Gods and Generals [Director's Cut] [2 Discs] [Blu-ray]

Director: Ronald F. Maxwell Ronald F. Maxwell

Overview

Director Ron Maxwell and producer Ted Turner return to the glory and tragedy of the Civil War in this historical drama, a prequel to Gettysburg, which examines the early days of the conflict through the experiences of three men. Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) left behind a quiet life and a career as a college professor to become one of the Union's greatest military minds. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang) was, like Chamberlain, a man of great religious faith who served in the defense of the Confederacy. And Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall), who led the Confederate army, was a man who was forced to choose between his loyalty to the United States and his love of the Southern states where he was born and raised. As Chamberlain, Jackson, and Lee are followed through the declaration of war and the battles at Manassas, Antietam, Frederickburg, and Chancellorsville, the film also introduces us to the many supporting players in the epic tale of the war between the States, among them the women these men left behind, among them Fanny Chamberlain (Mira Sorvino) and Anna Jackson (Kali Rocha). Based on a novel by Jeff Shaara, Gods and Generals also features a new song written and performed by Bob Dylan.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/15/2011
UPC:	0883929206230
Original Release:	2003
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	4:40:00

Special Features

All-New Introduction by Executive Producer Ted Turner and Director/Screenwriter Ronald F. Maxwell; ; All-New Commentary by Ronald R. Maxwell and Historical Advisors Col. Keith Gibson and James I. Robertston Jr.

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jeff Daniels	Lt. Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Stephen Lang	Gen. Thomas `Stonewall' Jackson
Robert Duvall	Gen. Robert E. Lee
Mira Sorvino	Fanny Chamberlain,Federal Soldier
Kevin Conway	Sgt. Buster Kilrain
C. Thomas Howell	Sgt. Thomas Chamberlain
Frankie Faison	Jim Lewis
Patrick Gorman	Gen. John Bell Hood
Brian Mallon	Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock
Mark J. Nichols	Doctor
Kali Rocha	Anna Morrison Jackson
Mia Dillon	Jane Beale
Bruce Boxleitner	Gen. James Longstreet
Jeremy London	Alexander `Sandie' Pendleton
Bill Campbell	Gen. George Pickett
Stephen Spacek	Capt. James Power Smith
William Sanderson	Gen. A.P. Hill
Robert Byrd	Confederate General
Bo Brinkman	Major Walter Taylor
Donzaleigh Avis Abernathy	Martha
Mark Aldrich	Adjutant
George Allen	Confederate Officer
Keith Allison	James J. White
Royce D. Applegate	General James Kemper
Mac Butler	General Joseph Hooker
David Carpenter	Reverend Beverly Tucker Lacy
John Castle	Old Penn
Jim Choate	General Bernard Bee
Martin Clark	Dr. George Junkin
Chris Conner	John Wilkes Booth
Scott Cooper	Lt. Joseph Morrison,Lt. Joseph Morrison
Devon Cromwell	Cadet Charlie Norris
Ryan Cutrona	General Marsena Patrick
Justin Dray	George Jenkins
Conn Horgan	Dooley,Private Dooley
Miles Fisher	John Beale
Keith Flippen	Major Gilmore
Rosemary Knower	Mary Lincoln
Joseph Fuqua	Col. J.E.B. Stuart
Dechen Thurman	Actor
James Garrett	General John Curtis Caldwell
Robert C. Byrd	Confederate General
Shane Callahan	Bowdoin Student
Chris Clawson	Charles Beale
Scott Davidson	Sam Beale
Robert Easton	John Janney
Bourke Floyd	Longstreet's Courier
David Foster	Captain Ricketts
Dennis E. Frye	Griffin's Aide
Karen Goberman	Lucy Beale
Alexander Gordon	Martha's Older Son
Phil Gramm	Virginia Delegate
Bo Greigh	Private Pogue
Fred Griffith	General Robert Rodes
Karen Hochstetter	Roberta Corbin
James Horan	Colonel Cummings
Ben Hulan	A Lieutenant
Sam Hulsey	Julian Beale
Alex Hyde-White	General Ambrose E. Burnside
Lydia Jordan	Jane Corbin
Les Kinsolving	General William Barksdale
Damon Kirsche	Harry McCarthy
Lew Knopp	Jackson's Courier
James Thomas Lawler	Another Looter
Matt Letscher	Colonel Adelbert Ames
Matt Lindquist	Johann Heros Von Borcke
Doug Lory	Second Irishman
Dan Manning	Major John Harman,Maj. John Harman
Edward Markey	Irish Brigade Officer
Tom Mason	Old Man in Fredericksburg
Jonathan Maxwell	Captain Ellis Spear
Malachy McCourt	Francis P. Blair
Terry McCrea	A Captain
Andrew McOmber II	Young Corporal
Rosemary Meacham	Hattie
Marquis Moody	Martha's Younger Son
Peter Neofotis	Wounded Main Man
Carsten Norgaard	General Darius Nash Couch
Tim O'Hare	Lt. Col. Clair Mulholland
Sean Pratt	Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire
Jasmyn Proctor	Martha's Daughter
Mark Nichols	Surgeon in Fredericksburg
John Prosky	General Lewis Armistead
Kyle Prue	Wounded Maine Soldier
W. Joseph Quam	First Irishman
Ted Rebich	Looter No. 3
Dana Rohrabacher	20th Maine Officer
Tim Ruddy	Private McMillan
Noel Schwab	Colston's Officer
W. Morgan Sheppard	General Isaac Trimble
Christie Lynn Smith	Catherine Corbin
Dana Stackpole	Lottie Estelle
Matthew Staley	Lieutenant Boswell
David Stifel	Reverend David S. Jenkins
James Patrick Stuart	General Edward Porter Alexander
Stephen Leonard Sullivan	Federal Soldier
Buck Taylor	General Maxcy Gregg
Tyler Trumbo	Young Wellford
R.E. Turner	Colonel Tazewell Patton
Christopher Crutchfield Walker	A Looter
Trent Walker	Private McClintock
Scott Watkins	General Raleigh Colston
Cooper Huckabee	Actor

