http://www.independentchristianfilms.com/p...04-03-29_02.asp

Apparently we don't have a thread on this film yet -- is it really that old?

I couldn't turn up a thread either, so I'll post here.

We watched this in two installments over the weekend. I don't understand why it was so despised in many quarters, but I can't really recommend the film. It's simply too long. It's difficult to believe that a longer cut would help the film, but I'll withhold judgment until I see it.

The performances are decent, but there's something not quite right about Stephen Lang's Stonewall Jackson. Too bad, because the film focuses on Jackson throughout its second half, and I find Jackson's life and dedication to the Lord wonderfully uplifting.

My wife cried buckets during the sadder moments of Gods and Generals, but she blamed that on her pregnancy, which, she claims, heightens her emotions. This is true, but she's more of a "crier" even when she's not carrying a child, so I don't know what to make of her reaction, other than to say the film moved her much more deeply than it did me.

What's surprising is that we have no thread on Gettysburg, the epic Civil War story that Gods and Generals precedes. I think Ronald Maxwell's work on Gettysburg is masterful; the way that he balances both sides of the conflict, and develops characters on both sides equally, is impressive.

I think the later film suffers from a lack of focus; Gettysburg tightly documents three days worth of battle, and it develops characters who are important to the events of those three days. Gods and General, OTOH, tries to cram four or five major battles into four hours, and it develops characters almost at random. For example, it spends a lot of time with Jeff Daniels' Colonel Chamberlain, but the point of focusing on Chamberlain's character in Gettysburg is that he wasn't really important until that battle occured. Spending so much time developing him pre-Gettsyburg makes no sense.

Also, Stephen Lang's performance as Stonewall Jackson is miscalculated. His dialogue is awful, which doesn't help. I think he was much better as General Pickett.

Is there really a longer version of Gods and Generals? The link in Peter's post above seems to be dead now. I'm not sure whether or not more footage would be a good thing, but it's possible that extending the film would give more time to the development of the various battles.

Movie Director Paying Back Loan From Md.
Movie director Ron Maxwell has begun paying back the loan he received from Washington County, Maryland, for a film project that later stalled. Maxwell was unable to begin production of the Civil War movie "The Last Full Measure," much of which was expected to be filmed in the county. . . . Maxwell is still hoping to eventually make the movie. It's intended to be the third in a series based on the Civil War trilogy by novelists Michael and Jeff Shaara.
Associated Press, July 21

Yeah, at the conclusion of Gods and Generals, text appears that says something like, "the second in a planned trilogy," and names that third film. I had wondered what the fate of the third installment might be, given the disappointment of Gods and Generals.

Thanks for the update.