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The Last Full Measure Movie we need to find away to get this made!!!!!  Rating:  Rating
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 Posted: Tue Aug 5th, 2008 09:41 am
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gettysburgerrn
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I think it just tried to do too much and in so doing didnt give certain things the depth of explanation that would have made it a better film...

ken

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 Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 03:41 am
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Wrap10
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To me, the best part of Gods & Generals - and I’m not trying to be sarcastic with this - was the opening credits. The first five or so minutes, with the image of those rippling flags transitioning from one to the next, accompanied by that hauntingly beautiful song “Going Home,” was just wonderful. If the rest of the movie had equaled that opening, it would have been the best Civil War movie ever made. Sadly, that was not only not the case, it was nearly the exact opposite.

That’s unfortunate in several ways, including for Mary Fahl, the owner of that beautiful voice singing “Going Home” on the soundtrack. Had the movie been a success, that opening song might have gotten the raging attention that it rightly deserved. As it is, not very many people seem to know about it. If you’ve not heard it, you should. To me, it's the musical equivalent of a visit to a Civil War park. Beautiful, peaceful, and haunting, all at the same time.

Perry

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 Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 04:52 am
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OVVI
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Perry...I agree with you 100%.  I still remember sitting in the theater and when the opening came up with those flags and that wonderful song by Mary Fahl, I had the highest hopes for the movie.  Then of course the first scene has Robert E. Lee with a beard he didnt grow until later in the war.  And it went rapidly downhill from there.  What a missed opportunity.

Kent Dorr

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 Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 05:16 am
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susansweet
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I agree that was the best part of the whole movie.  The opening music and the flags

 

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 Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 05:05 pm
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browner
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I agree also, I have played that song many times, and I still remember sitting in the theater with the highest of hopes for the upcoming movie, then wondering if I should just get up and leave about midway through or stay and watch in hopes it would get better!
I stayed and have never watched it since, but have played that song!!

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 Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 07:45 pm
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Bighouse
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I recently re-watched the DVD, (I was really bored), and had forgotten how stilted the acting was. Everyone tries too hard to "emote". I agree, the best part about it were the opening credits. It was a really great concept, but it's creators got lost some where along the way. It's a shame we'll never see the 3rd chapter.

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 Posted: Mon Aug 11th, 2008 04:16 pm
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Captain Crow
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20th_Mass wrote: Would Tom Hanks even do a Civil War film. He seems to be more into World War 2 films.

If you want to do a Civil War film why not ask HBO since they do more history shows than even the History Channel. Come to think of it I think the Food Network does more history shows than the History Channel.
Take a look at  the credits for almost every historical mini series HBO has done in the last 15 years and you'll see Mr. Hanks has been an executive or associate producer for every one: Band of Brothers, From the Earth to the Moon, John Adams, the upcoming Pacific War series, etc etc. I know it's a pipe dream but damn if I don't think HBO/Playtone(Hanks production co.) would be the perfect fit for this project.

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 Posted: Mon Aug 11th, 2008 04:21 pm
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Captain Crow
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I think the main failing of G&G vs. Gettysburg is the fact that GB was focused on a single 3 day battle whereas G&G had the unenviable task of covering the first 2+ years of the war. there's just no way to cover that much ground in a 3 hour movie and not have it appear unfocused. It should have been a mini series....a long one.

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 Posted: Fri May 8th, 2009 06:30 pm
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Swanny
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:(
I must disagree with you on your point about the unfair reviews. Having read the book Gods and Generals more than twice, and reading the script which was in a book that came out around the release of the movie, the problem was with the fact that Maxwell destroyed the movie with the speeches, bad research and worse editing. He tried to do with Gettysburg that Lucas tried with Star Wars.

He focused most of the story on Jackson and left everybody else grabbing for air. He wasted the talents of Robert Duvall as Lee. And Chamberlain should have been recast. Jeff Daniels was 10 years older and looked it. And please, Using Harper's Ferry to stand in for Fredericksburg, ignoring Antietam altogether(Because Jackson wasn't there) And by the way Chamberlain and his unit did not see any action at Fredericksburg- check it out.

I'm a filmmaker and I could have made a better movie than Maxwell did. So now he ruined any chance of getting the trilogy finished unless Turner can get a good director. We need a Spielberg, or Michael Bay or Ed Zwick to make it happen.

But first, re-edit Gods and Generals re-release it- add the Antietam scenes in it, take some of the focus off Jackson and give it to Lee-take out the PC crap and speeches. And take that scene out with Mr Blair at the beginning, Very bad acting-Not Duvall, the other guy. I feel sorry for Duvall that he had put up with it. If I had the footage in a digital format, I mean all the footage, I could cut together a better movie.
And if necessary, recast parts. And get a younger John Bell Hood for Pete's sake the man was in his mid to late thirty's, not an old man.
What happened to the friendship between Hancock and Armistead before the war?
The movie should be made and I'm glad that Ted Turner has severed ties with Maxwell.

