Glory

Theatrical Release Date: 1989 12 14 (USA)

UPC: 043396160941

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Watch With Your Teen, War Violence]

Summary: Glory is a celebration of a little-known act of mass courage during the Civil War. Simply put, the heroes involved have been ignored by history due to racism. Those heroes were the all-black members of the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, headed by Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick), the son of an influential abolitionist (played by an uncredited Jane Alexander). Despite the fact that the Civil War is ostensibly being fought on their behalf, the black soldiers are denied virtually every privilege and amenity that is matter of course for their white counterparts; as in armies past and future, they are given the most menial and demeaning of tasks. Still, none of the soldiers quit the regiment when given the chance. The unofficial leaders of the group are gravedigger John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) and fugitive slave Trip (Denzel Washington), respectively representing the brains and heart of the organization. The 54th acquit themselves valiantly at Fort Wagner, SC, charging a fortification manned by some 1,000 Confederates. Glory was based on Lincoln Kirstein's Lay This Laurel and Peter Burchard's One Gallant Rush; the latter book was founded on the letters of Col. Robert Gould Shaw, the real-life character played by Matthew Broderick. The film won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for co-star Denzel Washington, and additional statuettes for Best Cinematography (Freddie Francis) and Sound Recording. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Historical Film

Awards: Best Picture - Drama – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Original Score – null Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: Virtual Civil War battlefield
Interactive map
"The Voices of Glory"
"The True Story Continues" documentary
The making of Glory
Director's commentary
Deleted scenes

Glory

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 06/02/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DTHD null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 122 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Portuguese,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Portuguese,Spanish

Michael Costello

Edward Zwick's account of the experience of a group of African-Americans who served in combat during the Civil War is a rousing display of pageantry. The film was based partly on the letters of Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick), the commander of the all-black 54th Regiment of the Massachussetts Volunteers, a unit formed to test the widely doubted ability of black troops to serve in combat. The film details the racist indignities to which the black soldiers were subjected, such as a lower rate of pay than white troops and delays in receiving provisions. The drama of the black regiment's training sequence, such as it is, revolves around the ability of Shaw to remedy these problems. Zwick has fabricated a group of four black characters to represent a cross section of the regiment, but, as in a WWI movie, their only purpose here is to bond and prepare to fight. As the film approaches its climax, with James Horner's theme becoming more throbbingly insistent, it's consumed almost entirely in the kind of pageantry that was John Ford's specialty. Just as this begins to become annoying, Zwick plunges one back into the horror of war in the attack on Fort Wagner. While one can quibble with aspects of the film, such as making a white officer the lead and narrator, the surfeit of TV-movie-like uplift, and the lack of substance in the parts of the black characters, all are outweighed by value of the film in more widely disseminating an invaluable piece of history. The project benefits from tremendous performances by Morgan Freeman as the unit's elder statesman, and Denzel Washington, who garnered an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Afemo Omilami  Actor 
Raymond St. Jacques  Actor 
Marc Gowan  Actor 
Saundra Franks  Actor 
Keith Noble  Actor 
J.D. Cullum  Actor 
Paul Desmond  Actor 
Michael Smith Guess  Actor 
Abdul Salaam El Razaac  Actor 
Mark Margolis  Actor 
Mark A. Jones  Actor 
Chad Dowdell  Actor 
Bob Minor  Actor 
Lance Norris  Actor 
Donovan Leitch  Actor 
Benji Wilhoite  Actor 
Randell Haynes  Actor 
Dan Biggers  Actor 
Peter Michael Goetz  Actor 
Ethan Phillips  Actor 
Richard Wright  Actor 
Pete Munro  Actor 
Daniel Jenkins  Actor 
Ray Godshall, Jr.  Actor 
Joan Riordan  Actor 
Freddie Fields  Actor 
Freddie Fields  Producer 
Marshall Herskovitz  Screenwriter 
James Horner  Composer (Music Score) 
Kevin Jarre  Screenwriter 
Edward Zwick  Director 
Matthew Broderick  Actor 
Denzel Washington  Actor 
Morgan Freeman  Actor 
Cary Elwes  Actor 
Cliff De Young  Actor 
Jihmi Kennedy  Actor 
Jane Alexander  Actor 
Andre Braugher  Actor 
John Finn  Actor 
Alan North  Actor 
Bob Gunton  Actor 
Christian Baskous  Actor 
RonReaco Lee  Actor 
Jay O. Sanders  Actor 
Richard Riehle  Actor 
Mark A. Levy  Actor 

Country: USA