Gettysburg Film

[Hyun Orth]

Gettysburg is a 1993 American epic war film about the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. Written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell,[3] the film was adapted from the 1974 historical novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.[4] It features an ensemble cast, including Tom Berenger as James Longstreet, Jeff Daniels as Joshua Chamberlain, Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee, Stephen Lang as George Pickett, and Sam Elliott as John Buford.[3]

Originally filmed as a miniseries for TNT, Gettysburg received a limited theatrical release from New Line Cinema under the direction of Ted Turner, who owned both entities. At 254 minutes (4 hours and 14 minutes), it is the longest film released theatrically by a major film studio in the United States.[5][6][7] It received positive reviews from critics, but grossed only $12.7 million on a $20 million budget. It was however considered a hit regardless, due to its immediate TNT premiere ratings success, and subsequent home video sales. A prequel entitled Gods and Generals was released in 2003, also directed by Maxwell and featuring many returning cast members.

The film begins with a narrated map showing the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E. Lee, crossing the Potomac River to invade the North in June 1863, marching across Maryland and into Pennsylvania. On June 30, Confederate spy Henry Thomas Harrison reports to Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, commander of the First Corps, that the Union Army of the Potomac is moving in their direction, and that Union commander Joseph Hooker has been replaced by George Meade. Longstreet reports the information to General Lee, who is concerned that the army is moving "on the word of an actor", as opposed to that of his cavalry chief, J. E. B. Stuart. Nonetheless, Lee orders the army to concentrate near the town of Gettysburg. At the Union encampments near Union Mills, Maryland, Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the 20th Maine is ordered to take in 120 men from the disbanded 2nd Maine who had resigned in protest, with permission to shoot any man who refuses to fight. Chamberlain speaks to the men, and is able to persuade all but six to take up arms.

On the second day, July 2, Col. Strong Vincent's brigade from the Union V Corps is deployed to Little Round Top, and Vincent places the 20th Maine at the end of the line, warning Chamberlain that he and his regiment are the flank, and that if they retreat, the Confederate army can swing around behind them and rout the Union forces. Chamberlain speaks to the six remaining men of the 2nd Maine, and three of them decide to fight. Lee orders Longstreet to deploy his two available divisions to take Little Round Top and the neighboring Big Round Top. As Longstreet's corps deploys, Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood, commanding one of the divisions, protests to Longstreet; with the Union holding the high ground, he would lose half his forces if he attacked as ordered. Longstreet, despite his own protests to Lee, orders Hood to attack; Hood is later wounded fighting at Devil's Den. At the summit of Little Round Top, Chamberlain and the 20th Maine fight off wave after wave of advancing Confederates, and begin running out of ammunition. Colonel Vincent is mortally wounded, and none of the other three regiments in his brigade are able to provide support. Chamberlain orders his men to fix bayonets, and charge in a right wheel down the slope against the attacking Confederates, which Chamberlain describes as "we'll swing it down; we swing like a door." The attack successfully drives the Confederate assault back, and the Union flank holds. That evening, Stuart finally arrives, and Lee reprimands him for his being out of contact. At the same time, Longstreet's remaining division, under Maj. Gen. George Pickett, arrives on the field.

Ken Burns, who wrote and directed the 1990 documentary The Civil War, portrays an aide to Hancock. Civil War historian Brian Pohanka makes an uncredited appearance as Brigadier General Alexander S. Webb. The character Sergeant Owen is portrayed by Mark Moses. Matt Letscher, who would later appear in the 2003 prequel Gods and Generals as Colonel Adelbert Ames, makes his film debut as a 2nd Maine soldier.

