Gods and Generals (prequel to Gettysburg) (1 Viewer)

[SteveGon]

I just watched a featurette on AMC about the making of Gods and Generals which is slated to arrive in theaters this fall. A little background information: the film Gettysburg was based on the acclaimed novel The Killer Angels by the late Michael Shaara. His son Jeff wrote a prequel (Gods and Generals) and a sequel (The Last Full Measure). GaG explores the events leading up to the battle of Gettysburg, centering on Generals Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and Winfield Scott Hancock.

The featurette was brief and centered on the staging of the battle sequences. However, there was a scene from the film featuring Stephen Lang as Stonewall Jackson. You might recall that Lang played George Pickett in Gettysburg. What I saw looked pretty good. The movie also looks to have been filmed in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. That's good news - I wish Gettysburg had been shot in that AR. Hopefully, Gods and Generals will do well enough that we'll see the final part of the trilogy, The Last Full Measure.

I would also love to see a film version of Jeff Shaara's Gone For Soldiers, a novel about the Mexican War. Have there even been any films about the Mexican War? It's certainly a much-neglected part of America's past, IMO.

I'm not a history buff, but I do enjoy reading on the subject and Gettysburg is one of my favorite films. Despite its length, I've probably watched the dvd five or six times. It's such great drama that I don't see how anyone could fail to become engrossed in it.

So, is anyone else looking forward to Gods and Generals? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 

[Eric Thrall]

I'm waiting on the edge of my seat for this one - I loved Gettysburg, and I'm very much looking forward to the prequel. I've been checking in at its web site (http://www.godsandgenerals.com/) on a regular basis.
According to http://www.ronmaxwell.com/ the rights for The Last Full Measure have been optioned and a screenplay is in the works - of course, that doesn't mean that the movie will get made. I hope it does, but I don't expect that Gods And Generals will be much of a money maker. Gettysburg wasn't either, and it is getting its prequel made, so I'm hopeful.

 

[Brian E]

Robert Duvall is playing Lee? Maybe it's just me, but I can't picture that. I mean he's a good actor, but it's hard for me to see him as Lee. I can't wait to see this.

 

[SteveGon]

I think Duvall will do fine as Lee. However, I do wish Martin Sheen were reprising that role. Nice to see Jeff Daniels returning as Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

I see that Ronald Maxwell has written a screenplay for another Joan of Arc movie. Hmmmm, do we really need one of those? As I stated in my first post, I'd love to see an adaptation of Shaara's Gone For Soldiers. The Mexican War could definitely use some cinematic exposure. Ah well, perhaps someone else can pick up the reins...

 

[Dan M]

I just hope that GODS AND GENERALS is made for the cinema first, unlike GETTYSBURG which was filmed with TV in mind initially (you can actually tell where the commercial breaks are supposed to be during GETTYSBURG).

Either way, it should be good stuff.

Anyone have any more in-depth info regarding the filming of GODS AND GENERALS?

Release date I believe is Feb. 3

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Damn, my dad told me Sam Elliot was going to be in this, but I don't see him in the cast listings. Major bummer.:frowning: Oh well, I like Duvall and the Civil War, so I'll give it a shot anyway.

 

[Ed Faver]

My one hope is that this film had a union make-up crew. Gettysburg was filmed in a right-to-work state, didn't use union craftspersons and, boy did it show! Longstreet's beard changes length in different shots of the same scene and I'm still wondering what that thing on C. Thomas Howell's face is. It flaps when the wind kicks up!!

 

[Ben Osborne]

I'm glad that Duvall is playing Lee in this one. Martin Sheen seemed heavily sedated as Gen. Lee in Gettysburg. Besides, with Sheen's constant political bandstanding I get annoyed every time I see him. It's too bad that Gen. Longstreet ins't in Gods and Generals. I think it was Tom Berenger's best role. Oh well, at least we'll get to see ole' Stonewall.

 

[Josh Lowe]

It's interesting to see what actors are back and what ones are not.

To me there were two "power trios" of actors on each side in Gettysburg that really stole the show:

Jeff Daniels, C. Thomas Howell and Kevin Conway as JL Chamberlain, Tom Chamberlain and Buster Kilrain on the side of the Union and of course Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen and Stephen Lang as Longstreet, Lee and Pickett on the side of the Confederacy.

The union/Maine boys are all back in their old roles, but Sheen and Berenger are gone and Lang is playing Jackson now rather than Pickett. To me, Tom Berenger made that movie. I thought he was just about as sincere and thoughtful as someone can be in that sort of role. I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy seeing Bruce Boxleitner in his place, playing Longstreet.

