The Holonet Boards   » Beyond Star Wars   » Gods and Generals


TheKnot

posted 02-19-2003 06:02 PM    
REALLY looking forward to this movie, as I'm a big Civil War buff (I can name all the Confederate generals at Gettysburg without using a reference).

Unfortunately, a LOT of the movie-reviewers are giving it poor ratings...but they did the same to ST:Nemesis and I thought it was a pretty damn good movie.

Never really paid attention to those people anyway...usually a bunch of Die Hard-action freaks or the "perfect-movie" fanatics. And lets not forget the group that type like this:

THI S MOVIE SUX DONT SEE IT K? SEE IT AND UR DUMB

*shudders*

Oh, anyways I DID have a question for this thread:

If you could choose which side of the Civil War to be on, what would it be?

Me, I'd fight for the South as there weren't a whole lot of Marylanders in the Confederate Army anyway (only 1 MD battallion, I think).

[ 02-19-2003 07:15 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by TheKnot ]



Taehun

posted 02-19-2003 08:29 PM    
I'll be there to see the movie. I'm a huge fan of the Killer Angels and the rest of the books by Sharrah, and I hope that this movie does credit to the book.

Although I would've rather seen Martin Sheen play Robert E. Lee...



Anakin

posted 02-19-2003 11:10 PM    
I didn't really enjoy Gettysburg, but this looks a lot better. Gettysburg was well made but it wasn't cinematically beautiful, and I didn't like it as much because of that. This new one looks a lot better. I'm glad Martin Sheen isn't playing Lee, I didn't like him in the part.

Loban

posted 02-19-2003 11:35 PM    
Yeah, Robert Duvall makes a better Lee in my mind...

Graysith

posted 02-20-2003 04:15 PM    
Ok, no one is answering the question.

Me... I'd go for the South, even though they lost. I just like the general genteel aspects of ol Dixie back in the day, and would fight to preserve common etiquette and a more mellow pace of life, I guess.

Plus I've always had a soft place in my heart for Georgia. Gotta love the state that gave us kudzu!



Loban

posted 02-20-2003 04:23 PM    
Ok... then I would say I'd fight for the Northwest...

Grant and his boys sure did clean up house over yonder...



Loban

posted 02-20-2003 06:30 PM    
Going beyond the original topic, do you agree with Union Gen. William Sherman's Total War tactic and his "march to the sea" campaign?

Anakin

posted 02-20-2003 10:37 PM    
I think I'd fight for the South, back then the United States wasn't seen as much as a whole as it was individual united states, and I would fight to preserve state's rights. But because of slavery, I would have probably just gone to canada.

About Sherman, in the interest of ending the war, I think certainly helped. The same can be asked about the a-bomb in Japan. Sherman didn't have to go to the lengths he did, and shouldn't have, but it's alright...



Taehun

posted 02-20-2003 11:49 PM    
I'm not too sure...I'd like to say I would've wanted to have fought for the north, but I don't know how I'd feel to having a new general commanding me every five weeks.

I think it'd be cool just to see what the big deal about Lee was...



TheKnot

posted 02-21-2003 12:42 AM    
Sherman practically crushed the rebels on the Western Theatre with his "March to the sea" campaign. Not just the military, but the civilian life there too...BUT, in my opinion, if it won the war, it had to be done.

Heck, if the South had more generals that were just as aggressive, like N.B. Forrest, and not ones like Braxton Bragg, the war could've had a different outcome...



Loban

posted 02-22-2003 04:49 AM    
You were right, Gods and Generals is not getting good reviews...

I believe it has something to do with it's length(un-godly 3 hrs 49 mins), and it's PG-13 rating...

I'd base that the greatest civil war movie(Glory, 1989) was so due to it's graphic realism...

Glory brought home 2 Golden Globes, and 4 Academy Awards...

The critics gave it an average of 4.7 out of 5, compare that to Gods and Generals(2.3/5)

Overall, Glory is one of my favorite movies... and this civil war thread has me seriously considering buying this epic classic...

This historic documenting the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts' ultimate sacrifice is a must see...

But, don't just take my word for it... rent or own your copy today...

[ 02-22-2003 12:48 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]



TheKnot

posted 02-22-2003 09:40 PM    
Just seen it today...

On a rating scale of 1 to 10, I'd say this was an 8.

The "ungodly" length of time to this movie was due to the awfully long boring scenes of romance and longwinded speeches that occur repeatedly.

I mean, at first they weren't that bad, but when they kept coming YEESH! Surely during those times they didn't talk for THAT long...

Another gripe was that it only showed three of the many crucial battles that occured before Gettysburg (First Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville), and the transition between each one can be a little confusing...

BUT the movie makes up for it in its battle scenes and superb (in my opinion) acting. Sure, it doesn't display a whole lot of blood and gore (although a guy's eye was shot out), but the violence is enough to display the horrors of the Civil War. There was definitely lots of fighting in each scene.

"Gods and Generals" was also mainly focused on the South and "Stonewall" Jackson as its main character. There were some scenes of the Union officers (Chamberlain and Hancock) but they were small compared to the screen time given to the rebels.

Not sure if I'll see it again in theaters, but I'll definitely buy it when it comes out in DVD. If you can bear it, this movie is worth the 4-hours it takes to finish...



Loban

posted 02-22-2003 10:58 PM    
'due to the awfully long boring scenes of romance and longwinded speeches that occur repeatedly'

The critics say it's only for Civil War buffs, but not 3 hrs and 49 mins... and SURELY not a boring 3 hrs and 49 mins...

I'd be interested in how you rate Glory from a scale of 1-10...

*can't bear it

[ 02-22-2003 11:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]



TheKnot

posted 02-22-2003 11:49 PM    
Oh, I'd give it a 10. Not a whole lot for me to say why since you pretty much summed it up for me.