Gods and Generals (film)
Encyclopedia
Gods and Generals is a 2003 American film based on the novel Gods and Generals by Jeffrey Shaara
. It depicts events that take place prior to those shown in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which was based on The Killer Angels
, a novel by Shaara's father, Michael
. The film stars Stephen Lang
as Stonewall Jackson
, Jeff Daniels
as Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Chamberlain
and Robert Duvall
as General Robert E. Lee.
It was written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell
, who had previously written and directed Gettysburg in 1993. Media mogul Ted Turner
provided the entire $65 million budget.
. It also follows Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
, a Maine college professor who is appointed a Lieutenant Colonel and becomes second-in-command of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
. The film prominently features the Battles of 1st Bull Run (1st Manassas)
, Fredericksburg
, and Chancellorsville
. The film's original running time clocked in at nearly 6 hours (much like the original running time of Gettysburg). The longer version featured the Battle of Antietam or(Sharpsburg) as well as an entire plot following the American actor and future presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth
and his colleague Henry Harrison
(from Gettysburg).
The film opens with Robert E. Lee's resignation from the Union Army, accompanied by the perspectives of various politicians, teachers, and soldiers as the south secedes from the Union and both sides prepare for war. Jackson, who is a professor at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington at the outset of the war, leaves his family behind to do battle at the First Battle of Manassas. Jackson is asked by a retreating General Bernard Bee for assistance against the Federal army who is pursuing them after a brief stand on Matthews Hill.In rallying his shaken troops, Bee launches the name of Stonewall into history and the Confederates win the day at Henry Hill, Manassas, Virginia. Jackson maintains steadfast discipline in his ranks during the battle despite suffering a wound to his left hand from a spent ball.
Meanwhile, Chamberlain makes his transition from teacher to military officer and practices drilling his soldiers. He is called to battle at the Union invasion of Fredericksburg. The southern forces lead a fighting retreat as the Union army crosses the river and storms the town, and there are scenes of the subsequent looting of Fredrickburg by the Union Army. Outside the city, Lee, Longstreet and Jackson have prepared an elaborate defense on the heights outside the town, and the movie focuses on Confederate defenses behind a formidable stone wall. Several Union brigades attempt to cross an open field and attack the wall, but are thrown back with heavy losses. At one point, two Irish
units are forced into battle against one another, to the anguish of a southern soldier who believes he is killing his kin. Chamberlain leads an unsuccessful attack against Jackson's defenses and finds his unit pinned down in the open field. He survives by shielding himself with a corpse until nightfall; eventually he and the surviving members of his unit are ordered to retreat. Chamberlain and the defeated Union soldiers depart Fredericksburg. Jackson and Lee return to the city
, and Lee is confronted by an angry citizen whose house has been destroyed by the Union forces.
Jackson spends the winter at a local plantation, where he contracts a friendship with a little girl who live there. Later, Jackson discovers the child has died from scarlet fever
and he begins to cry. A soldier asks why he weeps for his child but not for the thousands of dead soldiers, and another soldier states that Jackson is weeping for everyone. Jackson is soon reunited with his wife and newborn child just before the battle of Chancellorsville.
Outside Chancellorsville, Lee identifies that the southern army faces an opposing force almost twice their size. Jackson calls upon his chaplain
, who knows the area, and asks him to find a route by which the southern forces can infiltrate in secret. Jackson then leads his forces in a surprise attack on an unprepared Union camp. Although his men initially rout the opponents, they quickly become confused in the melee and Jackson's attack is stalled. While scouting a path at night, Jackson is caught in the no-mans-land between the two sides and badly wounded. During his evacuation, his litter
bearers are targeted by artillery
and drop Jackson on the ground. He is then taken to a field hospital where his arm is amputated. Lee remarks that while Jackson has lost his left hand, Lee has lost his right. Jackson dies of pneumonia
a short while later, using his last words to extol his wife and fellow officers to "Press on!" The film concludes with a scene showing Jackson's body being returned to Lexington
, Virginia
.
has a cameo in the film as Colonel Waller T. Patton
. Colonel Patton, the great uncle of George S. Patton
, was mortally wounded at Gettysburg, a scene depicted in the movie Gettysburg. United States Senators
George Allen
(R
-Virginia
) and Robert Byrd
(D
-West Virginia
) also have cameo roles, both playing Confederate officers, Phil Gramm
(R
-Texas
) appears as a member of the Virginia Legislature early in the film and Congressman Ed Markey
(D
-Massachusetts
) also appeared as an Irish Brigade officer. Most of the extras were American Civil War reenactors
, who provided their own equipment and worked without pay. In exchange, Ted Turner agreed to donate $500,000 to Civil War battlefield preservation.
