Gettysburg

UPC: 883929206247

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Questionable for Children, Profanity, War Violence]

Summary: The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara becomes this sprawling historical epic. As in Shaara's novel, director Ronald Maxwell focuses on a handful of major players to dramatize the events of July 1863, when the armies of the Union and Confederacy clash at the small Pennsylvania town of the title. Among them are Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee, who disagrees with his top advisor, General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger) over battle strategy, and Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a college professor whose unorthodox techniques save the day (and possibly the war) for his beleaguered army. Other cast standouts include Richard Jordan in his final film appearance as the ill-fated General Lewis Armistead, and cameo roles for Civil War buff Ken Burns and media mogul producer Ted Turner. Filmed on-location at Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg was shot as a television miniseries for Turner's TNT cable channel, but earned a limited theatrical release. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Category: Historical Film

Features: Commentary by Director/Screenwriter Ronald F. Maxwell, Cinematographer Kees Von Oostrum, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author James M. McPherson and Military Historian Craig Symonds

Gettysburg

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 11/15/2011

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DHMA null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 271 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Karl Williams

This television miniseries is the type of film that Hollywood rarely makes anymore in an era of budget consciousness, a war epic with a cast of thousands. Like the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel upon which it's based, the film restricts its dramatization to the battlefield and surrounding area (no cutaways to President Lincoln fretting at the White House here) and focuses on a handful of major players. It's a wise narrative choice given the endless dramatic possibilities and the multiple real-life historical figures involved. Budgetary restrictions sometimes overwhelm director Ron Maxwell's ability to mount the awe-inspiring tableaux that he's attempting to create, but he succeeds to an inspiring degree, proving that the sweeping period epic isn't dead. Performances are riveting, particularly from Jeff Daniels as a stoic hero and Martin Sheen, eerie in his resemblance to Robert E. Lee. One of the better projects to show up on television in the past few decades, Gettysburg (1993) is to be applauded for its adherence to its respected source material and some inspired casting choices. Widespread talk of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Daniels during the film's limited theatrical run didn't materialize in an actual Academy Award nod, but the actor does outstanding work in one of his greatest, most intense roles. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Warren Burton  Actor 
Mark Moses  Actor 
Patrick Gorman  Actor 
Joseph Fuqua  Actor 
David Carpenter  Actor 
Peter Miller  Actor 
Joy Todd  Actor 
Ted Turner  Actor 
David Cole  Actor 
Ivan Kane  Actor 
Timothy Scott  Actor 
Michael Tennessee Lee  Actor 
Bo Brinkman  Actor 
John Diehl  Actor 
George Lazenby  Actor 
Leonard Termo  Actor 
Michael Callahan  Actor 
Bill Campbell  Actor 
Alex Harvey  Actor 
Kieran Mulroney  Actor 
Herb Mitchell  Actor 
James Patrick Stuart  Actor 
Richard Anderson  Actor 
Cooper Huckabee  Actor 
John Rothman  Actor 
Michael Phillips  Actor 
John Durant  Actor 
Robert Lucas  Actor 
Buck Taylor  Actor 
John Fitzpatrick  Actor 
Dwier Brown  Actor 
MacIntyre Dixon  Actor 
Donal Logue  Actor 
Ken Burns  Actor 
Scott Allan Campbell  Actor 
William Morgan Sheppard  Actor 
Randy Edelman  Composer (Music Score) 
Moctesuma Esparza  Producer 
Robert Katz  Producer 
Ronald F. Maxwell  Director 
Ronald F. Maxwell  Screenwriter 
Mace Neufeld  Producer 
Martin Sheen  Actor 
Jeff Daniels  Actor 
Tom Berenger  Actor 
Stephen Lang  Actor 
Richard Jordan  Actor 
Maxwell Caulfield  Actor 
Kevin Conway  Actor 
C. Thomas Howell  Actor 
James Lancaster  Actor 
Andrew Prine  Actor 
Sam Elliott  Actor 
Royce D. Applegate  Actor 
Brian Mallon  Actor 

Country: USA