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| Gods and Generals [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) | ![Gods and Generals [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RTJFMRPQL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Ronald F. Maxwell
Actors: Stephen Lang, Robert Duvall, Jeff Daniels, Mark Aldrich, George Allen
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
Buy New: £5.44
Buy New/Used from £1.73
Avg. Customer Rating:  (16 reviews)
Sales Rank: 69006
Format: Ntsc, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 231 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5
MPN: WARD23413D
UPC: 085392341320
EAN: 0085392341320
ASIN: B00009OOFA
Release Date: July 15, 2003
Theatrical Release Date: February 21, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
The more you know about the American Civil War, the more you'll appreciate IGods and Generals/I and the painstaking attention to detail that IGettysburg/I writer-director Ronald F. Maxwell has invested in this academically respectable 220-minute historical pageant. In adapting Jeffrey Shaara's 1996 novel (encompassing the events of 1861-63, specifically the Virginian battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville), Maxwell sacrifices depth for scope while focusing on the devoutly religious "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang), whose Confederate campaigns endear him to Gen. Robert E Lee (Robert Duvall, giving the film's most subtle performance). Battles are impeccably recreated using 7,500 Civil War re-enactors and sanitised violence, their authenticity compromised by tasteful discretion and endless scenes of grandiloquent dialogue. Still, as the first part of a trilogy that ends with IThe Last Full Measure/I, this is a superbly crafted, instantly essential film for Civil War study. For all its misguided priorities, IGods and Generals/I is a noble effort, honouring faith and patriotism with the kind of reverence that has all but vanished from American film ? but provides abundant proof that historical accuracy is no guarantee of great storytelling. I--Jeff Shannon/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 The format.. Big Black Lines Such a Shame. October 9, 2008
Very disappointed in the films format...br /two big black lines top and bottom of the film, br /tried alsorts to remove them cannot...wish amazon had made this clear when i bought, br /for me this completely spoils the viewing, br /otherwise its quite a good film, br /did seem to drag in places, br /cant say much more as the annoying black lines put off my concentrating on the film an i found myself pottering about between scenes.
 Gods and Generals May 26, 2008
After reading reviews for this film, on other forums other than this I hasten to add, I expected the worse.br /br /Yes there is an over play on the religious aspects, some dodgy southern accents and some sickly sentimental scenes, but overall it is a good film.br /br /Some of the battle scenes are astonishing, and unless you are an emotional jellyfish, you will be moved by them.br /br /Civil wars are the worse kind of wars, and with this being no that long ago (the last vet died in the 1950's I think) it does not feel like a bit of ancient history like the English Civil war does.br /br /I felt it was a little Southern biased, and tried to justify the war from a Southern stand point (which was not really slavery, but independence!), but all films generally have a bias. For example, which British war films give a fully equal bias to both sides, even with our sense of fairness? We know American film makers "have" to make America the hero's, so making such a film must be a very difficult political equation to solve.br /br /A fine film, not as good as Gettysburg, but it leaves wanting the third film making in the Trilogy.br /
Good in parts May 18, 2008
This lovingly made film covers the war career of Stonewall Jackson in a reverential manner that is not really fashionable these days. Its subject is the usual bundle of seeming contradictions that constitute folks from the past. The themes of service and religion mixing with a very aggressive attitude to the Yankee invaders, and slavery hanging around the edges. Into this Rebel world comes a sub-theme of the union officer (Chamberlain) who we meet at Little Round Top at Gettysburg. Chamberlain is in some ways Jackson's Union opposite, also a teacher, also religious but also an amateur soldier where Jackson is a professional to the tip of his very large beard. Both tend to prose fit to bust, at times the script reads like those 19th century novels where the story telling deserves the description "dense". But I am not persuaded that this is inaccurate.br /br /Between conversations we Yahoos can enjoy some extensive battle scenes in which rather portly re-enactors give one a very good idea of what it was like. The film does regard military service and sacrifice as honourable things, and in this it is faithful to the period. The battles are not the usual League of Evil Marksmen affairs, here both sides take casualties as they duke it out face-to-face and shoulder-to-shoulder. First Bull Run, Fredericskburg, Chancellorsville are all well observed though Fredericksburg gives one a feeling of World War One as the units rush towards the Confederate fortifications.br /br /While I thought much it did was worthy I must confess to resorting to the fast forward when another Yack Attack threatened. The Christmas scene being particularly nauseating, but that probably says more about modern tastes than the subject of the film.br /br /