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 Posted: Fri May 8th, 2009 06:45 pm
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Swanny
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I would love to help make this movie, but it belongs to Ted Turner right now. Maybe if he can find the right Director he might consider it. The key is that the script has got to work. If the adaptation of the script is bad, it won't work.
Some one like Ed Zwick could be a good choice. The other issue is this,
The reason movies like Gettysburg, Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers worked is that they each revolved around one battle. God and Generals was about several.
Look at Glory it involved 3 battles Antietam, James Island and Ft Wagner. But they each involved only the parts of the battles that related to the 54th or Shaw. G&G was too scattered. Focus on fewer battles and on two opposing main characters and that's it. In the right hands, it can be done.

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 Posted: Fri May 8th, 2009 06:48 pm
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Swanny
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You are absolutely correct! Too many characters and too many Battles.
Not enough time. A miniseries in the style of Band of Brothers or the classic Winds of War would work.

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 Posted: Fri May 8th, 2009 06:51 pm
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Swanny
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Every movies starts in someone's head asa dream and with some courage and push and a little bit of luck and a lot of money it gets made. Why not campaign to try to get this movie made. And made right! If Turner owns it and wants to finance it, why not try to push to get the right people to make it?

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 Posted: Sat May 9th, 2009 04:50 am
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The Iron Duke
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I've always felt that Maxwell should have done 1 of 3 things with Gods and Generals:
  1. Make the movie all about Stonewall in the same fashion as Patton or Lawrence of Arabia.
  2. Make the movie only about Fredericksburg because it's the only battle in the book where all 4 characters participate in the same battle. 
  3. Make it an episodic TV miniseries like HBO's Band of Brothers and Rome. 
There was so much potential for this movie and it bombed big time.  The only saving grace is Stephen Lang's performance.   Gettysburg is pretty faithful to The Killer Angels so I don't understand why Maxwell decided to deviate from the Gods and Generals book as much as he did and add so much useless fluff. 



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"Cleburne is here!" meant that all was well. -Daniel Harvey Hill
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 Posted: Sun May 10th, 2009 03:17 am
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20th_Mass
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Swanny wrote:  And by the way Chamberlain and his unit did not see any action at Fredericksburg- check it out.
The 20th Maine did see action at Fredericksburg. According to Fox's Regimental Losses in the American Civil War the 20th Maine saw 8 men in their regiment killed at the battle.

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 Posted: Sun May 10th, 2009 02:32 pm
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CleburneFan
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Gods and Generals was too slow and too long. It had everything wrong in it that turns people off to the study of history. My template for a darned good Civil War movie is "Glory" and even that had its faults.

The movie has to be mostly fast-paced with some short spells of rest and reflection as sitting around the camp fire with some one playing a plaintiff tune on the harmonica. Also you need stunning scenes of battle and post-battle, you need a few clearly defined compelling characters, drama within the drama showing how even within the same side there were enemies.

You do NOT need long-winded monologues and philosophical excursions. Let the audience draw their own conclusions.  

There's another problem too. I don't know how a Civil War movie these days would draw in young audiences so necessary to turn a profit. Unless the movie was CGI-laden and jam-packed with action, explosions and heavy metal background music--hey--come to think of it--THAT is the way to make a great Civil War movie today. I can just see it on an I-MAX screen.

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 Posted: Mon May 11th, 2009 08:02 pm
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Swanny
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My mistake, where was his regiment deployed?

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 Posted: Mon May 11th, 2009 11:44 pm
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CleburneFan
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They were in one of the last charges of the day in the Center Grand Division commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker.  There is a monument at Fredericksburg with the 20th Maine specifically mentioned.

They had to spend the night beside the stone wall below Marye's Heights in freezing conditions, including Chamberlain, himself,  who surrounded himself with dead soldiers in order to keep from freezing.

I found this information at:

 http://www.joshua.lurker00.com/jlcfredc.htm

I'll see if I can find something more specific as to the position of the 20th Maine.

I found a reference to an article that Chamberlain wrote about his challenging night at the foot of the wall at Fredericksburg. It is called "A Bivouac with the Dead."

Last edited on Tue May 12th, 2009 12:01 am by CleburneFan

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 Posted: Thu May 14th, 2009 07:04 pm
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gman
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I surrender...Robert E. Lee

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 Posted: Thu Jun 4th, 2009 07:06 pm
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IronSiderMan
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gettysburg focused more on the union side, as they won at gettysburg. i think the confederates could've won the war, had General Lee not gotten sick. he was a tactical leader, just not the greatest leader overall

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 Posted: Sat Jun 6th, 2009 07:12 pm
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u.s. history buff
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I just sat through gods and generals in its entirety and felt such a great story should have been left to the pros.The battle scenes were lame and in no way did them justice.The actors were excellent but the script was horrible.The battle scenes looked very unprofessional-like the actors had no idea what was going on.Mel Gibson would have been my first choice.Not to say it was all that bad,but for its budget it could have been way better.I love a good epic in the right hands this movie could have kicked ass at the box office..just my two cents.God Bless

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