Great Movie, Historically Accurate

Rating: Null/10 (9 December 2002)

This movie is by far one of the most moving films I have ever seen about the Civil War. The acting was brilliant and the script well-written. The film is a fairly good representation of the actual story of Shaw and the 54th, and the greater context in the movie is accurate. While some people have said that the Civil War was more a result of arguments about equal representation of southern and northern states in government and equal rights of both southerners and northerners and not about slavery at all, there still were the abolitionists and other people who believed that this war was one that could result in the emancipation of the slaves. Shaw and his parents fell into this category, and because the movie is centered upon Shaw, this is the angle from which the war is viewed. But leaving this argument aside, the movie has a powerful message and a great plot and should be seen by all.