Reeves Teletape Studios first acquired the rights for an adaptation of The Killer Angels in 1978. In 1981, Ronald F. Maxwell acquired the rights to the property and hired Michael Sharaa to write a screenplay adaptation. Although Sharaa died in 1988, Maxwell completed the 400-page screenplay. PolyGram Pictures agreed to produce the project as a film starring Robert Duvall and William Hurt but went bankrupt shortly afterwards. Maxwell was unable to sell the project to any other studio because of the failures of recent historical epics such as Heaven's Gate and Revolution. Kevin Costner was interested in adapting the film but chose instead to direct Dances with Wolves.[8]

Although Maxwell was displeased with American Civil War television series such as North and South and The Blue and the Gray, he reluctantly decided to try to release the project as a television series. The producers originally pitched the project to ABC in 1991, as a TV miniseries. ABC initially agreed to back the project, but when a miniseries about George Armstrong Custer, Son of the Morning Star (1991), got low ratings and after the Gulf War started, ABC pulled out.[9] Maxwell, with help from documentarian Ken Burns, finally secured funding for the film from Ted Turner at the 3rd Golden Laurel Awards in 1991. Originally it was planned as a miniseries for Turner Network Television, but it was released as a film instead.[8]

For the first time, the National Park Service allowed the motion picture industry to recreate and film battle scenes directly on the Gettysburg Battlefield, including scenes of Devil's Den and Little Round Top. However, much of the movie was shot at a nearby Adams County farm. Thousands of Civil War reenactors from across the country volunteered their time to come to Gettysburg to participate in the massive battle scenes.

During filming of the battle scenes on Little Round Top, Bradley Egen, an extra playing a Union soldier, was unintentionally struck in the head by the butt of a musket and suffered a mild concussion, however Bradley was able to resume light duties the following day.

Two more soundtracks, More Songs and Music From Gettysburg and a Deluxe Commemorative Edition, were released as well. The first one included popular songs from the time period and a recitation of the Gettysburg Address by Jeff Daniels, while the second featured the original soundtrack album (above) and a second disc several previously unreleased tracks from the score and the aforementioned recitation. Another score "Armistead is hit" which played when Armistead rallies the division was never released in the soundtrack.

The miniseries was set to air on TNT, but when Ted Turner saw part of the film during post-production, he realized it was much bigger than a miniseries and decided to release the film theatrically. The film was distributed by New Line Cinema which Turner had just acquired. Only released to 248 theaters at its widest release and limited to just one or two showings per day because of its length, the film still managed to gross $12,769,960 at the box office. It would go on to become an all-time high seller on the VHS and DVD market, and has become a staple of classroom history lessons.[citation needed] Its June 1994 broadcast TV premiere, on TNT, garnered over 34 million viewers, a record for cable TV.[citation needed]

One of the longest films ever released by a Hollywood studio, Gettysburg runs 254 minutes (4 hours, 14 minutes) on VHS and DVD. A "Director's Cut", 271-minute (4 hours, 31 minutes), with several extended or added scenes, was produced and sold as a part of a special "Collector's Edition" released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2011, to coincide with 150th commemoration of beginning of the Civil War in April 1861. It was also released in the UK by the Premium Collection as a DVD and Blu-ray combo which includes the Directors extended version and is number 21 in the collection.[citation needed]

Gettysburg received a 77% "Fresh" score with an average rating of 7.3/10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Gettysburg's reverent approach to history is balanced with the committed work of a talented cast - and the hard-hitting dramatization of a bloody turning point in the Civil War."[10]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, stating, "This is a film that Civil War buffs will find indispensable, even if others might find it interminable." Ebert said that despite his initial indifference, he left the film with a new understanding of the Civil War, and that he felt Jeff Daniels deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance.[11] Ebert also gave the film a "thumbs-up" on Siskel & Ebert, while Gene Siskel gave it a "thumbs-down", saying the film was "bloated Southern propaganda". He, however, also praised Daniels's performance and recommended his nomination for an Oscar.

Gods and Generals, a prequel based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Jeff Shaara (Michael Shaara's son), was released in 2003. It was also written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell and featured many returning cast members, including Jeff Daniels as Joshua Chamberlain, Kevin Conway as Buster Kilrain, and C. Thomas Howell as Thomas Chamberlain. Stephen Lang, who portrayed George Pickett in the first film, also returned, but in the role of Stonewall Jackson after scheduling conflicts prevented Russell Crowe from taking the part. Billy Campbell, who portrayed Andrew Lewis Pitzer in Gettysburg, replaced Lang as Pickett. New cast members included Robert Duvall as Robert E. Lee, replacing Martin Sheen.

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