DVD Features:

• Available subtitles: English, Spanish, French
  
• Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  
• Commentary by writer/director Ronald F. Maxwell and 2 technical advisors, Col. Keith Gibson & James L. Robertson, Jr.
• Introduction by executive producer Ted Turner
• 3 making-of documentaries: "Journey to the Past," "The Life of Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson," and "The Authenticites of the Film"
• 2 music videos from Bob Dylan and Mary Fahl
• Weblink

The more you know about the Civil War, the more you'll appreciate Gods and Generals and the painstaking attention to detail that Gettysburg writer-director Ronald F. Maxwell has invested in this academically respectable 220-minute historical pageant. In adapting Jeffrey Shaara's 1996 novel (encompassing events of 1861-63, specifically the Virginian battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville), Maxwell sacrifices depth for scope while focusing on the devoutly religious "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang), whose Confederate campaigns endear him to Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall, giving the film's most subtle performance). Battles are impeccably recreated using 7,500 Civil War re-enactors and sanitized PG-13 violence, their authenticity compromised by tasteful discretion and endless scenes of grandiloquent dialogue. Still, as the first part of a trilogy that ends with The Last Full Measure, this is a superbly crafted, instantly essential film for Civil War study. For all its misguided priorities, Gods and Generals is a noble effort, honoring faith and patriotism with the kind of reverence that has all but vanished from American film – but provides abundant proof that historical accuracy is no guarantee of great storytelling. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Description
A sweeping epic charting the early years of the Civil War and how campaigns unfolded from Manassas to the Battle of Fredericksburg, this prequel to the film Gettysburg explores the motivations of the combatants and examines the lives of those who waited at home.

REVIEW

They used some fine horses. These sleek, muscular beasts stood through the task of filming a 220 minute movie and looked great doing it. They whinnied, ran, jumped, bucked, fell marvelously.

As far as the movie, dissecting why it is worth only two stars is a challenge in a short space. The horses, I can say, keep it from being one star.

"Gods and Generals" is like bad Shakespeare. Good Shakespearean actors are hard to find, since there is a tendency for everything to come off amateurish, thanks to overacting, inaccurate or overstated accents, and body language that reviles even the most staid and stuff personality.

With amazing vistas and meticulously researched and detailed sets, I expected an equal acumen when casting. After Robert Duvall and Jeff Daniels, the bar was dropped pretty far.

Apparently, the director though it was a good idea to hire Civil War reenactors. Civil War reenactors are those noble, hardworking people putting on shows of various battles. They offer a great service to the education about a tumultuous time in America. They aren't trained actors, and here, in "Gods and Generals," it shows.

The reasons for the war are sugarcoated, as are the atrocities within. While Jackson and Lee may have been terrific gentlemen about the sport of war, the average soldiers were often uneducated, uncouth young men advancing the deaths of one another. Sword wounds did not drip lightly, but the war was a gory mess.

In reducing this film to PG-13, the directors did something as blandly misleading as CBS' white-bread "Jesus." Jesus, as Mel Gibson capably showed us with "Passion of the Christ", was whipped into the ground. Similarly, the Civil War had almost 1.0 million casualties. We are provided powerful battles, but somehow the directors managed to avoid the horror. Reality is skipped, and, as result, so is accuracy.

Jim, a black cook, is treated with a cliche, "Yes'suh, whatever you say suh," personality. Blacks in general are glazed over as almost nonentities.

The "gods" part of the title, reflecting on the role of Christian faith within the war, is handled by taking a character, tossing in a Bible quote, and making it look like he had faith. Faith is more rich than that, just as the lack of faith. Atheists and Christians alike were made out to have paper-thin reasoning. This oversight in the midst of trying to make a major point indicates a church history theologian was not consulted in the making of the film.

Even the Bob Dylan song was average, and I like him. The extra-feature video of his song, "Cross the Green Mountain," had some intelligent lyrics but felt too Bruce Springsteen-esque.

On the DVD is Ted Turner's introduction. He may manage a huge corporation, but he came off like a guy with almost a high school diploma. His presentation was poorly scripted, providing no real information. A historian or major actor should have tackled this one.

If you are interested in Civil War reenactments, see one live. At least then, it'll be more believable.

Anthony Trendl