Give 'em Hell, 54!

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2008)

Glory tells the story of the 54th Regiment, one of the first African American regiments that Abraham Lincoln credited with turning the tide of the war. The events portrayed in the film lead up to the heroic and bloody battle at Fort Wagner in which the 54th lost nearly half of its men.
There is nothing better than watching a film that wants to tell you a tale of great heroism, and Glory is one of the best examples of its genre. It is a war film in which perhaps only fifteen minutes of its nearly two hour running time is used to recreate battle scenes. Instead of blasting its audience with carnage and bloodshed, we get to know the men who were involved in these battles and their reasons for fighting. Glory is a film of great depth and subtlety in which powerfully dramatic moments are depicted with very little dialogue. Edward Zwick, the director, obviously understands that an audience has intelligence enough to be completely moved by a sudden swell of music or by a single tear running down a man's cheek. The performances by all five of the main protagonists are astonishing, the cinematography is sublime and the score is beautifully used throughout the film.
The story of the 54th Regiment is emotive and inspiring and Glory is an emotive and inspiring film that pays tribute to all those men who died in the fight for freedom.