Gods and Generals

2003
PG-13
3h 39m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

17K

YOUR RATING

Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video

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Costume Drama Epic Period Drama War Epic Biography Drama History War

The rise and fall of confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, as he meets with military success against the Union from 1861 to 1863, when he is accidentally killed by his own soldiers... Read allThe rise and fall of confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, as he meets with military success against the Union from 1861 to 1863, when he is accidentally killed by his own soldiers.The rise and fall of confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, as he meets with military success against the Union from 1861 to 1863, when he is accidentally killed by his own soldiers.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

17K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations total

Trivia
Some scenes were filmed on Robert Duvall's estate in Virginia, which was the site of some Civil War skirmishes.

Goofs
Robert Edward Lee and Thomas Jonathan Jackson are shown wearing full beards at the very start of the Civil War, but they did not look like this until sometime later. Lee had dark hair going gray and wore a drooping mustache of the type favored by army officers in the 1850s. He grew his well known beard while serving as Jefferson Davis's military advisor. Jackson was clean shaven and grew a beard later out of his well known disinterest in personal grooming and appearance.

Quotes
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: All these thousands of men. Many of them not much more than boys. Each one of them some mother's son, some sister's brother, some daughter's father. Each one of them a whole person loved and cherished in some home far away. Many of them will never return. An army is power. Its entire purpose is to coerce others. This power can not be used carelessly or recklessly. This power can do great harm. We have seen more suffering than any man should ever see, and if there is going to be an end to it, it must be an end that justifies the cost. Now, somewhere out there is the Confederate army. They claim they are fighting for their independence, for their freedom. Now, I can not question their integrity. I believe they are wrong but I can not question it. But I do question a system that defends its own freedom while it denies it to an entire race of men. I will admit it, Tom. War is a scourge, but so is slavery. It is the systematic coercion of one group of men over another. It has been around since the book of Genesis. It exists in every corner of the world, but that is no excuse for us to tolerate it here when we find it right infront of our very eyes in our own country. As God as my witness, there is no one I hold in my heart dearer than you. But if your life, or mine,is part of the price to end this curse and free the Negro, then let God's work be done.

Crazy credits
No reenactors were credited individualy, rather there was general thank you to all the reenactors who participated in the filming.

Alternate versions
The Director's Cut of the film includes additional action scenes from the Battle of Antietam. The battle scenes are shown from the perspectives of Jackson and Chamberlain, and mostly focus on the fighting in Miller's Cornfield which was a major deciding point of the battle.

Connections
Featured in Bob Dylan: Cross the Green Mountain (2003)

Soundtracks
'Cross the Green Mountain
Written and Performed by Bob Dylan
Courtesy of Columbia Records

User reviews542

Review

Featured review

7/10

Good, but very long

I first saw this twenty years ago and enjoyed it then. I took it for what it was as dramatized history. I saw it again via a streaming service that said it was an extended director's cut. This time it was 4 hours and 40 minutes long. That is one of my two minor complaints. I had to pause it for a break two times. The second thing for me was that some of the dialog was indistinct and difficult to understand. It was beautifully filmed and I thought it to be well cast. The music seemed to fit, but was sometimes too loud. This is all technical stuff, but sometimes that gets in the way of enjoying the movie. I was not there when any of this happened, so I cannot say how exact it was as to accuracy. In general it matched my memory as to the events from what I have otherwise read. My only observation about the cast members is that Robert Duvall is usually good, but he also usually plays Robert Duvall. I felt his Robert E. Lee was a little off. I believe that Lee began the war as a special advisor and was not immediately made Commander of the army. I think the movie is worth watching. Just remember that it is long and is more about character studies than battle histories.