Taking a page from the George Lucas handbook, Ronald F. Maxwell revisited his war epic Gettysburg to give it a prequel, creating a horrifically dry and inept product in the process. Where Gettysburg succeeded in balancing superbly shot war scenes with serviceable passages of dialogue in between, Gods and Generals falls on its face with longwinded, self-indulgent speeches and action that lacks the same immediacy and ferocity of the original. This Blu-ray release which features the extended Director’s cut actually succeeds in repairing some of the damage caused by the original theatrical release, but it’s still, for the most part, the same film that no amount of editing could fix. In the end, Gods and Generals requires a complete rewrite if it’s ever going to be fit to sit on the same shelf as Gettysburg.
The pacing is off, the battle staging is comparably shallow, and the dialogue is painful to listen to, but the film looks brilliant in HD. The transfer is well-done and consequently the battles, when they happen, could give Civil War re-enactors an orgasm by sight alone. The production values are high and if ever that was reflected it’s now in high-resolution. Similarly, with the proper sound system, the battles can effectively rock the viewer with the blast of each cannon and the clash of bayonets. For visual and audio splendor, Gods and Generals is superb and a worthy Blu-ray experience, but that doesn’t make it a good film.
A full hour longer than the original release, the Director’s Cut of Gods and Generals follows Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall) from his initial refusal of President Lincoln’s attempt to recruit him to head the Union Army, to the incredibly strong state-identity of Virginia that would draw Lee’s allegiance to the Confederate Army and the story of Stonewall Jackson (Stephen Lang) and the reputation he earned as one of the most difficult generals to advance upon. From the Union perspective, Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) does his best to curb the nigh unstoppable juggernaut of Confederate strength that threatens to bowl him over. The storyline added back in for the Director’s Cut is the focus on John Wilkes Booth who is seen in theater performances throughout the film, spewing pro-Confederate rhetoric in the backstage dressing room, all setting up for his historical act.
Performances are incredibly strong, but they have to be in order to make up for the appallingly bad script and it’s overly puffy prose. Daniels is superb, once again, as Chamberlain and Duvall does equally well as Lee. It’s not the acting that anyone will take issue with, unless you start examining the smaller bit players, in which case problems abound. Where most people rightfully take issue with Gods and Generals is its approach to the narrative which has a very affectionate tone for the Southern way of life and the banter of the Confederate Army that it borders on warped fixation for the first two hours before becoming glaringly sympathetic in the latter half. Arguably it was to be expected considering the same tone can be found in Gettysburg, but in the 1993 film it was offset by their ultimate defeat, here it’s an adoring look at the Southerner’s way of life in a post-secession Union. Exactly what Maxwell was hoping to say with the approach is unclear, but the slant doesn’t play the same way it did in Gettysburg, and maybe he just didn’t realize it.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
This 150th Civil War anniversary edition comes in booklet form with color pages, bios and production notes. Then, there’s an introduction by Executive Producer Ted Turner (who also acts in the film) and Director Maxwell and an audio commentary where Maxwell appears once again, this time joined by the film’s Historical Adviser Col. Keith Gibson and James I. Robertson Jr. If you made it through the film and want to watch it again immediately with commentary…you’re some sort of incredibly patient god. However what I’d recommend instead is turning on the commentary during war sequences to hear them talk about rifle accuracy, battle tactics, etc.
Once you’ve finished watching the film, put in the extras disc and watch the three substantive featurettes about the life of Stonewall Jackson, the experiences of African-American slaves during the Civil War, and the painstaking efforts to recreate the era with as few errors as possible. Bob Dylan’s music video for “Cross the Green Mountain” rounds out the set.
"Gods and Generals: Extended Director's Cut" is on sale May 24, 2011 and is rated PG13. Drama, War. Directed by Ronald F Maxwell. Written by Jeff Shaara (book), Ronald F. Maxwell (screenplay). Starring Bruce Boxleitner, Jeff Daniels, Robert Duvall, Stephen Lang, Kevin Conway, Mira Sorvino.
