Gods and Generals

2003

Action / Biography / Drama / History / War

33
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 64% · 118 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 64% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.2/10 10 17975 18K

general based on true story rise and fall battle death union soldier

Plot summary

The film centers mostly around the personal and professional life of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a brilliant if eccentric Confederate general, from the outbreak of the American Civil War until its halfway point.

Director

Ron Maxwell Photo
Ron Maxwell

Top cast

Alex Hyde-White Photo
Alex Hyde-White as Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside
Patrick Gorman Photo
Patrick Gorman as Gen. John Bell Hood
James Horan Photo
James Horan as Col. Cummings
Ryan Cutrona Photo
Ryan Cutrona as Gen. Marsena Patrick
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.96 GB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
3 hr 39 min
Seeds 7
4.21 GB
1920*800
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
3 hr 39 min
Seeds 21

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by tomsview 7 / 10

Aptly named

This prequel to "Gettysburg" has some breathtaking recreations of Civil War battles. But the whole thing is so reverent and solemn that it takes time to fully engage with it.The reverence shown to Generals Jackson and Lee is usually reserved for biblical figures. It made me wonder if "Gods and Generals" captures the way people of that time really spoke?Maybe formal address was more common in the 1860's, but just about everything anyone says in the first hour and a half is a speech. Before the brilliantly staged Battle of Fredericksburg, Jeff Daniels even recites an ancient poem, "The Crossing of the Rubicon".I'm sure the dialogue has been shaped from historic records and especially letters, but people don't necessarily speak the way they write; some of the exchanges between husbands and wives, and mothers and sons in this film are bizarre. The frequent appearances of John Wilkes Booth ever ready with a Shakespearean soliloquy add to the theatricality.Some may object to a comparison with "Gone with the Wind'. However it has far more natural speech patterns than "Gods and Generals" and in 1939, when it was released, there were still some thousands of veterans of the war still alive, albeit elderly.Heightening the dolefulness of "Gods and Generals" is the score. Other than source music from bands and soldiers singing, pathos informs nearly every theme whether for an intimate interior or a horizon-wide battle. To be fair, the theme for the surprise attack at Chancellorsville, "VMI Will Be Heard From Today", shows how the rest of the score could have been coloured differently.Possibly the filmmakers didn't want to glorify war by building the score around the stirring anthems and songs of the Civil War, but it's a classic example of how music can shape the mood of a film.For a while it seemed that slavery was receiving a pass, but towards the end, Jeff Daniel's Joshua Chamberlain puts it into context."Gods and Generals" does too much. Surely John Wilkes could have been saved for another movie. However the look of the film is amazing. We are transported to those battlefields; each one different, although we are spared what a blast of grapeshot would actually do to a human body.In the end, those authentic looking re-creations of suicidal advances and troops firing point blank volleys into each other can only leave the impression that it was an era that produced remarkably brave soldiers.
Reviewed by OlderThanYou 7 / 10

Good, but very long

I first saw this twenty years ago and enjoyed it then. I took it for what it was as dramatized history. I saw it again via a streaming service that said it was an extended director's cut. This time it was 4 hours and 40 minutes long. That is one of my two minor complaints. I had to pause it for a break two times. The second thing for me was that some of the dialog was indistinct and difficult to understand. It was beautifully filmed and I thought it to be well cast. The music seemed to fit, but was sometimes too loud. This is all technical stuff, but sometimes that gets in the way of enjoying the movie. I was not there when any of this happened, so I cannot say how exact it was as to accuracy. In general it matched my memory as to the events from what I have otherwise read. My only observation about the cast members is that Robert Duvall is usually good, but he also usually plays Robert Duvall. I felt his Robert E. Lee was a little off. I believe that Lee began the war as a special advisor and was not immediately made Commander of the army. I think the movie is worth watching. Just remember that it is long and is more about character studies than battle histories.
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