Main Cast: Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels, Tom Berenger, Stephen Lang, Richard Jordan
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 248 minutes
Plot
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara becomes this sprawling historical epic. As in Shaara's novel, director Ronald Maxwell focuses on a handful of major players to dramatize the events of July 1863, when the armies of the Union and Confederacy clash at the small Pennsylvania town of the title. Among them are Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee, who disagrees with his top advisor, General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger) over battle strategy, and Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a college professor whose unorthodox techniques save the day (and possibly the war) for his beleaguered army. Other cast standouts include Richard Jordan in his final film appearance as the ill-fated General Lewis Armistead, and cameo roles for Civil War buff Ken Burns and media mogul producer Ted Turner. Filmed on-location at Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg was shot as a television miniseries for Turner's TNT cable channel, but earned a limited theatrical release. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
This television miniseries is the type of film that Hollywood rarely makes anymore in an era of budget consciousness, a war epic with a cast of thousands. Like the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel upon which it's based, the film restricts its dramatization to the battlefield and surrounding area (no cutaways to President Lincoln fretting at the White House here) and focuses on a handful of major players. It's a wise narrative choice given the endless dramatic possibilities and the multiple real-life historical figures involved. Budgetary restrictions sometimes overwhelm director Ron Maxwell's ability to mount the awe-inspiring tableaux that he's attempting to create, but he succeeds to an inspiring degree, proving that the sweeping period epic isn't dead. Performances are riveting, particularly from Jeff Daniels as a stoic hero and Martin Sheen, eerie in his resemblance to Robert E. Lee. One of the better projects to show up on television in the past few decades, Gettysburg (1993) is to be applauded for its adherence to its respected source material and some inspired casting choices. Widespread talk of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Daniels during the film's limited theatrical run didn't materialize in an actual Academy Award nod, but the actor does outstanding work in one of his greatest, most intense roles. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Maxwell Caulfield - Colonel Strong Vincent; Kevin Conway - Sergeant "Buster" Kilrain; C. Thomas Howell - Lieutenant Thomas D. Chamberlain; James Lancaster - Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Fremantle; Andrew Prine - Brigadier General Richard B.Garnett; Sam Elliott - Brigadier General John Buford; Royce D. Applegate - Brigadier General James L.Kemper; Brian Mallon - Major General Winfield Scott Hancock; Richard Anderson - Maj. Gen. George G. Meade; Bo Brinkman - Major Walter H.Taylor; Dwier Brown - Captain Brewer; Warren Burton - Major General Henry Heth; Bill Campbell - Lieutenant Pitzer; David Carpenter - Colonel Thomas C.Devin; David Cole - Buford's Aide; John Diehl - Private Bucklin; MacIntyre Dixon - Major General Jubal A.Early; Alex Harvey - Major Hawkins; Cooper Huckabee - Henry T.Harrison; Ivan Kane - Captain Thomas J.Goree; George Lazenby - Brigadier General J.Johnston Pettigrew; Donal Logue - Captain Ellis Spear; Mark Moses - Sgt. Owen; Kieran Mulroney - Major G.Moxley Sorrel; John Rothman - Major General John F.Reynolds; Timothy Scott - Lieutenant General Richard S Ewell; Buck Taylor - Col. William Gamble; Leonard Termo - Cpl. George F. Estabrook; Ken Burns - Hancock's Aide; Peter Miller - Pender's Courier; Michael Phillips - Soldier #4 20th Maine; John Fitzpatrick - Old 2nd Maine Man; Michael Callahan - Bearded Man; Scott Allan Campbell - Capt. Atherton W. Clark; Patrick Gorman - Major General John Bell Hood; Herb Mitchell - Sergeant Andrew J. Tozier; Joy Todd; John Durant - Fiddle and Guitar Player; Michael Tennessee Lee - Rebel Prisoner; William Morgan Sheppard - Maj. Gen. Isaac R. Trimble; Joseph Fuqua - Major General Jeb Stuart; James Patrick Stuart - Colonel E. Porter Alexander; Ted Turner - Lieutenant Colonel W.T. Patton; Robert Lucas - Guard, 118th Pennsylvania
Credit
Sandy Martin - Associate Producer, Joy Todd - Casting, Michael T. Boyd - Costume Designer, Ronald F. Maxwell - Director, Corky Ehlers - Editor, Randy Edelman - Composer (Music Score), Scott Taylor - Makeup, Cary White - Production Designer, Eddy van der Enden - Cinematographer, Kees Van Oostrum - Cinematographer, Moctesuma Esparza - Producer, Robert Katz - Producer, Mace Neufeld - Producer, Stephen Halbert - Sound/Sound Designer, Ronald F. Maxwell - Screenwriter, Michael Shaara - Book Author