The movie was filmed in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and in western Maryland. Actual historic locations in the film include Virginia Military Institute
and Washington & Lee University, known as Washington College during the Civil War.
Russell Crowe
was the original choice to play Stonewall Jackson
, but scheduling conflicts prevented his availability in the summer and fall of 2001 when the movie was filmed. Stephen Lang
had begun to reprise his role as George Pickett
, but instead was asked to fill in the role of Jackson. Billy Campbell
, who had played a 44th New York lieutenant in Gettysburg was called in to hastily replace Lang in the role of Pickett. Although Tom Berenger
desired to reprise his Gettysburg role as James Longstreet
(which he called his favorite role) he was unavailable because of scheduling difficulties. Bruce Boxleitner
was instead cast in the role. Darius N. Couch
was portrayed by actor Carsten Norgaard
. Martin Sheen
was prevented from reprising his role as Lee due to contractual obligations to The West Wing.
was released for Blu-ray Disc
on May 24, 2011. It runs 280 minutes. For the theatrical release, almost two and a half hours of footage were removed to get the length down to approximately 3 hours, 39 minutes.
Among the footage edited includes a sub-plot which follows John Wilkes Booth
, the famous actor who would eventually become the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln
. One scene towards the end of the extended cut of the film features Chamberlain and his wife, Fanny, attending a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
in which Booth plays Brutus. Chamberlain and his wife have a conversation with Booth and his fellow actors following the end of the play. Another scene cut from the film features a performance in Washington, D.C. in which Booth plays the role of Macbeth, which is being seen by President Lincoln. When he gives the famous "dagger of the mind" soliloquy, he looks directly at Lincoln while reciting it. Later, when Booth is offered the chance to meet with Lincoln, he refuses.
A sequence dealing with the Battle of Antietam
was removed from the film. The battle was seen mostly from the perspectives of Jackson (who played a major strategic role in the battle) and Chamberlain (whose brigade was held in reserve). In the Director's Cut the entire sequence at Antietam is shown.
was composed by John Frizzell, with some minor contributions by Randy Edelman
, who composed the score for the previous Gettysburg. The soundtrack is notable for containing a new song commissioned for the movie and written and performed by Bob Dylan
, Cross the Green Mountain. The track was later included on the compilation album The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs
.
, with only 3% of their "Top Critics" giving positive reviews. Generally complaints have been to address what viewers perceive as an overwhelmingly pro-Confederate point of view (a complaint critics such as Gene Siskel had with Gettysburg), its running time, and that it lacked proper character development, spending too much of its time recreating events of the Civil War instead of focusing on a concrete narrative.
Author Jeff Shaara was disappointed with the film and has said that the book is "enormously different, it’s radically different from the film. There are characters in the film that do not exist in the book, and a great many characters in the book that never made it to the film. It’s just an entirely different story, and I have to tell you, I’ve heard from literally thousands of people through my website ... and the overwhelming percentage of those that wrote me said, “How could you let them butcher your book like that?” I have no answer to that because I had no control or power to change what came up on the screen."
released in 2003. It was based on the book Gods and Generals and its subsequent film adaptation. It is a first person shooter and uses the Lithtech
graphics engine, made popular by the more successful and critically acclaimed shooter No One Lives Forever
. It too was a critical failure with very poor ratings.
Jeffrey Shaara
Jeffrey M. "Jeff" Shaara is an American novelist, the son of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Shaara.Jeffrey Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and grew up in Tallahassee, Florida...
. It depicts events that take place prior to those shown in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which was based on The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels is a historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book tells the story of four days of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War: June 30, 1863, as the troops of both the Union and the Confederacy move into battle around...
, a novel by Shaara's father, Michael
Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara was an American writer of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to Italian immigrant parents in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University in 1951, and served as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne division...
