Imagine if Ronald F. Maxwell’s 1993 film Gettysburg were remade with the new standard of aesthetic grittiness defined for war films that came from Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan: that’s History’s Gettysburg. It’s a raw, brutal depiction of the three-day battle that would ultimately decide the fate of the war that had split the country in half. Few production choices are odder than visceral scenes of war periodically interrupted by talking heads, but that’s how the 94-minute feature unfolds, but it makes Gettysburg a terrific viewing experience and, what I imagine to be, a great teaching aid on the subject.
Gettysburg has a structural order that it uses to examine each skirmish in the battle. First it establishes each skirmish and the circumstances the caused them. For example, the Battle of Gettysburg began because of the farming town’s layout, with many roads leading to its center like spokes on a wheel, and from there it outlines the particulars of the different skirmishes within the struggle that follows. Then, it focuses on key historical figures that participated in those skirmishes, though “key” in this case means those in high ranks and others whose names pop up in memoirs related to specific shoot-outs.
The reenactments are quite simply fantastic, and you can’t help but wonder what an epic feature film on equal scale with Maxwell’s with the aesthetic seen here would be like. If the 94 minutes of this Gettysburg are any indication, it could be an utterly engrossing experience that would rank in the upper echelons of war films, because if History’s Gettysburg had functioned more as a narrative and less as a documentary, the title would be impossible not to recommend for its visual style alone.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The combo pack includes the feature on Blu-ray and DVD, but other than that there are no extras.
"Gettysburg" is on sale September 20, 2011 and is rated PG13. Documentary, War. Directed by Adrian Moat. Written by Richard Bedser, Ed Fields.
