IMDb > Gettysburg (1993)
Gettysburg
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Gettysburg (1993) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 3 NEW)
Gettysburg (1993) -- In 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War.
Gettysburg (1993) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)
Gettysburg (1993) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   10,453 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ronald F. Maxwell
Writers (WGA):
Michael Shaara (novel)
Ronald F. Maxwell (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Gettysburg on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
8 October 1993 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | History | War | Western more
Tagline:
Same Land. Same God. Different Dreams. more
Plot:
In 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Jeff Daniels Has All the Answers
 (From IFC. 22 July 2009, 7:59 AM, PDT)

Heather Graham Getting Serious With Russian Biopic Torture Film
 (From MTV Movies Blog. 9 June 2009, 12:00 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Long, but Powerful Epic, Filmed on Location... more (210 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tom Berenger ... Lt. Gen. James Longstreet

Martin Sheen ... Gen. Robert E. Lee

Stephen Lang ... Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett

Jeff Daniels ... Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Richard Jordan ... Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead
Andrew Prine ... Brig. Gen. Richard B. Garnett

Cooper Huckabee ... Henry T. Harrison

Patrick Gorman ... Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood
Bo Brinkman ... Maj. Walter H. Taylor

James Lancaster ... Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle

William Morgan Sheppard ... Maj. Gen. Isaac R. Trimble / Narrator (as Morgan Sheppard)
Kieran Mulroney ... Maj. G. Moxley Sorrel

James Patrick Stuart ... Col. E. Porter Alexander (as Patrick Stuart)
Tim Ruddy ... Maj. Charles Marshall
Royce D. Applegate ... Brig. Gen. James L. Kemper
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Killer Angels (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
261 min | Sweden:254 min | UK:259 min | Netherlands:244 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints) | DTS (35 mm prints)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Lee usually wore a plain uniform with three stars on the collar because he disliked the heavily braided uniforms worn by most Confederate generals. The three stars in the Confederate army indicated the rank of Colonel (Lee's rank when he resigned from the US Army). Confederate generals wore wreathed stars on their collars and their rank was indicated by the number of stripes in the braid on their sleeve. Notice that Longstreet and others all have the collar stars (1 large and 2 small) but the other generals have varying numbers of stripes in their braiding. In fact, a couple of the Brigadiers only wear the collar tabs. No one knows why Lee insisted on wearing this uniform with the improper rank. He did occasionally wear the proper uniform; most notably when he surrendered to Grant at Appomattox. more
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: During one of the early "marching" scenes prior to the beginning of the battle, a soldier is seen pounding a drum. When he pounds the drum, however, no noise is heard. more
Quotes:
Rice's Courier: [just before Pickett's Charge to the center of the Federal line] Colonel Rice has instructed me to tell you're relieved, sir.
Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: Relieved?
Rice's Courier: Fresh troops are on their way up and they'll take over here, sir. Colonel Rice wants to give you people a rest. You are to fall back, and I am to show you the way.
Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: [to himself] Fall back. Yes...
[turns to Ellis]
Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: Ellis, have the men fall in; we're moving out.
[to the courier]
Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: Where are we going?
Rice's Courier: Oh, sir! Lovely spot. Very quiet. Safest place on the battlefield. Right smack-dab in the center.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-02-26)" (2008) more

FAQ

What is the background of the seminary building used during the battle?
What was the weather like during the battle?
What are the best websites for further information?
more
36 out of 39 people found the following comment useful.
Long, but Powerful Epic, Filmed on Location..., 14 March 2004
Author: Ben Burgraff (cariart) from Las Vegas, Nevada

GETTYSBURG, based on Michael Shaara's bestseller, "The Killer Angels", is a truly remarkable film, in it's clear, if long, presentation of the Civil War's bloodiest, best-known, yet least understood battle, in it's 'humanizing' of the almost legendary characters of the period, and, most amazingly, for being filmed at the actual locations where the actions took place, in Gettysburg, itself. From Little Round Top to Seminary Ridge, you see the events where they actually occurred, 140 years ago. It is a singular achievement, and Ted Turner deserves credit for making it happen.

Two characters dominate the film; Jeff Daniels, in one of his finest performances, is a likable, totally believable Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the Maine ex-schoolteacher who would win the Congressional Medal of Honor; and Tom Berenger, sporting a huge, bushy beard, is a sympathetic 'voice of reason' as Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, successor to "Stonewall" Jackson as Robert E. Lee's field commander. Chamberlain and Longstreet provide the film it's focus, as honorable men attempting to fulfill their duty, while the carnage builds around each of them.

Other memorable performances include Sam Elliott, in a brief but memorable cameo as Brig. Gen. John Buford, the battle-hardened cavalry commander who initiates the battle after guessing the Confederates' objectives at Gettysburg; Richard Jordan, in one of his last appearances before his untimely death, as Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead, facing his best friend in battle; Kevin Conway, as Chamberlain's gruff but likable Irish First Sergeant, Sgt. 'Buster' Kilrain; C. Thomas Howell as Lt. Thomas D. Chamberlain, Joshua's brother, who creates a sense of familial concern for Daniels; and Stephen Lang (who would go on to play Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in GODS AND GENERALS), as an ever-confident, ebullient Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett.

In the pivotal role of Robert E. Lee, Martin Sheen is less effective, lacking Lee's well-documented charisma, and substituting constant world-weary gazes for characterization. Robert Duvall, who assumed the role in GODS AND GENERALS, would be far more credible as Lee.

The sheer numbers of the battle are staggering; over 150,000 combatants, with 53,000 dead, more in a single three-day engagement than were lost during the entire war in Vietnam. The armies of actors, extras, and recreators could not nearly match those numbers, yet the film effectively conveys the immensity of the conflict. The tactical errors (Lee's decision, on the third day of battle, to order Pickett's suicidal charge into the Union guns; Meade's decision, drawing the fury of President Lincoln, to allow the Southern survivors to return home without further slaughter, while a humane gesture, probably lengthening the war) are presented within the context of of the overall conflict, providing the viewer with justification for their decisions.

Director Ronald F. Maxwell presents a complex, fascinating tapestry in GETTYSBURG, and it is not a film you will soon forget!

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