. The film stars Stephen Lang
Stephen Lang (actor)
Stephen Lang is an American actor and playwright. He started in theatre on Broadway but is well known for his film portrayals of Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals and George Pickett in Gettysburg , as well as for his 2009 roles as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar and as Texan lawman Charles...
as Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
, Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
as Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Chamberlain
Joshua Chamberlain
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , born as Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, was an American college professor from the State of Maine, who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army...
and Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
as General Robert E. Lee.
It was written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell
Ronald F. Maxwell
Ronald F. Maxwell is an independent film director and writer from Clifton, New Jersey. He is most famous for writing and directing the American Civil War epics Gettysburg, 1993 and Gods and Generals, 2003....
, who had previously written and directed Gettysburg in 1993. Media mogul Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
provided the entire $65 million budget.
Plot
The film centers mostly on the personal and professional life of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, the God-fearing and militarily brilliant yet acutely eccentric Confederate general, from the outbreak of the American Civil War until its halfway point when Jackson, while on a night ride with his staff to investigate the grounds of battle, is accidentally shot by his own soldiers in May 1863 while commanding at the Battle of ChancellorsvilleBattle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
. It also follows Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Joshua Chamberlain
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , born as Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, was an American college professor from the State of Maine, who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army...
, a Maine college professor who is appointed a Lieutenant Colonel and becomes second-in-command of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a combat unit of the United States Army during the American Civil War, most famous for its defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863.-Organization:...
. The film prominently features the Battles of 1st Bull Run (1st Manassas)
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
, Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
, and Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
. The film's original running time clocked in at nearly 6 hours (much like the original running time of Gettysburg). The longer version featured the Battle of Antietam or(Sharpsburg) as well as an entire plot following the American actor and future presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
and his colleague Henry Harrison
Henry Thomas Harrison
Henry Thomas Harrison , known to most simply as "Harrison", was a spy for Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet during the American Civil War. He is most well known for the information he gave Longstreet and Gen. Robert E...
(from Gettysburg).
The film opens with Robert E. Lee's resignation from the Union Army, accompanied by the perspectives of various politicians, teachers, and soldiers as the south secedes from the Union and both sides prepare for war. Jackson, who is a professor at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington at the outset of the war, leaves his family behind to do battle at the First Battle of Manassas. Jackson is asked by a retreating General Bernard Bee for assistance against the Federal army who is pursuing them after a brief stand on Matthews Hill.In rallying his shaken troops, Bee launches the name of Stonewall into history and the Confederates win the day at Henry Hill, Manassas, Virginia. Jackson maintains steadfast discipline in his ranks during the battle despite suffering a wound to his left hand from a spent ball.
Meanwhile, Chamberlain makes his transition from teacher to military officer and practices drilling his soldiers. He is called to battle at the Union invasion of Fredericksburg. The southern forces lead a fighting retreat as the Union army crosses the river and storms the town, and there are scenes of the subsequent looting of Fredrickburg by the Union Army. Outside the city, Lee, Longstreet and Jackson have prepared an elaborate defense on the heights outside the town, and the movie focuses on Confederate defenses behind a formidable stone wall. Several Union brigades attempt to cross an open field and attack the wall, but are thrown back with heavy losses. At one point, two Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
units are forced into battle against one another, to the anguish of a southern soldier who believes he is killing his kin. Chamberlain leads an unsuccessful attack against Jackson's defenses and finds his unit pinned down in the open field. He survives by shielding himself with a corpse until nightfall; eventually he and the surviving members of his unit are ordered to retreat. Chamberlain and the defeated Union soldiers depart Fredericksburg. Jackson and Lee return to the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, and Lee is confronted by an angry citizen whose house has been destroyed by the Union forces.
Jackson spends the winter at a local plantation, where he contracts a friendship with a little girl who live there. Later, Jackson discovers the child has died from scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
and he begins to cry. A soldier asks why he weeps for his child but not for the thousands of dead soldiers, and another soldier states that Jackson is weeping for everyone. Jackson is soon reunited with his wife and newborn child just before the battle of Chancellorsville.