Technical Credits

Ronald F. Maxwell

Ronald F. Maxwell	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Moctesuma Esparza	Executive Producer
Chris Howell	Stunts
Mace Neufeld	Executive Producer
Robert Rehme	Executive Producer
Thomas G. Smith	Special Effects,Executive Producer
Joy Todd	Casting
Ted Turner	Executive Producer
Matt Vogel	Special Effects
Robert J. Wussler	Executive Producer
Robert Katz	Executive Producer
Stephen Halbert	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Ron Maxwell, who directed the brilliant Gettysburg some years ago, brings us another sprawling Civil War saga, which is opulently mounted and painstakingly re-created to an almost fetishistic degree. Robert Duvall’s portrayal of Confederate general Robert E. Lee is dignified and, perhaps more important, refreshingly free of the Actors Studio-type quirkiness that occasionally mars his performances. But top-billed Stephen Lang, best known for his character work in supporting roles, dominates the film with his turn as General "Stonewall" Jackson, who sacrifices everything -- including, ultimately, his life -- for the cause of Southern secession. Gods and Generals focuses on the bloody campaigns that unfolded in the conflict’s early years, when it seemed that the rebels had a real chance of breaking free from the Union. Maxwell occasionally sacrifices dramatic effect to present the battle sequences with documentary-style accuracy: Individual fighting units are named in subtitles, military tactics are precisely rendered, and the period settings, costumes, and weaponry are duplicated with relentless accuracy. The film is truly larger than life, which makes it hard for supporting players to make much of an impression, but special mention should be made of Jeff Daniels portraying Lt. Col. Joshua Chamberlain, the erstwhile Yankee professor who entered the war reluctantly, and became one of its heroes. Also noteworthy are C. Thomas Howell (seen of late only in direct-to-video potboilers) as Sgt. Thomas Chamberlain and Donzaleigh Abernathy, who registers strongly as a slave who remains in a Southern home when its owners evacuate. At 220 minutes, Gods and Generals is seriously overlong, and the film's pro-Southern bias may offend some viewers (and delight others), but Civil War buffs in particular will find it an absorbing and engaging tour of duty.