Glory (1989)

Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writers:

Kevin Jarre (screenplay), Lincoln Kirstein (book),

Stars:

Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes

Won 3 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Broderick	...	Col. Robert Gould Shaw
Denzel Washington	...	Pvt. Trip
Cary Elwes	...	Maj. Cabot Forbes
Morgan Freeman	...	Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins
Jihmi Kennedy	...	Pvt. Jupiter Sharts
Andre Braugher	...	Cpl. Thomas Searles
John Finn	...	Sgt. Maj. Mulcahy
Donovan Leitch	...	Capt. Charles Fessenden Morse
JD Cullum	...	Henry Sturgis Russell (as John David Cullum)
Alan North	...	Gov. John Albion Andrew
Bob Gunton	...	Gen. Charles Garrison Harker
Cliff De Young	...	Col. James M. Montgomery (as Cliff DeYoung)
Christian Baskous	...	Edward L. Pierce
RonReaco Lee	...	Mute Drummer Boy
Jay O. Sanders	...	Gen. George Crockett Strong

Storyline

Shaw was an officer in the Federal Army during the American Civil War who volunteered to lead the first company of black soldiers. Shaw was forced to deal with the prejudices of both the enemy (who had orders to kill commanding officers of blacks), and of his own fellow officers.

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Plot Keywords:

prejudice | army | soldier | american civil war | black soldier | 

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Taglines:

Their innocence. Their heritage. Their lives. Nothing would be spared in the fight for their freedom.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tiempos de gloria

Filming Locations:

African-American National Historic Site - 14 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$26,830,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Freddie Fields Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the first shots of the movie were taken from the 125th anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1988, in which up to 15,000 participants took part. The scenes filmed at the Gettysburg Reenactment were fused into the depicted Battle of Antietam scene which was filmed in Mcdonough, Georgia. Viewers can distinguish the two separately filmed locations either by the massive amounts of reenactment troops that were at the Gettysburg event; or by the browner dry summer background of Pennsylvania in 1988, and the greener spring background of Georgia in 1989.

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Goofs

As the 54th Massachusetts is preparing for battle at James Island, Rawlins shouts to the solders "All right men, form a firing line! Over here!", but he is not speaking.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: Robert Gould Shaw, the son of wealthy Boston abolitionists, was 23 years old when he enlisted to fight in the War Between the States. He wrote home regularly, telling his parents of life in the gathering Army of the Potomac. / These letters are collected in the Houghton Library of Harvard University.
Colonel Robert G. Shaw: Dear Mother, I hope you are keeping well and not worrying much about me. You mustn't think that any of us are going to be killed. They are collecting such a force here, that an attack ...

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Connections

Referenced in Who Do You Think You Are?: Matthew Broderick (2010)

User Reviews

One of the most intricately perfect films

This is an ambitious film and is successful in everything it sets out to accomplish. Glory does not rely on the visual aspects to accomplish its perfection, but rather it relies on the emotional to convey its message and humanity. This is a film that managed to get some of the best actors of our time, as well as, withdraw from these actors their best abilities. While the film does show the realities and horror of war, especially when it involves good people thrown in, it captures the viewers attention by making us empathetic, as opposed to simply sympathetic. The score of the film is done by the brilliant James Horner, which compliments the film, but at times envelops the film completely. Director Zwick shows the various levels of humanity, one scene can display the blunt bravery of these men, and yet the next scene reminds us how scared and how human these men are. I wish I could write a paragraph on each actor, but I must mention Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washingtion, Andre Braugher, Cary Elwes, and Jihmi Kennedy. The characters of this film are wonderfully well-developed and the relationships between these men adds a dimension that is rarely seen in modern films. Each performance is Oscar-calibur, overall, this is a film that should now be ranked as a classic for all time. Simply amazing.