Outside Chancellorsville, Lee identifies that the southern army faces an opposing force almost twice their size. Jackson calls upon his chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
, who knows the area, and asks him to find a route by which the southern forces can infiltrate in secret. Jackson then leads his forces in a surprise attack on an unprepared Union camp. Although his men initially rout the opponents, they quickly become confused in the melee and Jackson's attack is stalled. While scouting a path at night, Jackson is caught in the no-mans-land between the two sides and badly wounded. During his evacuation, his litter
Litter (rescue basket)
A litter is a stretcher or basket designed to be used where there are obstacles to movement or other hazards: for example, in confined spaces, on slopes, in wooded terrain. Typically it is shaped to accommodate an adult in a face up position and it is used in search and rescue operations. The...
bearers are targeted by artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and drop Jackson on the ground. He is then taken to a field hospital where his arm is amputated. Lee remarks that while Jackson has lost his left hand, Lee has lost his right. Jackson dies of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
a short while later, using his last words to extol his wife and fellow officers to "Press on!" The film concludes with a scene showing Jackson's body being returned to Lexington
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Cast
- Stephen LangStephen Lang (actor)Stephen Lang is an American actor and playwright. He started in theatre on Broadway but is well known for his film portrayals of Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals and George Pickett in Gettysburg , as well as for his 2009 roles as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar and as Texan lawman Charles...
as Lieutenant General Stonewall JacksonStonewall Jacksonຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
(CSA)
- Jeff DanielsJeff DanielsJeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
as Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Lawrence ChamberlainJoshua ChamberlainJoshua Lawrence Chamberlain , born as Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, was an American college professor from the State of Maine, who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army...
(USA) - reprising role
- Robert DuvallRobert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
as General Robert E. LeeRobert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
(CSA) - replacing Martin SheenMartin SheenRamón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
- Kevin Conway as Sergeant Buster KilrainBuster KilrainBuster Kilrain is the only fictional character in Michael Shaara's 1974 novel about the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels. His surname is a portmanteau of the title "The Killer Angels"...
, the only fictional major character (USA) - reprising role
- C. Thomas HowellC. Thomas HowellChristopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...
as Sergeant Thomas ChamberlainThomas ChamberlainThomas Davee Chamberlain was an officer in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War, the brother of Union general Joshua L. Chamberlain, the commanding officer of the 20th Maine Infantry....
(USA) - reprising role
- Jeremy LondonJeremy LondonJeremy Michael London is an American actor. He is best known for his regular roles on Party of Five, 7th Heaven, and I'll Fly Away, as well as a notable supporting role in the Civil War epic Gods and Generals....
as Captain Alexander "Sandie" Pendleton (CSA)
- Matt LetscherMatt LetscherMatthew Letscher is an American actor.-Biography:Letscher was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He attended college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity....
as Colonel Adelbert AmesAdelbert AmesAdelbert Ames was an American sailor, soldier, and politician. He served with distinction as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. As a Radical Republican and a Carpetbagger, he was military governor, Senator and civilian governor in Reconstruction-era Mississippi...
(USA)
- Brian MallonBrian MallonBrian Mallon is an American film and theater actor of Irish descent; he speaks Irish and Welsh. A native of Detroit, Mallon is primarily a stage actor, having performed on both sides of the Atlantic. He won acclaim for his one-man show, Secrets of the Celtic Heart, directed by fellow Detroiter...
as Major General Winfield Scott HancockWinfield Scott HancockWinfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
(USA) - reprising role
- Bo Brinkman as Major Walter H. TaylorWalter H. TaylorWalter Herron Taylor was an American banker, lawyer, soldier, politician, author, and railroad executive from Norfolk, Virginia. During the American Civil War, he was an officer in the Confederate States Army, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel as an aide to General Robert E. Lee...
(CSA) - reprising role
- Bruce BoxleitnerBruce BoxleitnerBruce William Boxleitner is an American actor, and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King , and Babylon 5...
as Lieutenant General James LongstreetJames LongstreetJames Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." He served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the...
