brilliant and the drama compelling throughout.
The 54th Massachussetts, of course, was the first all black regiment (except for the white officers who commanded it) in the history of the US Army. And this is its story - movingly told by director Edward Zwick, from the book by Lincoln Kirstein. The performances are outstanding. One hates to name anyone, because where does one start, but special mention has to be made of Matthew Broderick. As I recall, having made his name in Hollywood playing Ferris Bueller, he was something of a controversial choice for the part of the young Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. But he pulls the part off with ease. He plays Shaw quite appropriately as nervous and uncertain - promoted well ahead of his time - and having a need to be perhaps overly tough on the troops to prove his leadership. But Broderick also brings out the essential humanness of the man, his commitment to the abolitionist cause and his desire to demonstrate that his black soldiers were every bit as good as the best white soldiers the army had. Then there was Morgan Freeman as Sgt. Rollins, Denzel Washington as the angry Tripp, Jihmi Kennedy as the nervous but committed Jupiter, Andre Braugher as the educated Thomas Searles (who has his own struggle to fit in with a ragtag group of runaway slaves), Cary Elwes as Cabot Forbes, Shaw's friend and second in command. This was a true ensemble cast that worked together perfectly.
Never was there a more moving scene in any movie I have seen that Col. Shaw reading the Proclamation of the Confederate Congress to his men (that all blacks captured would be returned to slavery, that any blacks captured in federal uniform would be executed and that any white officers commanding black troops would be executed) and then emerging from his tent the next morning to see if any were left (literally, as the movie depicts - and probably accurately - expecting most to be gone.)
There have been some criticisms of this movie as being not 100% historically accurate (particularly the depiction of the 54th Massachussetts as being mostly ex-slaves, which apparently it was not) but to me that's just carping for the sake of wanting to find something to criticize. This is brilliant. Any student of the Civil War must watch this.
It's a 10/10.