After the success of Gettysburg, Ted Turner Pictures is back with the prequel: Gods and Generals. However, unlike the wonderful Gettysburg, this new movie is, in a word, disappointing.
Gods and Generals alternates between some excellent battle scenes, good background scenes, and lots of ponderous poorly acted politico-homefront scenes. It is badly in need of an edit--some of the footage is so awful it wouldn't make it to an extended play DVD.
On the one hand, Jeff Daniels makes an excellent return as Chamberlain. I even liked his "Roman" speech just before entering the slaughter at Fredericksburg -- typical of the professor turned commander character. The supporting 20th Maine soldiers are also in fine style. The Confederate commanders do well enough, although seemingly not as sharp as in Gettysburg. I don't know. As a collective whole, they seem less animated, even Stonewall Jackson, the main focus of the film. Still, it's not bad.
That's Me Being Kind. Now I Get to be Cruel
The politically correct pontificating bored me out of my mind. It seems the Southerners, especially the womenfolk, can do little else but wring their hands and gasp and sob out stilted 21st century dialogue that is supposed to pass for 19th century conversation...on tyranny, on oppression, on Northern aggression, on state's rights, on home and hearth and good ol' Virginny and on and on and on. At certain points, the movie should be called: Gods, Generals, and Gibberish.
As for slavery, Daniels gets the mercifully short and sweet best lines--an excellent example of tight scriptwriting pairing superb acting and meaningful dialogue. But the rest is gibberish. His aide-de-camp brother seems to utter the only derogatory comment ("darkies") about slaves. The two slave roles (Jackson's cook and the housekeeper for a white Southern aristocratic family) become articulate, heroic, and courageous role models of humanity worthy of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman. You gotta love a cook who quotes Napoleon. It’s so surreal. Now back to being kind.
Of Uniforms and Costumes
Once again, an outpouring of re-enactors make this movie. These guys look like Billy Yank and Johnny Reb. They march like 'em. They fire like 'em. They die like 'em. Sure there are more than a few Confederates who suffered few privations--they're very well fed, their uniforms are new, and they don't seem to have much looted Union equipment. But, those glorious re-enactors sure charge like Billy Yank and Johnny Reb.
Of note are the colorful Zouaves, adding those dashes of red to the usual mix of blue and gray. Of curious note is a unit of Confederates with long blue coats and tricorn hats--did somebody miss the casting call for the American Revolution or was there really a unit clad like that in the Shenandoah Valley? Or did some dim-witted Hollywood casting agent grab any re-enactor with a musket?
The scenery is marvelous, filmed entirely in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The women's costumes are very upper class and fantastic. Two thumbs and two big toes up for the look.
Of Battles and Skirmishes
There are three main battles in the film: First Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Now, I suspect purists will object to many little things. I'm picky, too. But overall, the battle scenes make this movie alive, because the non-battle scenes bayonet this movie dead.
At its best, the generals cluster about a map and discuss dispositions and intents. The Confederate council at Fredericksburg is a case in point. At its worst, the special effects fall a little flat--you can see what I mean if you look at cannon flashes at Fredericksburg and the same straggler shots. However, the way a battle was filmed was excellent--long shots of lines of troops attacking across fields juxtaposed with close-ups of officers trying to keep the lines straight as casualties mount. Stragglers and wounded make for the rear. Dead and wounded are left on the field in the wake of diminishing lines. Shells explode about the troops, often taking out a section, and musket balls pick off front line troops during a volley. Union and Confederate troops firing away at each other in diminishing volleys until one side breaks.
The close in camera work shines as it focuses in on the re-enactors. Attack, counterattack, rallies, and routs receive marvelous choreography. When Jackson's men move out of the woods and head towards unsuspecting Union lines at Chancellorsville, you can feel the tension and urgency build. As they sweep into the Union camps, you feel the Union panic, rout, and become increasing disorganized and demoralized. The director certainly saved the best for last.
Schizophrenic Movie
So what to do? If you're an American Civil War buff, you'll have to see it. There aren't that many ACW films produced. If you're a history buff, you should probably see the movie, too. If you're not, there's really no compelling reason to see it.
Judging from the crowd on opening night, many, many, many people got up and walked out and about during the movie. You didn't see that at Gladiator. Or at Saving Private Ryan. Or Gangs of New York or The Two Towers or other films. They didn't leave during the battle scenes, but they sure walked around during the other scenes. I didn't really think of this as a measure of crowd appreciation until after the movie. This is not a good movie. It's not a bad movie, either. It's a 4-hour mediocre movie. As $9.25 for my ticket, I figure Ted Turner owes me $4.62. See it as a matinee to save a few bucks. The theater included an intermission in the middle.
How Russ Would Fix It
Besides a re-write, the answer is easy: eliminate the politico-correcto crap and make a war movie about the 19th century instead of a 21st century chick flick.
I'd start the movie with two scrolling sentences: the first that the South seceded and the North formed an army to bring the back into the Union and the South formed one to stay apart, and the second that the armies first met at Manassas.
Then, boom. The opening scene would start with General Bee's dialogue in the middle of the battle saying he couldn't hold, that Jackson stands like a stone wall, and that the Georgians should rally behind the Virginians. That would save 45 minutes of nonsense and put you right into the film instead of wandering around the theater looking for the exit or squirming in your seat ready to scream, "Get on with it!"
Some of the training scenes could be used later to show even more armies massing and as a link to Fredericksburg, and some campfire talk could clue you into the character and past of Stonewall Jackson. Oddly enough, there's nothing except a half a line about Jackson's efforts in the Shenandoah Valley. Go figure.
Next, cut anything having to do with the "Fredericksburg family." Better yet, when the cannonball hits the house, instead of bruising little Timmy, kill off all the characters. That would save at least another 20 minutes. The next thing you'd see after the post-Manassas lull, some campfire talk, some training scenes, and the Confederate council would be the Union assault on Fredericksburg.
After Fredericksburg, we can eliminate most of the Rebel wintering gabfest. There's another 30 minutes. Just cut directly to Robert E. Lee discussing the Chancellorsville dilemma and strategy.
That would pare this bloated 4-hour film to 2 and 1/2 hours. It'd be quicker. It'd be smarter. It'd be better. As it stands now, this film is full of fluff and fat. It needs to be as lean as Stonewall's "foot cavalry."
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© Copyright 2004 by David W. Tschanz.
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