European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Gettysburg wins the Battle for detail and endurance imagine a major motion picture that lasts More than 4 i hours. Adheres to precise detail. Does without sex scenes and make my Day one liners. Makes civil War history More spellbinding than. A 1994 High Speed car Chase. Imagine no More. Gettysburg All of the above and More. Just what comprises that More is Best left for each viewer to decide. As Art Gettysburg loses Luster in trying to detail it. I believe said Robert Maxwell who directed the epic that in some measure our ancestors who met at Gettysburg 130 years ago will re enter the consciousness of a nation through our such lofty . Film aspirations in the last decade of the 20th Century usually find outlet in a to mini series Complete with commercials lauding credit cards radial tires and floor Wax. Gettysburg viewers go without a bombardment of similar messages Al though they will have a 20-minute intermission to re Spond to nature or an empty stomach. Viewers need the break not because the film drags but because it does t. Shifting scenes and characters move like a Battlefield Breeze leaving viewers with the lingering notion that they be some How been touched. Maxwell Battles toward his goal using proven weaponry such As character acting and commitment nudging the action from one part of the three Day Battle to another from one general to another. Gettysburg May come a Cropper when it comes to acad Emy awards but not for Lack of acting efforts. In deed it is hard to pinpoint an actor who does t bring something to his role. If there is a Lead role it belongs Tom Brenger whose film credits include the big chill platoon and major league. As it. Gen. James Longstreet Berenger brings a measured detachment As Lee s most trusted subordinate. A memorable moment is when Berenger s Longstreet muses Over a campfire that perhaps the South should have freed the slaves while declaring Independence. History buffs will find much to Admire about Gettysburg but Martin Sheen s portrayal of Gen. Rob Ert e. Lee May be the exception. The Star of apocalypse now and the missiles of october is almost haunting As the South s greatest military Leader. Still his ethereal Persona helps explain How so great a general could so underestimate so known a foe. Jeff Daniels terms of endearment is col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. It is with his Maine regi ment atop Little round top that we re thrust into the fury of civil War Battle savagery. Chamberlain s courage and decisiveness Echo As forcefully As the Cannon fire preceding Pickett s charge. Daniels is steady and unwavering the exact qualities his role requires. Other roles Are smaller but no less poignant. Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead is played by Richard Jordan who died just months after finishing the film. Arris Tead s angst Over his admiration for maj. Gen. Win Field Scott Hancock Brian Mallo now his rival is among subplots that form the Gettysburg tapestry. Kevin Conway holds the Honor As playing the Only enlisted Soldier with a major speaking role. As sgt. Buster Kilrain Conway s Gruff Gritty portrayal of the average Union combatant reflects the unit under Chamberlain s command. Historical accuracy is a Bedrock of the production. Gettysburg relies on More than 5,000 re Enactor whose passion for the civil War Era enhances the production. Their number flourishes during Piekett s charge the climactic attempt by Lee s forces to break the Union s lines. The thousands of civil War buffs Are filmed at the actual Battlefield site in Pennsylvania. Now Lino Cinema above col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Jeff Daniels confers with sgt. Duster Kilrain Kevin Conway. Left Gen. Robert e. Lee Martin Sheen and it. Gen. James Longstreet Tom Burc Ngor discuss Battle plans. Below Longstreet with a saluting maj. Gen. George Pickett Stephen Lang. New Uno Elnoma despite its length and dedication to history the movie will leave some civil War aficionados some what unfulfilled. Engagements at Culp s Hill the peach Orchard the wheat Field and Devil s Den rate Only casual mention. Jeb Stuart s tardy arrival at Lee s Headquarters rates one scene but the military significance of the Confederate cavalry s absence is never fully explained especially in. Ight of Lee s decision to fight at Gettysburg Why maj. Gen. George Meade s army of Potomac allows Lee s army of Northern Virginia to Retreat unmolested is never addressed. Such nuances will probably go unnoticed this month if the . Military audience in Europe takes its Cue from the United states where Gettysburg viewers were few in number. If so this area s audience will miss the first . Movie in decades that challenges the concept that All 1990s films can Only take audiences Down the Road of what the traffic will Bear. Dave Walczak new Una Cinema k january 30,1994 sunday Page
