DVDs

Gettysburg

Region 1

Region 4

By Richard Moore

Before the battle of Gettysburg the Confederates were always in with a chance to win the American Civil War.

Afterwards, they were shattered and although the war took another two years to end the South had little chance of ever threatening the North again.

Gettysburg was the high tide of the Confederacy and the three-day battle near a small Pennsylvania town would see some of the most famous clashes of the Civil War.

Cemetery Ridge, Culp's Hill, Little Round Top, the Devil's Den and Pickett's Charge are just some of the mini-battles within the larger clash that cost some 53,000 casualties.

To do justice to such a battle was always going to be a massive undertaking, but Ted Turner - media chief and sometime performer in this movie - got it all going and the resulting 254-minute film is just awesome.

There are Civil War re-enactors by the thousands, a host of excellent actors and battlefield action on a scale not seen for decades.

Gettysburg also has, it has to be said, some of the worst fake beards in the history of movies. But that is being picky as for most of the four-and-a-quarter hours of Gettysburg you will spend your time in the front stalls of some of the most extensive action scenes filmed.

It was shot on the actual areas of the battle and more than one person choked up on the fact that it was almost like taking part in the conflict itself.

Having read a fair bit about the Civil War and Gettysburg itself, the movie really brings the characters and battle to life.

Tom Berenger puts in his best performance ever as Confederate General Pete Longstreet and Jeff Daniels is equally as good as Colonel Chamberlain, the union officer who basically saved his army by mounting a suicidal bayonet charge when his regiment had run out of ammunition.

Richard Jordan is marvellous as General Lo Armistead, another southerner, and sadly it was his last film role as he died of a brain tumour only months afterwards.

Martin Sheen plays General Robert E. Lee, the overall Confederate commander, but - surprisingly - is a tad unconvincing.

Having sat through Gettysburg on the big screen one of the major bits of interest was would it hold up on the small screen?

The answer is yes, with the crispness of DVD images and its sound going a long way to making up for the sheer size of a cinema. An extra bonus is that you also have the chance to sup a few drinks and run off to the loo whenever you feel the need.

The video transfer is excellent, although some of the low-light shots do get a bit grainy, and the sounds of battle will have your speakers shaking.

War-movie fans will love Gettysburg and so will anyone who enjoys spectacular movies, history and great characters.

Conclusion:

Movie: 85%

DVD Extras: 80%