One of the greatest masterpieces ever committed to celluloid

Rating: 10/10 (11 November 2006)

**** out of **** stars
Regrettably, I never saw Glory on the big screen when it was released in 1989. I consider this an enormous tragedy-being the movie enthusiast that I am-because Glory is one of the greatest war masterpieces ever committed to celluloid, and I wish I had had the harrowing and breath-taking cinematic experience that was intended.
My first viewing of Glory was a mere flicker of its ending back in 1991 or '92. I was in the Navy stationed in Southern California and it was playing one afternoon in the barracks rec room. I looked up at the shabby 19-inch television and saw a regiment of black soldiers readying themselves for an attack on Fort Wagner. I knew not who these men were, or the hardships they had endured, or why they had arrived at this crossroad, but I still felt the hairs on my forearms and at the nape of my neck stand on end and the tears well up in my eyes. I cared for them instantly, and after finally watching Glory in its entirety, I cared for them even more.
From the opening frames of the battle of Antietam to the ending cataclysm at Fort Wagner, I was continuously amazed, again, at how much I cared for characters who weren't even the main players: slave children on the side of the road, or women watching the 54th Massachussets infantry consummate their pass-and-review. The pride, hope and worry in their eyes is an important element in the film's emotional continuity. Matthew Broderick is perfectly cast as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the proud and well educated son of Boston abolitionists. We know Shaw's advancement to Colonel is "grandfathered" by his family and their aristocratic inner-circle, but his magnanimous nature and proficiency as a leader more than makes up for it. We like Shaw so much that we forget we need to forgive him for his breeding.
Denzel Washington plays Trip, a runaway slave who has no future outside the 54th regiment. Thomas Searles, Trip's polar opposite, is played by Andre Braugher. Searles worked for Col. Shaw's father, is well-educated, idealistic and lofty enough to impose his aptitude on the soldiers who are "less learned". Throughout the hardships of basic training, Searles realizes he has more learning to do than anyone, and his initial feeling of superiority changes into shame. The great Morgan Freeman is cast as Sgt.Maj. John Rawlins, the conscience of the film. An ex-grave digger turned father figure for the 54th, Rawlins is also an arbitrator between the ill-supplied black troops and Col. Shaw. Shaw is desperate to communicate through the intellectual and racial barriers that separate him and his men, and Rawlins assists, gaining great respect for his commanding officer and sometimes mixed respect from his subordinates.
The choir-like arias and resonant cellos of James Horner's wonderful score is a staple of beauty throughout the film. I can think of no other piece of music that could be as grand, or as subtle. To this day, it remains my favorite composition in a motion picture...and I love many.
Glory is not so much a history lesson as it is a submersion into the depths of honor, and yes...glory. It's a movie that tugs on your heart strings, even after the battle is over.