Gods & Generals

Demiurge
Demiurge Posts: 10,874
edited August 2003 in Music & Movies
Who is buying this on Tuesday? I've been hearing it's one of the best Civil War movies ever made. I've never seen it though? Whats the concensus?

I don't think there is a DTS track on it, but I'm more looking for the historical value of it. I know quite a bit about this war, but will it hone down my knowledge even more?
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited July 2003
    I am definetly buying it with my handy dandy BB coupon. I hear that Stephen Lang's(Stonewall Jackson?) performance is outstanding.

    I am unsure about the accuracy, but if it was messed up I am sure one would have heard alot of flak by now. I also find this time period very interesting, living near Antietam and Monocacy helps I guess :)
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • begbie
    begbie Posts: 630
    edited July 2003
    It was a box office bomb and expensive one at that - all of Ted Turner's money ,heh heh !

    Many critics slammed it. The movie I heard was too long and preachy too! Soldiers get shot but not a drop of blood was shown . :rolleyes:

    Unless your're a real fan of the genre then.........
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  • Demiurge
    Demiurge Posts: 10,874
    edited July 2003
    Preachy in what regards?

    I'm a fan of any film thats historically accurate.

    I could really care less about all the gore as long as everything else is on par.
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  • begbie
    begbie Posts: 630
    edited July 2003
    Let this be your guide -
    rottentomatoes


    At 9% rotten and over 90 critics giving thumbs down-- those are powerful numbers that don't lie.

    If that hasn't changed your mind then ......
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  • Demiurge
    Demiurge Posts: 10,874
    edited July 2003
    Well, usually when critics slam a film I'm more apt to see it.
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,740
    edited July 2003
    Usually when it gets high ratings its a really bad or fair movie. Low ratings to medium ratings means its good. Basic movie fact there, no shocker. Hulk received what? 4.5 stars? I would give it a 2.
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  • begbie
    begbie Posts: 630
    edited July 2003
    Originally posted by Demiurge
    I've been hearing it's one of the best Civil War movies ever made. I've never seen it though? Whats the concensus?


    We're not talking a coin toss here when there's one camp that hates it and another that loves it. We're talking some "Battlefield Earth" numbers here or even "From Justin to Kelly " !!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

    Though if those movies turned your crank then.....
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  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited July 2003
    I'm with Rotten Tomatoes on this one. The overwhelming consensus is that the movie SUCKS.

    It's too bad because I really like the subject matter. Apparently Gettysburg was far better.

    http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Gettysburg-1046038/

    Doc
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,519
    edited July 2003
    I'll be buying this one blind.

    As for the review's I've read, it's very historically accurate to the era, but the acting is wooden, battle scenes are fairly underwhelming, and the story is all over the board.


    Peace Out~:D
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
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  • Demiurge
    Demiurge Posts: 10,874
    edited July 2003
    and the story is all over the board.

    Yeah, from what I heard you actually need to know some history to get the movie. Maybe thats why people don't like it.

    Unless it's constant blood & guts in must be a crap film.

    Well, I can't say I disagree with the reviews because I haven't seen it. This looks like it may be a rental for me....

    ....I just have the sneaking suspicion that the people that reviewed this movie went expecting exactly what I alluded to above...Lots of blood & guts ect....

    I hear this is more historically accurate than Gettysburg.
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  • burdette
    burdette Posts: 1,194
    edited July 2003
    You also have to take it for what it is. Just like Gettysburg, this was made to be an at-least-two-part miniseries on TV. They shipped it to the theaters to reap whatever money it might bring in, but the box office never was the primary goal. I saw Gettysburg in the theater, and even it had that "TV" feel.

    THAT is one of the reasons the violence isn't what you'd expect to see in a "theatrical release" (i.e. flying body parts, spurting blood, etc). It essentially was edited for TV, or at least cable, as it was being made.

    Also, as someone said, I think movies like this are better when you know the real history. Given the state of education and historical knowledge in this country, I doubt few viewers really know the history.

    The story *IS* huge. I enjoyed Gettysburg, but the movie was nothing compared to the book Killer Angels.

