Hollywood's war
I caught the last half of Glory on A&E when I got home from work today; I hadn't seen it in a while.
What a wonderful film. Oh, it has a fair number of small errors (attacking Battery Wagner from the wrong side, a bit too much hand-to-hand combat in the Beaufort Island scenes, Enfield muskets didn't have serial numbers, etc.), and a couple of larger issues (the film gets the character of James Montgomery wrong, the "drill sargeant" thing is really much more 20th than 19th century, and the pay boycott was Shaw's idea), but on the whole the film had its heart in the right place.
In fact, I'd put it number one on my list of all time favorite Civil War movies, which would be:
1. Glory: no other film has ever dealt so well with the issues of race and slavery that lay the center of the war's meaning; and it offers no simple or simplistic answers. Is there a better scene in all of Hollywood illustrating the troubled history of American race relations than the whipping scene?
2. Pharoah's Army. So you've never heard of it? Too bad. This wonderful little film starred Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson, playing a Union captain and Confederate farmwoman forced to deal with each other on a small Kentucky farm. A rare look at the consequences of the war on the western homefront.
3. Ride With the Devil. Another little known film, by Ang Lee of all people, and starring the pre-Spiderman Toby Maguire and--again, of all people--pop singer Jewel. Gives a riveting, largely accurate account of the Missouri-Kansas guerrilla wars, including a realistic rendition of Quantrill's Lawrence raid.
4. Cold Mountain. Gritty, hard-edged and realistic, with terrific acting.
5. Red Badge of Courage. (1951) People forget how great a film this was; a nice adaptation of the novel, and a good performance by Audie Murphy. Black and White really works better for this story than color, somehow.
Any quibbles, serious disagreements, or opinions are most welcome.
What a wonderful film. Oh, it has a fair number of small errors (attacking Battery Wagner from the wrong side, a bit too much hand-to-hand combat in the Beaufort Island scenes, Enfield muskets didn't have serial numbers, etc.), and a couple of larger issues (the film gets the character of James Montgomery wrong, the "drill sargeant" thing is really much more 20th than 19th century, and the pay boycott was Shaw's idea), but on the whole the film had its heart in the right place.
In fact, I'd put it number one on my list of all time favorite Civil War movies, which would be:
1. Glory: no other film has ever dealt so well with the issues of race and slavery that lay the center of the war's meaning; and it offers no simple or simplistic answers. Is there a better scene in all of Hollywood illustrating the troubled history of American race relations than the whipping scene?
2. Pharoah's Army. So you've never heard of it? Too bad. This wonderful little film starred Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson, playing a Union captain and Confederate farmwoman forced to deal with each other on a small Kentucky farm. A rare look at the consequences of the war on the western homefront.
3. Ride With the Devil. Another little known film, by Ang Lee of all people, and starring the pre-Spiderman Toby Maguire and--again, of all people--pop singer Jewel. Gives a riveting, largely accurate account of the Missouri-Kansas guerrilla wars, including a realistic rendition of Quantrill's Lawrence raid.
4. Cold Mountain. Gritty, hard-edged and realistic, with terrific acting.
5. Red Badge of Courage. (1951) People forget how great a film this was; a nice adaptation of the novel, and a good performance by Audie Murphy. Black and White really works better for this story than color, somehow.
Any quibbles, serious disagreements, or opinions are most welcome.
posted by brdirck at 1:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home