(CSA) - replacing Tom BerengerTom BerengerTom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
- William SandersonWilliam SandersonWilliam Sanderson is an American character actor.-Early life:Sanderson was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to an elementary school teacher mother and a landscape designer father...
as Major General A.P. Hill (CSA) - replacing Patrick Falci
- Billy CampbellBilly CampbellWilliam Oliver "Billy" Campbell is an American film and television actor. In television, he is best known for his roles as Rick Sammler on Once and Again, as Det. Joey Indelli on Crime Story, as Jordan Collier on The 4400, and as Dr. Jon Fielding on the Tales of the City Miniseries...
as Major General George PickettGeorge PickettGeorge Edward Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
(CSA) - replacing Stephen LangStephen Lang (actor)Stephen Lang is an American actor and playwright. He started in theatre on Broadway but is well known for his film portrayals of Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals and George Pickett in Gettysburg , as well as for his 2009 roles as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar and as Texan lawman Charles...
- Alex Hyde-WhiteAlex Hyde-WhiteAlex Punch Hyde-White is an English born, US raised film and television actor. He is sometimes credited as Alex Hyde White. In 1978 he signed with Universal Pictures as one of the last "contract players" in Hollywood, in a group that included Lindsay Wagner, Andrew Stevens and Sharon...
as Major General Ambrose E. Burnside (USA)
- Joseph FuquaJoseph FuquaJoseph Bernard Fuqua is an American actor. Joseph's parents were Brig. Gen. Stephen Ogden Fuqua Jr. and Mary Ann Sherman Verspoor . Joseph's father remarried in 1969 to Frances Huston Spackman , who adopted him 1971. At this point Joseph was the youngest of ten children. Joseph's grandfather was...
as Major General J.E.B. StuartJ.E.B. StuartJames Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
(CSA) - reprising role
- John Prosky as Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead (CSA) - replacing Richard JordanRichard JordanRichard Jordan was an American stage, screen and film actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays...
- Royce D. ApplegateRoyce D. ApplegateRoyce D. Applegate was an American actor and screenwriter. Born in Oklahoma, his most visible role was that of Chief Petty Officer Manilow Crocker on the first season of the Steven Spielberg-produced television series seaQuest DSV.In 1985, Applegate played tragic family man-turned-kidnapper Donald...
as Brigadier General James L. KemperJames L. KemperJames Lawson Kemper was a lawyer, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and the 37th Governor of Virginia...
(CSA) - reprising role
- Patrick GormanPatrick GormanThis article is about the American actor. For the British actor, see Pat Gorman.Patrick O. Gorman is an American theatre, film and television actor....
as Major General John HoodJohn Bell HoodJohn Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness...
(CSA) - reprising role
- Morgan Sheppard as Colonel Isaac R. TrimbleIsaac R. TrimbleIsaac Ridgeway Trimble was a United States Army officer, a civil engineer, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge at the Battle of...
(CSA) - reprising role
- James Patrick StuartJames Patrick StuartJames Patrick Stuart is an English-American stage, film and television actor.-Theater:His early career began on stage, where his work received recognition.-Television:...
as Colonel Edward Porter AlexanderEdward Porter AlexanderEdward Porter Alexander was an engineer, an officer in the U.S. Army, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and later a railroad executive, planter, and author....
(CSA) - reprising role
- Jonathon Demers as Brigadier General Richard S. EwellRichard S. EwellRichard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E...
(CSA) - replacing Tim Scott
- Andrew PrineAndrew PrineAndrew Lewis Prine is an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life and career:Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Andrew Jackson High School in Miami, Prine made his acting debut three years later in an episode of CBS U.S. Steel Hour...
as Brigadier General Richard B. GarnettRichard B. GarnettRichard Brooke Garnett was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was killed during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life:...
(CSA) - reprising role
- James Garrett as Brigidier General John C. CaldwellJohn C. CaldwellJohn Curtis Caldwell was a teacher, a Union general in the American Civil War, and an American diplomat.-Early life:Caldwell was born in Lowell, Vermont...
(USA)
- J. Scott Watkins as Brigidier General Raleigh E. ColstonRaleigh E. ColstonRaleigh Edward Colston was a French-born American professor, soldier, cartographer, and writer. He was a controversial brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
(CSA)
- Fred Griffith as Brigidier General Robert Rodes (CSA) - replacing Graham Winton
- Tim O'Hare as Colonel St. Clair Augustine MulhollandSt. Clair Augustine MulhollandSt. Clair Augustine Mulholland was a colonel in the Union Army in the American Civil War who later received the brevets of brigadier general of volunteers and major general of volunteers and the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action at the Battle of Chancellorsville.-Biography:Mulholland was born...
