"Andersonville" is an intense drama about a Civil War prison camp for captured Union soldiers. The camp is a huge stockade, built for 5,000 prisoners of war, but is filled to overcrowding with 8,000 Union POW's, and more arriving daily. The conditions are horrible beyond words, virtually no food, no sanitation, clothing in rags and tatters, no shelter from the rain, gangs rampaging through the camp, rampant disease, a hundred men dying a day - a literal hell on earth. Puported to be historical fact, the story centers on a brigade from Massachusetts and their struggle to survive, and what a horrendous struggle it is. Other reviewers have stated that the story is not entirely truthful. Due to the shortage of critical supplies in the south, I do not doubt that the deporable conditions existed exactly as depicted in the movie. I cannot comment on other issues as I have not read the book that the movie is based on. Truthful or not, the film is absolutely riveting! You will be shocked by the condition of the men, the violence in the camp, the slow agony of starvation, and the inevitable deline in the men, both physically and spiritually.
The film has no well-known "star" actors, but even so, the various actors perform marvelously. Their characterizations are as real as if they were really in the camp and suffering unto death.
This film was an eye-opener for me, for I never considered the fate of Civil War POW's. I will remember the conditions the men lived and died in for the rest of my life. I recommend it without reservation.
Jim "Konedog" Koenig
Anti-Southern Propaganda
This movies rates right up there with "Schindler's List" . . . in terms of unapologetic propaganda. Fortunately, Ted Turner showed some remorse for this hatchet job by making "Gettysburg," and the even better "Gods and Generals."
If you want to see a real, accurate depiction of the War For Southern Independence (aka, The Civil War), watch "Gods and Generals" or "Gone With The Wind," and stay away from movie garbage like "Andersonville."
Also watch for the extended version DVD of "Gods and Generals" coming for the Christmas season of 2005.
NOTHING CIVIL IN THIS WAR
This movie shows the real life hell that was Andersonville. A prison camp that turned into a death camp. Not enough food,water or shelter for all the prisoners sent there. The south was losing the war so they had no provisions or men to assist in the detainment of these captured soldiers. Basically letting them rot slowly inside the walls that confinded them. A well acted movie which shows the hell that can come from war
Three days in the summer of 1863, at a place called Gettysburg. Although it received a theatrical release, this four-hour depiction of the bloody Civil War battle was shot as a made-for-television film. But no taint of cheapness or shortcuts should stick to this magnificent picture (well, except maybe for those phony-looking mustaches). Based on Michael Shaara's book The Killer Angels, this film takes a refreshingly slow, thorough approach to the intricacies of battle. In ordinary circumstances, those intricacies might seem of importance only to fans of military strategy or Civil War enthusiasts, yet in Gettysburg they come across as the very stuff of life, death, and unexpected heroism. If the film has a problem, it's that it climaxes too early: the first long segment,... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The more you know about the Civil War, the more you'll appreciate Gods and Generals and the painstaking attention to detail that Gettysburg writer-director Ronald F. Maxwell has invested in this academically respectable 220-minute historical pageant. In adapting Jeffrey Shaara's 1996 novel (encompassing events of 1861-63, specifically the Virginian battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville), Maxwell sacrifices depth for scope while focusing on the devoutly religious "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang), whose Confederate campaigns endear him to Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall, giving the film's most subtle performance). Battles are impeccably recreated using 7,500 Civil War re-enactors and sanitized PG-13 violence, their authenticity compromised by tasteful... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jeff Daniels - Stephen Lang - Robert Duvall Director(s): Ronald F. Maxwell DVD Release Date: Released the 15 July 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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One of the very best films about the Civil War, this instant classic from 1989 is also one of the few films to depict the participation of African American soldiers in Civil War combat. Based in part on the books Lay This Laurel by Lincoln Kirstein and One Gallant Rush by Peter Burchard, the film also draws from the letters of Robert Gould Shaw (played by Matthew Broderick), the 25-year-old son of Boston abolitionists who volunteered to command the all-black 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Their training and battle experience leads them to their final assault on Fort Wagner in South Carolina, where their heroic bravery turned bitter defeat into a symbolic victory that brought recognition to black soldiers and turned the tide of the war. With... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Matthew Broderick - Denzel Washington - Cary Elwes - Morgan Freeman Director(s): Edward Zwick DVD Release Date: Released the 30 January 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Packed with nearly six hours of historical material, The Last Days of the Civil War provides a fascinating study of a nation in the painful throes of transition. The five History Channel programs compiled here effectively combine to form a multifaceted account of the pivotal events of 1864-65, when the bloodshed of civil war slowly brought forth a government (in the words of President Abraham Lincoln) "of the people by the people for the people," that would define the United States as it progressed toward the 20th century. The cornerstone of this two-disc set is "April 1865: The Month That Changed America," which thoroughly examines the most tumultuous month in U.S. history, encompassing Gen. Robert E. Lee's ill-fated campaigns including carnage at Sailor's Creek and eventual... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 26 August 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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