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A 1993 Ted Turner movie about the titular battle of The American Civil War. Based on a novel, The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara.
The movie focuses on four main actors in the battle: Generals Robert E. Lee (Martin Sheen) and James Longstreet (Tom Berenger) on the Confederate side and Gen. John Buford (Sam Elliot) and Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) on the Union side, though Buford's part ended about a third of the way through the movie. All of the characters in the movie are (based on) real-life people with the exception of Sgt. Buster Kilrain.
Particularly known for its extremely long Pickett's Charge Sequence.
This film includes examples of:
- Abandoned By The Cavalry: Col. Chamberlain, by the last three holdouts of the 2nd Maine. They later join the fight and save his brother Tom.
- Analogy Backfire: Pickett, twice.
Kemper: I gotta hand it to you George, you sure do have a talent for trivializing the momentous and complicating the obvious.
- Also, both the book and the film have Freemantle going on about how the Southerners are so like the English and being descended from them due to their names, and bringing up Longstreet as an example. Turns out Longstreet is actually Dutch. See also the exchange where a Confederate officer points out that the US whooped the British, twice.
- And This Is For: The Union soldiers chant "Fredericksburg" as the Confederates retreat after Pickett's Charge.
- As The Good Book Says: Lee's "teaches my fingers to fight" narration is from The Bible, Psalm 144.
- Beard Of Evil: Completely averted. Every male has luxuriant facial hair, as it was the style at the time.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Tom, for Col. Chamberlain (even though they're adults).
- The Cassandra: Gen. Hood; Longstreet believes him but can't do anything about it.
- The Cavalry: On the first day, Reynold's Corps shows up to save Buford's division (ironically the actual cavalry)
- Colonel Badass: Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. The Badass comes out when he thinks he's been shot (the shot really just bounced off his sword, but it clearly left him in shock) and as they're dragging him back he sits up and shoots a charging guy with his revolver. Just... wow. The historical Chamberlain was also a badass in that he was wounded six times during the war and survived in an era when just one was usually enough to kill you.
- Contemplate Our Navels: There's quite a few scenes with characters sitting around, discussing the war, slavery, and what could or should have been.
- Crowning Moment Of Awesome: For Chamberlain, "Fix bayonets" and basically all of Little Round Top.
- Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming: The brothers Chamberlain hugging at the end.
- The spy Harrison, after asking Longstreet to order someone to give him a musket (to participate in Pickett's Charge) is very nastily rebuked by Longstreet, who tells him how he imagines the charge will fail bloodily. Harrison then responds, "Sir, with your permission, I'll find my own musket"
- Chamberlain: Many of us volunteered to fight for the Union. Some came mainly because we were bored at home and this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many came because it was the right thing to do.
- Crowning Music Of Awesome: The entire score, but the piece that plays during the aftermath of Pickett's charge is especially poignant. I dare you to not tear up.
- Cultured Warrior: Several of the officers are portrayed as learned men, probably Col. Chamberlain most prominently (a professor of rhetoric). Others include Pettigrew (scholar of the University of North Carolina) and Col. Vincent (from Harvard).
- Dark And Troubled Past: Longstreet, though it is never stated explicitly why he acts the way he does in the movie (it was in a deleted scene), Longstreet is clearly troubled, and in fact he had recently lost all of his children to Scarlet Fever.
- Disorganized Outline Speech: Chamberlain, who "didn't mean to preach".
- Dramatic Irony: The 20th Maine is being moved to the center of the Union line after its beating on Little Round Top because the Union thinks that it's the safest place on the line. In the last scene, Lee and Longstreet were planning an all out assault on that very spot.
- Everybodys Dead Dave: when Sgt. Owens returns from trying to get ammunition, he can't really report much because none of the commanding officers on Little Round Top are in commission anymore:
Sgt. Owens: Colonel Vincent is badly wounded, (nods) yes sir, got hit a few minutes after the fight started. We’ve been reinforced at the top of the hill by Weed’s brigade up front, this is what they tell me, but Weed is dead. And so they moved Hazlet’s battery of artillery up there, but Hazlet’s dead....
- Fauxlosophic Narration: Lee, but also to a lesser extent by Col. Chamberlain.
- Foregone Conclusion: It does not end well for the Confederates, as Gen. Longstreet predicted beforehand as he describes the withering firepower the soldiers of Pickett's Charge would face.
- Foreshadowing
Chamberlain: (after three of the last deserters decide to fight) Give these men some muskets.
Cpt. Ellis Spear: There are no muskets, sir.
Chamberlain: (to the deserters) Wait here. There'll be guns available in a little while.
- Friendly Enemy: Several of the opposing generals are well acquainted, having served together before the war. The friendship of Armistead and Hancock is given the most weight.
- Funny Foreigner: Col. Freemantle. He's not meant to be funny, but the filmmakers accentuated his Englishness by having him wear a bright red dress uniform (which the historical character certainly did not do) and, in one scene, walk around the Confederate camp drinking tea from a china cup and saucer.
- Apparently the real Freemantle was so impressed by Pickett's Charge he wrote a book predicting that the South would win the war. It was published a few months before the South surrendered. So I guess he falls into What An Idiot territory.