    I haven't read the other books.

    Agreed the reviews aren't good. Too bad.
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  • avelanchefan
    avelanchefan Posts: 2,401
    edited July 2003
    "As dry as a high school history book, solemn as a funeral service, humorless as a Politburo meeting, bloated as a waterlogged corpse and unbalanced as a bout between a debutante and a sumo wrestler."
    -- Lawrence Toppman, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER


    Sorry but for some reason that quote just cracked me up.

    I will probably buy it just because everyone hated it so much. So I am probably stupid enough to enjoy it.:)
    Sean
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  • Demiurge
    Demiurge Posts: 10,874
    edited July 2003
    hahah

    yeah, maybe someone should ask the writer what wasn't solemn about the Civil War?
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  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited July 2003
    OK, different war, but The Patriot KICKED ****.

    Watched it (again) over the 4th. All the things a GREAT early war movie should be.

    Re: The historical accuracy of G & G - it's not a PBS documentary, after all. An early war movie (vice a documentary) should capture the essence of what it was to be alive at that time, what is was like to endure the hardships. The human element should be emphasized. Historical correctness is fine and contributes to the overall excellence of any period movie, but I wouldn't let it make or break any movie for me.

    According to Micah, the best past, present, and future docu-drama already done on the Civil War is the 10 part (or w/e) PBS series. It got a zillion accolades and is available on DVD.

    Doc
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

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  • abmarsh
    abmarsh Posts: 109
    edited July 2003
    One of the worst movies I've ever seen.

    Gettysburg was a pretty good movie and was historically accurate. Gods and Generals was neither.
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,519
    edited July 2003
    I'll add this to my short list of "Bad Blind Buys", Mission Impossible II is the only other movie on that list.

    Needless to say, this movie pretty much chugged ****. Bummer too, it had good potential.


    Peace Out~:D
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    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
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  • burdette
    burdette Posts: 1,194
    edited July 2003
    Originally posted by Dr. Spec

    According to Micah, the best past, present, and future docu-drama already done on the Civil War is the 10 part (or w/e) PBS series. It got a zillion accolades and is available on DVD.
    Doc

    Not sure I understand the significance of "according to Micah", but I absolutely agree that the Burns PBS series is THE best Civil War show/movie/docu that I've ever seen. We have a VHS copy taped off PBS.

    I think Glory has fine battle scenes, capturing the essence of that type of fighting.

    But even the PBS series takes certain viewpoints and emphasizes certain angles over others. If that series were your ONLY source of information on the Civil War, you'd still be lacking and you'd have at least a biased view or two.

    Gettysburg was historically accurate for the most part...

    I remember as a child watching the BBC-produced "World At War."
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005NOOH/104-0871815-9465529?vi=glance

    Had a copy of that set, taped off TBS (I think) in like 1984... on BETA! Yes, my father bought a beta VCR. Great quality, pain in the **** to come home from college on the weekend and want to rent a movie! But, there was at least one store that rented beta in that town of 30K, in the mid 80s.
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited August 2003
    Ditto on Glory... Best Civil War movie I've seen.

    IMO those that have not seen Burns' Civil War Documentary will find it a great investment of their time and money. Burns' did more to bring the Civil War to life with stills and naration than any Hollywood effort. Do be aware, however, that many "southerners" thought the work was a biased, northern view of the war.

    Some of the parts of Burns' work I enjoyed the most were the anecdotes spun by Shelby Foote. Foote, a novelist, spent 20 years of his life researching and writing a 2400-page, Civil War trilogy that is easily the best of several works I have read on the topic. I highly recommend his work.
    More later,
    Tour...
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  • petrym
    petrym Posts: 1,912
    edited August 2003
    Excellent movie, historically accurate, and portrayed the characters for what they were: religious men who were on a mission to save what they truly believed in.

    This movie was a reflection of what times were really like back then, not like the secular times of today where God has no place in everyday existence.

    “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees”
    Thomas Jonathan Jackson

    Rock on...
    :cool:
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