A history and movie lover's dream come true opened at theaters on February 21.
Gods and Generals
2003
Don't let the Critics rob you from seeing this moving story of our country's history.The movie is superb. We rank it in our top five favorite movies list. This list includes Godfather 1 and 2 and Lonesome Dove. The authenticity down to the last detail gives this movie so much realism. You're aware in the coin business, that we grade on an MS-60 - MS-70 scale. Just like there are no old coins that are perfect and deserve the MS-70 grade, there are no movies that are perfect. But we grade "G and Gs" MS-68 +. The battle scenes were incredible. From musket loading, to bayonet charges, viewers were put on the battlefield. And the strategies of battle plans are explained so that the average viewer knows what's going on. For Civil War buffs, it is even better. You can follow the battle bullet by bullet, charge by charge and understand. For coin collectors, there's a peripheral interest. Look for the genuine $20 gold piece in the palm of the soldiers hand who was killed on the battlefield. Critics that blasted the movie complain about:
The Christian emphasis
The Southern slant
The lack of cries for civil rights
The Shakespearean soliloquies
The proper speech by which men address their wives.
Minor historical errors.
Gods and Generals tells the story using Stonewall Jackson as the protagonist or the main character. Since the story is portrayed accurately, it is up to the viewer to decide if Jackson was right or wrong in his beliefs. The director's job is to make a good movie, not decide moral, ethical, or political arguments.A good movie is concerned primarily with the following:
Acting (Which in G and Gs is excellent)
Staging (The cinemaphotagraphy is the best)
Props (So lifelike, you think you're back in time)
Story flow (From secession through Chancellorsville the story moves in clock-like fashion)
Character development ( Academy awards should be forthcoming)
Soundtrack (Haunting and reminiscent of the times in G and Gs.) Give yourself a treat and see this epic.
Most director's focus their movie on certain characters they've read about in a book, or heard about on the news, or whatever. Examples would be:
Organized crime (The Godfather)
Bank robbers (Butch Cassidy and Sundance)
Alcoholics (Ray Milland in Lost Weekend)
The U.S. against Mexicans (The Alamo)
The U.S. against Indians (Many westerns)
Drug pushers (Johnny Depp in Blow) or whatever..
It's the director's duty to make a good movie. The viewer decides if there's empathy for the main characters or their causes. If a movie evokes tears of remorse for characters who die or experience sorrow, the director has done his job. To criticize God's and General's for:
Having a Southern slant, or a Christian theme.
Or a non-radical attack of civil rights.
Is missing the point.
Critics can't see the forest for the trees. They are blinded by their own biases and prejudices, and have missed seeing one of the best movies. We can't wait for the final installment of the trilogy, The Last Full Measure. And we can't wait for the DVD of G and Gs to come out. It reportedly will have nearly seven hours of filming, twice as much as in the theater... We loved it very much... But that's just our opinion.