Gods and Generals (2003)

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.

Director:

Ron Maxwell (as Ronald F. Maxwell)

Writers:

Jeff Shaara (book) (as Jeffrey M. Shaara), Ron Maxwell (screenplay) (as Ronald F. Maxwell)

Stars:

Stephen Lang, Robert Duvall, Jeff Daniels

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donzaleigh Abernathy	...	Martha
Mark Aldrich	...	Adjutant
George Allen	...	Confederate Officer
Keith Allison	...	Capt. James J. White
Royce D. Applegate	...	Gen. James Kemper (as Royce Applegate)
Bruce Boxleitner	...	Gen. James Longstreet
Bo Brinkman	...	Major Walter Taylor
Mac Butler	...	Gen. Joseph Hooker
Robert Byrd	...	Confederate General (as Robert C. Byrd)
Shane Callahan	...	Bowdoin Student
Billy Campbell	...	Gen. George Pickett
David Carpenter	...	Rev. Beverly Tucker Lacy
John Castle	...	Old Penn
Jim Choate	...	Gen. Bernard Bee
Martin Clark	...	Dr. George Junkin

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

john wilkes booth character | confederate army | bayonet charge | bayonet fight | robert e. lee character | 

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Taglines:

An unforgettable story of the Civil War, from the Director of "GETTYSBURG"

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sustained battle sequences

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Lang also appeared in Gettysburg (1993). However, he does not reprise his original role from "Gettysburg", that of Major General George E. Pickett. Instead, he played Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, who died two months prior to the momentous clash in Gettysburg. Billy Campbell took over the role of Pickett.

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Goofs

During the battle of Chancellorsville, A.P. Hill is introduced as Brigadier General, but he was a Major General for over a year by then.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: A human life, I think, should be well rooted in some spot of a native land, where it may get the love of tender kinship for the face of the earth, for the labors men go forth to, for the sounds and accents that haunt it, for whatever will give that early home a familiar unmistakable difference amidst the future widening of knowledge. The best introduction to astronomy is to think of the nightly heavens as a little lot of stars belonging to one's own homestead. - George Eliot

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Crazy Credits

The movie was dedicated to the memory of John F. Maxwell and Royce D. Applegate.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in The Andrew Klavan Show: Amnesty Don??? (2017)

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Soundtracks

Going Home
Music and Lyrics by Mary Fahl, Byron Isaacs and Glenn H. Patscha
Performed by Mary Fahl
Violin solo by Mark O'Connor
Courtesy of Sony Classical/Odyssey Records

User Reviews

"Gods" and "Gettysburg"

Although Duvall resembles R.E. Lee much more than Martin Sheen in "Gods", Sheen gives a much more personified performance as Lee in "Gettysburg".

I find it interesting how almost no emphasis is put on any commanding Union general in either film, with only about 2 minutes of dialouge between Hancock and Burnside before the disaster at Fredericksberg. It should always be noted that Lee's early victories can be credited equally on the Union commanders utter incompotence as well as Lee's exeptional stratigic ability.

I'm sure "The last full measure" (the final film of the trilogy) will put a fair amount of emphasis on General Grant as he assumes command for the Army of the Potamac in 1864. I just hope we dont have another 10-year interval between films.

They are both great films. They have not been the box-office hits because of their legnth and a lack of hard-core history lovers to pay up at the theatre. I'm sure that "Gods" will be aired on TBS soon in a 2 part "mini-series" format to very good ratings as "Gettysberg" did.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 February 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gods and Generals

Filming Locations:

Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$56,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,675,246, 23 February 2003

Gross USA:

$12,882,934

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,923,936

Company Credits

Production Co:

Turner Pictures (I), Antietam Filmworks, Esparza / Katz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

219 min 280 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1