(USA)
- Cooper HuckabeeCooper HuckabeeCooper Huckabee is an film and television actor.-Early life:Huckabee attended Davidson High School in Mobile, Alabama. At USM, he received an Athletic Administration Degree.-Acting career:...
as Henry Thomas HarrisonHenry Thomas HarrisonHenry Thomas Harrison , known to most simply as "Harrison", was a spy for Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet during the American Civil War. He is most well known for the information he gave Longstreet and Gen. Robert E...
- reprising role
- Mira SorvinoMira SorvinoMira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...
as Fanny ChamberlainFanny ChamberlainFrances Caroline "Fanny" Chamberlain, née Adams was born in the Greater Boston area. She was shuffled to different family members until she settled with Rev. George Eliashib Adams, a nephew of her father, in Brunswick, Maine as a small child...
- Kali RochaKali Rocha-Early life:Rocha was born in Memphis, Tennessee and grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, graduating from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 1993.-Career:...
as Anna Jackson
- Donzaleigh AbernathyDonzaleigh AbernathyDonzaleigh Abernathy is an American actress, producer, director and writer.-Filmography:*Murder in Mississippi -- Sue Brown*Ghost Dad -- E.R...
as Martha
- Karen Hochstetter as Roberta Corbin
- Martin Clark as Dr. George JunkinGeorge JunkinRev. George Junkin, D. D., LL. D. was an American educator and Presbyterian minister who served as the first president of Lafayette College and later as president of Miami University and Washington College .-Biography:He was the son of Joseph Junkin, and the sixth of fourteen children born in...
, Stonewall Jackson's spiritual leader and ex-father-in-law
Production
Ted TurnerTed Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
has a cameo in the film as Colonel Waller T. Patton
Waller T. Patton
Waller Tazewell Patton , was a professor, attorney, and an officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
. Colonel Patton, the great uncle of George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
, was mortally wounded at Gettysburg, a scene depicted in the movie Gettysburg. United States Senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
(R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
) and Robert Byrd
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
(D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
) also have cameo roles, both playing Confederate officers, Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
(R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) appears as a member of the Virginia Legislature early in the film and Congressman Ed Markey
Ed Markey
Edward John "Ed" Markey is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1976. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes most of Boston's northern and western suburbs, such as Medford and Framingham. Markey is the Dean of both the Massachusetts and New England House delegations...
(D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) also appeared as an Irish Brigade officer. Most of the extras were American Civil War reenactors
American Civil War reenactment
American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known as Civil War reenactors or Civil War recreationists...
, who provided their own equipment and worked without pay. In exchange, Ted Turner agreed to donate $500,000 to Civil War battlefield preservation.
The movie was filmed in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and in western Maryland. Actual historic locations in the film include Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
and Washington & Lee University, known as Washington College during the Civil War.
Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
was the original choice to play Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
, but scheduling conflicts prevented his availability in the summer and fall of 2001 when the movie was filmed. Stephen Lang
Stephen Lang (actor)
Stephen Lang is an American actor and playwright. He started in theatre on Broadway but is well known for his film portrayals of Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals and George Pickett in Gettysburg , as well as for his 2009 roles as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar and as Texan lawman Charles...
had begun to reprise his role as George Pickett
George Pickett
George Edward Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
, but instead was asked to fill in the role of Jackson. Billy Campbell
Billy Campbell
William Oliver "Billy" Campbell is an American film and television actor. In television, he is best known for his roles as Rick Sammler on Once and Again, as Det. Joey Indelli on Crime Story, as Jordan Collier on The 4400, and as Dr. Jon Fielding on the Tales of the City Miniseries...
, who had played a 44th New York lieutenant in Gettysburg was called in to hastily replace Lang in the role of Pickett. Although Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
desired to reprise his Gettysburg role as James Longstreet
James Longstreet
James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." He served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the...
