Americas 250th Birthday Cinemathon #22: Glory (1989)

Glory tells the story of the 54^th Massachusetts, one of the first black Civil War regiments. One of the conditions of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was that, starting January 1, 1863, African-Americans could officially join the Union Army, though many were already giving a big hand with logistical support, thus freeing up more white troops to get to the front lines. The 54^th Massachusetts in particular received much attention because it had the full support of Massachusetts Governor John Andrew and saw action fairly quickly in the southeast around Charleston. Also, as an early black regiment, it got to have the state's distinction in its name while other units were listed as USCT (United States Colored Troops). Already made known in art and general histories, the regiment is certainly well known now because of its 1989 film adaptation.

The movie was the brainchild of New York cultural figure Lincoln Kirstein and screenwriter Kevin Jarre (adopted son of none other than Maurice Jarre, composer of Lawrence of Arabia). Both were inspired by the regiment’s monument in Boston (featured in the end credits), several books (including one by Kirstein himself), and Colonel Robert Gould Shaw’s letters. Shaw (Matthew Broderick) provides narration via his letters, but the quotes are a mix of real ones and fake ones to accommodate the changes made for the story.

Americas 250th Birthday Cinemathon #21: Gods and Generals (2003) part 2 of 2

 

Here is the second part of my Gods and Generals review, going through the film to look at the battles as well as a few other points I wanted to discuss.

First Bull Run

The movie begins with Lee meeting Francis Preston Blair, a major political figure at the time, to discuss an offer to command the Union Army. Lee refuses, citing that his primary loyalty is to Virginia and the if it secedes he will join it. It’s funny how all these Civil War films and shows always have Lee starting the war with his gray hair and beard. Actually, he had dark hair and just a mustache, and was even considered handsome for a man in his fifties. The stress of the war is what changed his look into the one familiar to us today.

Most of the first act focuses on Jackson, and outside of the Lee and Booth scenes this could have been the first part of a Jackson biopic. Now, I hadn’t seen Gods and Generals in ten years, so I was hit with a few fresh observations, and one is that there is actual no explanation for what exactly is going on militarily. Jackson’s brigade does a little training and then marches off for a battle. We don’t get any exposition about why the armies are clashing at Manassas Junction because everyone is too busy delivering speeches. They just go to a battle and start fighting.

Americas 250th Birthday Cinemathon #21: Gods and Generals (2003) part 1 of 2

General Intro

I’m finally into the Civil War proper, my favorite era of history. Because of my enthusiasm for the subject, a couple review are going to be long. That’s why the first movie for the war, Gods and Generals, is going to get a multi-part review.

Before the movie Gods and Generals was the prequel to Gettysburg, the novel it was based was written as a prequel to Gettysburg’s source Killer Angels. The author Jeff Shaara, was following the success of his father’s historical novel in that he takes a few important officers on each side of a conflict and then tries to get into their minds. Unlike Killer Angels, which focuses only on a few days in 1863, Gods and Generals covers entire Civil War up to the death of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in May 1863. Naturally, one may imagine a screen adaptation would take the form of a mini-series (Jeff Shaara has said this), but Ron Maxwell, who had a bit hit with Gettysburg, seemed to think it would be fine as an actual theatrical release.

Between the large scope of history the film covers and some poor filmmaking choices, Gods and Generals was such an uneven slog that it became a big flop. Critical events and important figures have to be cut to make room, but at the same time Maxwell spends an inordinate amount of time on fluff, unnecessary side characters, and long speeches that worked in the more condensed timeline of Gettysburg, but kill the pacing here.

McClellan’s War: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union (Ethan S. Rafuse)

McClellan's War is Ethan Rafuse's 2005 attempt to truly decipher what Union General George B. McClellan, the first commander of the Army of the Potomac, was doing in the early third of the Civil War. For most of Civil War historiography, McClellan has been blamed for the Union's lack of success in Virginia. He was too egotistical in dealing with the President and other political leaders. He was needlessly cautious, displaying a mental handicap that prevented him from dealing several critical blows against Lee's Confederate Army. It does not help that McClellan was often in opposition to the deified Abraham Lincoln, even to the point of running against him for president. Historians and documentarians thus have depicted him as something of an arch-nemesis. Rafuse is one of several historians that have found this view of McClellan to be flawed, perhaps even cartoonish. In his 400 page tome he focuses primarily on McClellan's political and strategic beliefs and how they influenced his conduct of the war from 1861-1862.

The first quarter of the book fleshes out McClellan's background. He grew up in a Whig family. Many within the Whig political party, such as Henry Clay, emphasized compromise and careful rational thinking to solve political problems. When the Whig Party met its demise, McClellan shifted his views over to the Douglas Democrats. Like the Whigs, Stephen Douglas of Illinois stressed compromise to smooth over partisan differences and oppose extremism. He viewed both Secessionists and Republicans, especially Radical Republicans, as extremely dangerous. Though he sided with the Union, he was deeply concerned by the growing influence of abolitionist politics on war policy. He believed that this would stiffen Confederate resistance because of fears of a race war.

Kurz & Allison Part IV: Late 1862

Surprisingly, Louis Kurz skipped battles from the summer of 1862, even though this period included the ascent of Robert E. Lee as head of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Perhaps as a former Union soldier living in a Northern city, Kurz felt no special need or pressure to present such moments as the Second Battle of Bull Run. This part of the series covers the battles of late 1862.

Battle of Antietam

After scoring a series of victories over the summer, Lee attempted an invasion of the North in hopes of riding his momentum to a decisive victory. However his army was severely understrength and once the Union Army under General George McClellan marched in force against him, he found himself desperately holding off waves of Federal attacks near Antietam Creek (outside Sharpsburg, Maryland) on September 17. The battle was tactically indecisive, but saw the end of his first northern invasion. It is bloodiest single day of combat in American history. Many also credit it with strengthening Lincoln’s political hand so that he could deliver the Emancipation Proclamation.