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Gettysburg: the movie |
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Ronald Maxwell’s 1993 film ‘Gettysburg’, based on the novel ‘The Killer Angels’ by J. Michael Shaara, comprises of two video cassettes, being 234 minutes long. It is set from the afternoon/evening of June 30th, 1863, until the day after the Battle of Gettysburg, the 4th of July, 1863, ironically enough, ‘Independence Day’. It is filmed on location at Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania.
When the video starts, the credits are played through on the screen. From the very beginning, we see that extra special care has been taken to match each main actor with the factual main character being portrayed. This is shown through first displaying an image of the actual soldier, and then smoothly substituting it with the image of the modelling actor dressed up as that soldier. Through this method, it is obvious from the very start, that attention-to-detail is being observed.
The actual film starts by bringing the audience up-to-date on events of the time. We hear that in June 1863, the Southern Confederate (Rebel) Army, 70,000 strong, under the leadership of General Robert Edward Lee, has slipped across the Potomac River to commence the invasion of the north. They have used the mountains for screening and their ob
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Below are additional random excerpts from the paper...
We shift back to the Confederate Army where Major General Henry Heth (played by Warren Burton) has arrived to tell Lee of the battle in the distance. Lee ponders a few strategies and then gives the order for full attack. We are shown a confrontation between Lee and Heth about Heth’s bringing on a general engagement. This is supposedly before any of Heth’s brigades have started fighting. Then, we see the Unionist Iron Brigade going into action. In fact, this is chronologically inaccurate, as Lee did not get to the field until after Heth's two leading brigades had been crushed by the Iron Brigade . However, history does tell us that it is about this stage that the order for the Confederate Army to engage in full attack is given .
We shift to Lee’s office where Longstreet has arrived to have a talk. The audience hears the hymn, ‘Rock of Ages’, in the background and this suggests a memorial service. The faces of the Confederate soldiers scattered around including Lee, suggest all is not well. Suddenly, the long lost Major General Jeb Stuart (played by Joseph Faqua) arrives, and upon conclusion of his talk with Longstreet, at about midnight, Lee brings Stuart into his office and reprimands him. Stuart is given no chance to make excuses. On the other hand, no reason is given to the audience why Stuart was unable to report back to his commanding officer. It is only upon further research outside of the movie that we learn Stuart had been trapped off in eastern Virginia after crossing the Potomac River. The Union forces had come through immediately after him, thus leaving him no time to backtrack and instead, having to wait until the way was clear before he could return to Lee.
After the scene with Lee and Stuart, we move to Pickett’s campfire – here, Pickett eloquently refutes the teachings of Darwin on the origin of man. However, Darwin didn't make public his ideas on man's descent from the primates until the publication of The Descent of Man in 1871 . We have another historical inaccuracy as Pickett would not have known Darwin’s ideas unless of course he knew Darwin personally, which is most unlikely.
Overall however, ‘Gettysburg’ is a brilliant movie with real historic worth, being as the actual dates, characters, and events are all followed so closely. Anyone who watches it will not go away un-informed. Attention-to-detail is very commendable as is the acting. It follows the Battle of Gettysburg as much as possible with only a few historical inaccuracies. Even for those with little more than a passing interest, ‘Gettysburg’ is still gripping enough to captivate in its own right.
Upon the mutineers’ arrival, the movie shows Colonel Chamberlain as instructing a certain Sergeant Andrew J. Tozier (played by Herb Mitchell) to set them up near the trees. This is our third historical mistake - Chamberlain would not have previously known Sergeant Tozier. Tozier was one of the 120 men from the Second Maine, who had just arrived.
Some topics in this essay:
Union Army,
Battle Gettysburg,
Lee Longstreet,
George Lazenby,
Lewis Armistead,
Meanwhile Reynolds’,
Brigadier Kemper,
Park Pennsylvania,
Lieutenant Chamberlain,
Robert Lee’s,
battle gettysburg,
confederate army,
day battle,
major george,
colonel chamberlain,
commander major,
union army,
lee longstreet,
sergeant kilrain,
round top,
colonel arthur fremantle,
little round top,
major george pickett,
southern war ‘whoop’,
major jeb stuart,
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Approximate Word count = 4463
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)  |
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RELATED ESSAYS |
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Battle of Gettysburg... The movie showed a detailed map to Gettysburg and of the battle site which gave a better mental picture than the drawing in the discussion. ... |
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Gods and Genwerals... He did films such as Gettysburg, the movie which in which Gods and Generals is a prequel too, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, and Kidco. ... |
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The Big Win... of Gettysburg into is players in hopes that they too will come together and become winners. I rate The Big Win a 10 out of 10. I recommend this movie to viewers ... |
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GloryThis is one of the most popular Civil War movies of all time. Until the Gettysburg Movie was made, this was the best Civil War movie of all time. ... |
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Old Yeller... It is not really an important movie historically wise such as Gettysburg or Gods and Generals but I can suppose it is an ok story. ... |
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PROFESSIONAL ESSAYS |
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Separate But Equal... to spend the night sleeping in the car because no hotel in Gettysburg would accept ... There are many worthwhile facts to be learned from this movie, and one is ... |
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Separate But Equal TV Docudrama... to spend the night sleeping in the car because no hotel in Gettysburg would accept ... There are many worthwhile facts to be learned from this movie, and one is ... |
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GWTW... known by Southerners, such as when he informs Scarlett of the battle at Gettysburg. ... We see this dramatically staged in the movie when Scarlett and Melanie wait ... |
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