Wildly overambitious November 10, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Ironies abound: while Gettysburg was made for television but ended up with a theatrical release, yet despite a $60m budget, a huge cast and being shot in 2.35:1 widescreen, Gods and Generals looks like it would have been more at home on TV. In some ways it's almost the most expensive home movie ever shot, with Ted Turner paying for this account of the early years of the American Civil War out of his own pocket. For the first hour it's almost as if the Union never existed, the film shown entirely from the Southern side, and with a very partisan view at that (all down to Yankee aggression, with Fort Sumpter conveniently dismissed in a single line). Too often lengthy quotations take the place of dialogue and even the better actors in the cast often seem ill at ease while the surprisingly weak daylight photography and poor CGi matte painting in early scenes giving it an air of storybook unreality. Indeed, Ronald Maxwell's approach at times seems pure D.W. Griffith, with a fondness for awkward tableaux and unconvincing sentiment (poor Mira Sorvino gets a couple of particularly painfully hearts-and-flowers scenes to deliver as a consolation prize for missing out on playing Joan of Arc when Maxwell's version was dropped in the wake of Luc Besson's film). There are a few moments here and there - an intimate scene between Stonewall Jackson and his wife confiding his doubts, a scene between Jeff Daniels and Kevin Conway's sergeant about friends on the other side - but as the over-ambitious film tries to cram too much history into its four hour running time (and still scenes filmed dealing with Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth and the Battle of Antietem didn't make the cut) the people just get lost. br /br /Thankfully, the second half rallies considerably as the film reaches the Battle of Fredericksburg and the 20th Maine's disastrous charge, and the contradictions in Stephen Lang's "Stonewall" Jackson, a deeply religious man yet one who advocated taking no prisoners, become more interesting despite the film's determination to turn him into across between Jesus Christ and a vengeful Old Testament prophet. Yet sadly the lasting impression is of a film that is too sprawling and unfocussed for its own good and one that not only either needed to be a lot longer or a lot shorter but also much better written. As for the somewhat nonsensical title, it's an abbreviation of the novel's Faith in Gods and Generals. Incidentally, be warned that the DVD has one of the worst side breaks ever. Some fairly decent DVD extras, but the lack of deleted scenes implies a director's cut may be in the offing some time in the future.br /
Early Years of the American Civil War, brilliantly portrayed October 14, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a stunning depiction of both battles and personalities of the early Civil War, using primarily the story of the brilliant General `Stonewall' Jackson as its `hook'. It is based on the book by Jeffrey Shaara, which was the first in a trilogy. The second of the books has already been filmed, as Gettysburg, by the same team that made this movie.br /The movie did not fare well at the box office, putting the movie of the last in the trilogy in doubt - which is a shame, as there is a lot to be admired here. Where Gettysburg was first and foremost a historical re-enactment of the pivotal battle of the Civil War, this movie focuses far more on the characters and personalities, and even home life, of the main protagonists. Yes, it's a mite long - it covers a lot of ground though. It takes us from the start of the war, with Robert Duvall as Robert E Lee rejecting the overall command of the Northern army to join the confederate army protecting his home state of Virginia, through to the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. br /The battles scenes are as authentic as could be, and satisfyingly achieved not through Lord of the Rings style CGI, but actual historical battle re-enactors (over 7000 were used). The best thing about these battles is that the sense of strategy and purpose behind them is much clearer than normally seen in movies such as these - you always have the idea that above the ground level horror and confusion there is a reason for it all. This is in keeping with the second half of the title, the generals view on warfare and battles.br /The first half of the title, God, permeates the entire movie. Stonewall Jackson was an intensely religious man (as the excellent short documentaries show), whose views and talks with God had a profound effect on his style of command and personal courage. Most of the characters have some relationship with God, as both sides claim to have God on their side and both pray for victory.br /The movie is full of memorable moments - the two soldiers from opposite sides who meet on the river on Christmas Day to share tobacco and coffee, the time in Fredericksburg when the Irish divisions on both sides are forced to fight each other, the moment when Jackson finally breaks down in tears - not at the death of his soldiers, but when the 5 year old girl he has befriended dies of Scarlet Fever. This all brings a sense of humanity to the movie that Gettysburg had in smaller amounts.br /The language may be one of the factors that put people off - it is archaic to the point of sounding pompous to our ears, and yet sounds authentic to the period. There are many apt and well voiced quotes from poems and scripture - which certainly drag the movie out, but to my mind at least make the movie a more complete one.br /Finally, credit must go to the score of Randy Edelman and John Frizell - the combination of stirring and emotional music, with songs of the day and new songs in the titles, make for an entirely perfect combination.br /All in all, a definitive version of the early Civil War and General Jackson's life, which while flawed in terms of length and pace, is a rewarding viewing experience.
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