Gettysburg isn't a particularly good movie. Nor is it particularly accurate. But it's one of my favorite DVDs nonetheless.

One person I won't miss is Robert Jordan playing Lewis Armistead. He was -terrible- in Gettysburg, especially his horrible, Shatner-esque "NO! Not! All! Of! Us!" at the end.

I am also curious as to how this movie will be portrayed. Antietam was the single bloodiest day in American history.. And the outcome was very ambiguous - one side achieved its objective and the other did not, but there was no clear cut victor as there was at the end of the Gettysburg engagement.

 

[streeter]

whoa, Bob Dylan wrote a new song for the movie. Who would have thought that.

I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for a long time. I hope it's still set for release in February.

On a side note about C. Thomas Howell's facial hair: He mentions this on the new Soul Man DVD's audio commentary track!

 

[Brian E]

Robert Jordan playing Lewis Armitage

It's Armistead.

Sorry, I'm just anal about stuff like that.

 

[Josh Lowe]

It's Armistead.

Sorry, I'm just anal about stuff like that.

lol, i fixed it. i must have been thinking of our deputy secretary of state, richard armitage.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Warner Bros. is positioning this film as its major Academy awards contender. It is scheduled for a limited release on December 27. Its final running time: 3 hours and 45 minutes.

~Edwin

 

[Nick Sievers]

Yowza! Its been a while since a major studio released a film theatrically with that type of running time isn't it?

 

[Randy Korstick]

Gettysburg was released theatrically with a 4 hour running time so I guess it should be expected. I am glad for the running time because I never felt Gettysburg was too long. It was a 3 day battle so the time was needed. I am looking forward to Gods and Generals and hope its at least as good as Gettyburg.

I actually enjoyed Robert Jordon in this movie minus the one line that Josh quoted. He couldn't be back though because he died right after Gettysberg was finished. The movie was dedicated to him.

 

[Dan M]

Longstreet's beard changes length in different shots of the same scene and I'm still wondering what that thing on C. Thomas Howell's face is. It flaps when the wind kicks up!!

The makers of this film are bound to know by now that GETTYSBURG was highly criticized for it's cheezy beards. I've seen better looking paste-on beards on Saturday Night Live. Let's hope they do a better job this time around!

I thought GETTYSBURG was very well done over all and for the most part quiet accurate. There were many things about the battle that were ommitted but I guess they couldn't cover everything.

My main complaint was that it was too neat and clean at times. Civil War battles were horrific. It needed more blood and carnage to truly convey what really went on. Not to be gratuitous of course but just to show the audience the true horror of war. Arms and legs were indeed blown off.

But as I said earlier, GETTYSBURG was filmed primarily with TV in mind. I guess they couldn't get but so graphic.

 

[Josh Lowe]

I actually enjoyed Robert Jordon in this movie minus the one line that Josh quoted. He couldn't be back though because he died right after Gettysberg was finished. The movie was dedicated to him.

I was not aware that Robert Jordan had died and would not have been so dismissive of him if I had known. I didn't care for his acting in Gettysburg, but I want to be clear that I wasn't saying I "wouldn't miss him" because he was dead or anything sick like that. :frowning:

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

It's RICHARD Jordan, not "Robert". And he was one of the best things about Gettysburg - I wish he were still around to be in this new film. That line gives the audience a sense of the personal tragedy that had followed the warring factions - his reading of it was perfect.

 

[SteveGon]

It's RICHARD Jordan, not "Robert". And he was one of the best things about Gettysburg - I wish he were still around to be in this new film.

I completely agree! The tragedy of Gettysburg, and the Civil War in general, is encapsulated in the character of Lew Armistead, whose best friend, Winfield Scott Hancock, faced him from the opposite side of the battlefield those three horrible days. Richard Jordan's subdued performance perfectly captured the inner turmoil that Armistead must have felt: his dedication to the task at hand clashing with his agonizing over the possibility that he might meet his good friend on the battlefield. I can't imagine enduring something like that.

It's nice to see this thread revived. With all the franchise epics due out this fall, it's good to see that I'm not alone in looking forward to something different.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm in agreement with Steve and Peter about the late Richard Jordan's performance in "Gettysburg". His portrayal illustrated the conflict, many must have endured in that war by fighting on the opposite side of former comrades in arms, college classmates, family members, and friends. Any war is a tragic event, but fighting your own countrymen is even more of a tragedy.

Crawdaddy