Gettysberg fans soundoff!

[Tycho]

The ultimate Civil War fight in the Battle of Little Round Top and Pickett's charge.

I think the movie provided great military strategy re-enactment, a great cast, and cool artillery, fire squad, and hand-to-hand combat action.

It was also deep and philosophical at parts and made you care more about the characters.

Amongst war movies, and this is a long one, I never tire from watching it.

I loved the prequel, Gods and Generals (there's a thread for that movie in this forum already) and I can't wait for the sequel "The Last Charge."

Is this the official name? I can't remember if they changed the title.

Does anyone know if the cast will stay the same, or what changes they plan to make?

When will this movie come out? For regular theaters or just cable?

I don't think it hits a niche with the mainstream movie goers, but a specialty-taste crowd.

By the way, the music is awesome! I play the soundtrack CD often.

[Exhaust Port]

I've only seen up to Pickett's Charge but loved every minute up to then. I had a commitment that I couldn't ignore that took me away from watching the rest. Is it out on DVD? I figure, rather than waiting to see it again on TV I could buy it and just watch it over and over.

[Jaff]

Since I grew up in Germany playing on Dragon's teeth, old german tanks, and in actual bunkers left from WWII I have put in a great deal of study in WWII. My other favorite war of study is the Civil War, and I am a fanatical fan of the Ken Burn Documentary films. I've been to several of the battle fields, and several of the gravesites.

With that said the film Gettysburg was fantastic in every way immaginable. It could not have been better, unless your an action pace film junkie. Gods and Generals I favored more because I am a big fan of Stonewall Jackson, Nathan Bedford Forest, and Lee. Sorry, I'm not a fan of any of the union generals. I was really gratified that Jeff Daniels, C. Thomas Howell returned, but I was a bit disappointed that Martin Sheen did not replay the role of Lee. I think Robert Duvall did not execute the roll as good as he should.

I never heard that they were making another part of the Trilogy, where is this info Tycho, you got me all excited about it? I would look forward to that almost as much as SW, episode III (almost).

[Tycho]

Exhaust Port: Gettysberg has been out on video and DVD for several years I think. Yeah, you could buy it. I find I watch it every other month or something like that.

Jaff: my brother found the name of the next title and some info on it on some movie preview site online. I think it's due this coming year (2004 I mean).

At the end of the credits in Gods and Generals, they also give the name of the movie and an expected release date I think. At least the name is there in a line saying "Coming Soon, watch for... The Last Charge" or something of a similar title.

At some point we'll get into a great discussion about WWII movies. I'm also interested to learn about good WWI movies, as I know the least about this era, and some ofit has the feel of modern warfare and some of it harkens back to the nostalgic wild west with horses and calvary!


I actually liked Robert Duvall's Lee better. Maybe because at Fredricksburg General Lee was at his best and knew what he was doing. They fought a defensive campaign and protected the citizens they were supposed to serve. At Gettysberg, Lee made strategic errors and walked into a fight from which he set himself up to lose. He should have listened to Longstreet, one of my favorite Southern Generals.

You're right, the North had less inspiring officers. Hancock was worthy though, and Chamberlain is probably the greatest hero of these movies, he's presented so well. I did like General Bufford though, but it seems except for getting his men into the best deployment to win Gettysberg, he played a small part in the overall war. But Bufford's like a General Dodonna or General Riekeen. He has his heroic moment and that makes him interesting.

I don't think any movie's focussed on Nathan Bedford Forest. Wasn't he supposed to be a Segregationalist and also (in fiction) a relative of Forest Gump's?

[Jaff]

Bedford Forrest was in the Confederate Calvary. He was originally a slave trader who auctioned off slaves before the Civil War. When the war started he started his own malitia that was adopted by the confederacy. After he was in Shiloh he was made famous when he and his men charged into union lines. He went way ahead of his men, and found himself surrounded by dumbstruck Union officers who stared at him. In seconds one of the union men said: "Shoot him, kill the God D*^@ rebel, knock him off his horse." One union man did, and the muzzle blast made Nathan jump up from his saddle. Nathan then stabbed at the men with his saber and pushed his horse to retreat back to his lines. On his way out him grabbed a yankee after killing him and used the body as a shield to deflect bullets from behind. Nathan made it back to his lines, and was not hurt. The muzzle blast startled him, but did not hit him! That gunfire exchange was the last shots in Shiloh.

Nathan raised in rank after Jeb Stuart was promoted upon the death of Jackson. He continued to fight in many engagements. His main duty was to destroy enemy supply lines behind their lines, and Nathan was very responsible for destroying Railroads till the end of the war. After the south surrendered he still fought in his own way. He made the Ku Klux Klan, but after it turned too nasty for him he quit the group.

And if he was alive today I bet he would love Forrest Gump too!

[CropDuster]

I agree. I think they are great films. I just saw Gods and Generals. wow. what a great movie. and, I agree with jaff 100% about the ken burns series. It is really long, but if you're a history freak like me it is an awesome investment of your time. If you are serious about learning some stuff about the civil war it is the most comprehensive documentary that I'm aware of.
BTW, when is the sequel Last Charge? slated to come out in theater?

[Tycho]

OK, I got the title of the final book in the series they made the movies from:

Gods and Generals
The Killer Angels (Gettysburg)
The Last Full Measure

It was said that Gods and Generals didn't do so well at the box office and there were no plans to make the final movie of the trilogy. I hope I'm misinformed.

I just watched Gettysburg again, and in spite of how long that movie is, I am never bored watching it! The Battle of Little Round Top (Chamberlain vs. Hill) is still my favorite part in the whole movie. That was indeed a seriously incredibly brave bit of soldiering.

The darn music is really stuck in my head right now. It's one of the best soundracks to any war movie that was ever made.