Class of '61

I just saw the last two-thirds of this movie on TV, and was very impressed by it. I'm not fond of Civil War movies in general, because they are bound to be very sad. This movie fulfills that promise, but nonetheless I found myself liking it a lot. The Class of '61 succeeds in humanizing both sides of that terrible war, by giving you characters on both sides to root for. Rather than rooting for the North or the South, you instead find yourself rooting desperately for peace so the lives of the men and women involved will not be destroyed. Though many important issues are involved in the plot, the movie is about the characters, not about the issues. The acting is superb, especially for a TV movie. The relationship between Shelby, a southern gentleman, and Lucius, his friend and slave, is particularly compelling. This movie, on the whole, is very worth watching despite its inevitably depressing end.