Gettysburg (1993)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Confederate
Lieutenant General James Longstreet	Tom Berenger
General Robert E. Lee	Martin Sheen
Major General George Pickett	Stephen Lee	½
Brigadier General Lewis Armistead	Richard Jordan
Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett	Andrew Prine	-
Henry Thomas Harrison	Cooper Huckabee	½
Major General John Bell Hood	Patrick Gorman
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Freemantle	James Lancaster	½
Major General J. Johnston Pettigrew	George Lazenby	-
Union
Colonel Joshua Chamberlain	Jeff Daniels	½
Brigadier General John Buford	Sam Elliott	½
Lieutenant Thomas Chamberlain	C. Thomas Howell
Sergeant Buster Kilrain	Kevin Conway
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock	Brian Mallon	-
Private Joseph Bucklin	John Diehl	-
Major George Meade	Richard Anderson	-

Review

This four-hour history lesson by filmmaker Ronald F. Maxwell is far too outstretched and meticulous to appeal to wide audiences, but it does have some engaging narrative qualities in the midst of its otherwise often academic form. In structure, the film alternates between tactical build-ups, somewhat flatulent motivational speeches and dialogues, and wonderfully laid out set-pieces which nonetheless often come off as rather staged. In short, it was an almost impossible endeavour to make a feature film out of such a drawn-out, old-fashioned battle, but Gettysburg is a valid effort, despite its obvious shortcomings. The film is at its absolute best in the scenes with Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, especially the depiction of his defence of Little Round Top. Daniels' performance might just be the best of his career. Other than in those scenes, the film relies a little too heavily on Randy Edelman’s overly romanticized score in order to create affinity and emotional connection. Among an ensemble cast, Richard Jordan (in his last film) and Kevin Conway, in addition to Daniels, stand out.