Study of the crisis is a sort of cottage industry in academia, and there is an enormous amount of material on it. We knew from the outset we'd come under a great deal of scrutiny. I think we're going to skate. Over some very thin ice. There has been an escalation in the bitterness surrounding these debates, a bitterness that stems from the unique and growing power of movies as a purveyor of history.
Movies mix the real and the fake in a way that can make the fake seem credible.
A dangerous tool, especially in the hands of people whose primary business is entertainment, not history. Movies have to be highly entertaining to fill theaters and keep the industry alive, and I think that it's pointless to be a fuss-budget about every detail in historical films. The good ones, he noted, stick closely to the facts, capture the look and feel of a moment in time, and make dramatic departures rarely and sensibly. One of the most technically accurate historical movies ever made. Hollywood's best Civil War movie, with terrific battlefield detail.