- Gallows Humor: Chamberlain, accidentally by Freemantle.
Chamberlain: Tom, stay away from me. Another one of those [shells] a bit closer and it could be a hard day for mother.
Freemantle: (In the morning, as the Confederates prepare to attack.) I slept like the dead, sir — a baby. Slept like a newborn baby, sir.
- Geo Effects: Capturing and holding the high ground is a major point of the tension.
- Day 1: Buford rails against Meade, predicting the cautious commander will delay, allowing the Confederates to simply march onto the high ground if he doesn't deploy his brigade to stop the enemy vanguard.
- Day 2: The Confederates attack the Union left flank, including Little Round Top and Devil's Den. Hood describes it as the "worst ground I ever saw".
- Day 3: The Confederates are forced to divert some of their artillery fire on the Union cannons placed on the high ground. Pickett's Charge, uphill, over open ground, into the teeth of the reinforced Union centre is brutally shattered.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: Chamberlain, Buford and Hancock in the sense that they are brought to the forefront of the audience's attention.
- Hancock had the nickname "the superb", and was considered the best Corps Commander in the Army of the Potomac. Chamberlain, who won the Medal of Honor for his actions at Little Round Top, was eventually promoted to general (and was effectively the V Corps commander when they beat Pickett at Five Forks (just about the last stand-up fight in the East), he also got to read his own obituary twice and was picked to command the honor guard at the surrender at Appomattox. (Though, in defense, it is questionable whether Chamberlain gave the order to charge on Little Round Top.)
- Hollywood Tactics: Pickett's Charge, in an unfortunate case of Truth In Television. To be fair, the original strategy was to have the artillery break up the Union units on the ridge, but as Confederate artillery was outnumbered, of inferior quality, and short on ammunition, this failed.
- Honor Before Reason: Garnett, arguably Hancock. This is also discussed by Freemantle as being something the South and Britain have in common, which also serves as Foreshadowing considering that Britain lost the American Revolution.
- Its All My Fault: Lee, after Pickett's Charge
- It Has Been An Honor
- Large Ham: Pickett (Stephen Lang)
- Not So Different: Armistead and Hancock. Also arguably the point of the entire movie.
- Officer And A Gentleman: Pickett
- They left out one bit, Pickett would not bear to hear President Lincoln spoken ill of and would leave the room/conversation. Congressman Lincoln was the one who got him appointed to West Point all those years ago.
- Only Sane Man: Longstreet, for the Confederates
- Buford, for the Union:
Buford: You know whats going to happen here in the morning? The whole damn reb army is going to be here. They'll move through this town, occupy these hills on the other side and when our people get here Lee will have the high ground. There'll be the devil to pay! The high ground! [...] Devin, I've led a soldier's life, and I've never seen anything as brutally clear as this.
- Power Trio: Pickett's brigade commanders; Armistead is the ego, Kemper id, and Garnett superego.
- Retirony: Armistead's only character trait is his friendship with Hancock.
- Ragtag Bunch Of Misfits: Pretty much everyone.
- Rousing Speech: Chamberlain, to the 2nd Maine, and again later to the officers of the 20th Maine.
- Sedgwick Speech: Reynolds has an abridged form
- Ironically, General Sedgwick was involved in the battle, though he is not portrayed in the film.
- Shout Out To Shakespeare: Harrison is portrayed as a former actor and quotes Romeo and Juliet.
- Chamberlain quotes Hamlet in the "Killer Angels" discussion with Kilrain (in the novel it is the Title Drop scene).
- Some Anvils Need To Be Dropped: The people on both sides were human beings, and every person who died at Gettysburg was an American.
- Tear Jerker: Considering the forgone nature of the conclusion it's not very surprising. Some moments, however, including General Pickett's "My boys! I can't see what's happening to my boys!" when he realizes how badly things are going, as well as his response to General Lee's inquiry about his division — "General Lee... I have no division" — are well beyond the threshold to hold back the waterworks.
- There's far too many of these moments to count, but major ones include:
Armistead: Winn was like a brother to me. Remember? Towards the end of the evening, things got a little rough. We both began to... well, there were a lot of tears. I went over to Hancock. I took him by the shoulder. I said, "Winn, so help me, if I ever raise my hand against you, may God strike me dead."
Armistead: (after being mortally wounded) I... would like... to see General Hancock. Can you tell me... where General Hancock may be found?
Thomas: I'm sorry, sir. The general's down, he's been hit.
Armistead: No! Not... both of us! Not... all of us! Please, God!
- Truth In Television: since it's mostly historically accurate, some lines are actual quotes
- Unfunny Aneurysm Moment: The scene where Armistead is mortally wounded is also actor Richard Jordan's final appearance.
- What Do You Mean Its Not Awesome: Pickett's perfume. He thinks its great. Everyone else thinks it stinks.
Armistead: He got it off a dead Frenchman.
- Where Are They Now Epilogue: A particularly nice example of the trope with the actors faces morphing into the actual historic figures.
- World Of Cardboard Speech: Armistead, to Freemantle before Pickett's charge.
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