(which he called his favorite role) he was unavailable because of scheduling difficulties. Bruce Boxleitner
Bruce Boxleitner
Bruce William Boxleitner is an American actor, and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King , and Babylon 5...
was instead cast in the role. Darius N. Couch
Darius N. Couch
Darius Nash Couch was an American soldier, businessman, and naturalist. He served as a career U.S. Army officer during the Mexican-American War, the Second Seminole War, and as a general officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.During the Civil War, Couch fought notably in the...
was portrayed by actor Carsten Norgaard
Carsten Norgaard
Carsten Norgaard , known as Carsten Nørgaard in Denmark, is a Danish actor. Norgaard was born Frederiksberg, Denmark. He began his career playing the enigmatic Dolphin Man in the 1988 film The Fruit Machine...
. Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
was prevented from reprising his role as Lee due to contractual obligations to The West Wing.
Director's Cut
The Director's CutDirector's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
was released for Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on May 24, 2011. It runs 280 minutes. For the theatrical release, almost two and a half hours of footage were removed to get the length down to approximately 3 hours, 39 minutes.
Among the footage edited includes a sub-plot which follows John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
, the famous actor who would eventually become the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. One scene towards the end of the extended cut of the film features Chamberlain and his wife, Fanny, attending a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
in which Booth plays Brutus. Chamberlain and his wife have a conversation with Booth and his fellow actors following the end of the play. Another scene cut from the film features a performance in Washington, D.C. in which Booth plays the role of Macbeth, which is being seen by President Lincoln. When he gives the famous "dagger of the mind" soliloquy, he looks directly at Lincoln while reciting it. Later, when Booth is offered the chance to meet with Lincoln, he refuses.
A sequence dealing with the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
was removed from the film. The battle was seen mostly from the perspectives of Jackson (who played a major strategic role in the battle) and Chamberlain (whose brigade was held in reserve). In the Director's Cut the entire sequence at Antietam is shown.
Soundtrack
In 2003, the film scoreGods and Generals (soundtrack)
Gods and Generals is the soundtrack to the 2003 film. Other than the opening and closing track, the album is entirely instrumental. It was critically praised for its thematic diversity and consistently high quality. It was even thought to be superior to the Gettysburg soundtrack composed by Randy...
was composed by John Frizzell, with some minor contributions by Randy Edelman
Randy Edelman
Randy Edelman is an American film and TV score composer.-Life and career:Edelman was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of a first-grade teacher and an accountant. He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before heading to New York where he played...
, who composed the score for the previous Gettysburg. The soundtrack is notable for containing a new song commissioned for the movie and written and performed by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Cross the Green Mountain. The track was later included on the compilation album The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs
The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs
The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 – Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006 is a compilation album by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in his official "bootleg series" of rare and unissued recordings. It was originally released as a double, and triple album. It was later released as a single album,...
.
Reception
Gods and Generals was a critical failure and received mainly negative reviews. The film currently holds an 8% critical approval rating from 119 reviews accumulated on review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with only 3% of their "Top Critics" giving positive reviews. Generally complaints have been to address what viewers perceive as an overwhelmingly pro-Confederate point of view (a complaint critics such as Gene Siskel had with Gettysburg), its running time, and that it lacked proper character development, spending too much of its time recreating events of the Civil War instead of focusing on a concrete narrative.
Author Jeff Shaara was disappointed with the film and has said that the book is "enormously different, it’s radically different from the film. There are characters in the film that do not exist in the book, and a great many characters in the book that never made it to the film. It’s just an entirely different story, and I have to tell you, I’ve heard from literally thousands of people through my website ... and the overwhelming percentage of those that wrote me said, “How could you let them butcher your book like that?” I have no answer to that because I had no control or power to change what came up on the screen."
Video game
Gods and Generals is a PC game centered around the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
released in 2003. It was based on the book Gods and Generals and its subsequent film adaptation. It is a first person shooter and uses the Lithtech
Lithtech
Lithtech is a game engine which was initially developed by Monolith Productions in collaboration with Microsoft. Monolith later formed a separate company, LithTech Inc., to deal with further advancements of the engine technology and currently, after a change of its corporate identity, LithTech Inc...
graphics engine, made popular by the more successful and critically acclaimed shooter No One Lives Forever
No One Lives Forever
The Operative: No One Lives Forever is a first-person shooter video game with stealth gameplay elements, developed by Monolith Productions and published by Fox Interactive, released for Windows in 2000. The game was also ported later to the PlayStation 2 and Mac OS X...
. It too was a critical failure with very poor ratings.