One of the Greatest War Movies Ever Made!

Rating: Null/10 (3 March 2003)

"Glory" takes place in 1863 during the American Civil War. John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman), a gravedigger, runs upon a wounded Colonel Robert Shaw (Matthew Broderick) on the battlefield. Once Shaw recovered, he was recruited to lead the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, made up of black soldiers. Shaw has help with Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes) as his second in command. Both Shaw and Forbes are very doubtful of what their troops are capable of. Trip (Denzel Washington) and John Rawlins become natural born leaders among the men and prove to Shaw and Forbes that they are proud to be soldiers and that they can fight. A turning point for the 54th came when Shaw and Forbes joined together with the troops refusing to accept any paychecks due to the fact that Shaw's troops were receiving less pay than any of the other troops, who happened to be white, and they work just as hard and get just as bloody. The film ends with the unforgettable suicidal march up to Fort Wagner in South Carolina.
The intention for this movie was not just to entertain, but to make it aware to people that blacks too fought in the American Civil War. "Glory" was directed by Edward Zwick who told the story through the eyes of Colonel Robert Shaw, the son of Boston abolitionists. The 54th's performance encouraged the North to recruit one hundred eighty thousand other blacks in all.
"Glory" is one of the greatest war movies ever made. The setting, costumes, and props made it seem like we were there with Shaw and his troops. However, I did ask the question to myself `Why didn't Zwick tell the story through the troop's eyes?' This is primarily a story about a black experience. Could it be if he had, it would not have shown how it slowly turned the white's perceptions about blacks? The U.S. government was undecided about how to use black soldiers. At first, the army intended to use them only for manual labor, but later in the war, some saw combat. The 54th was able to prove to the army that black soldiers could be relied upon to fight with the same tenacity and patriotism as white soldiers.