beorhouse Big fan of American Civil War era films here, and this one is close to perfect. It's brutal, riveting, horrifying, and enlightening all at the same time. That it's actual history instead of speculative makes it that much more shocking to watch, and is only topped by the story of Nat Turner as told in Birth Of A Nation (not the original version which supported the Ku Klux Klan and was responsible for their revival). This is the "Nazi concentration camp" story of the American Civil War. Be ready for lots of sadness at the utter inhumanity displayed.

dcrumlis This is one of my favorite Civil War movies ever. Ted Turner must be given much credit for bringing these entertaining and educational movies to the screen. Set in Andersonville prison in the last years of the Civil War, this movie follows the fate of a group of prisoners captured at Cold Harbor. Superbly directed by John Frankenheimer, this movie was very well done, and all the actors involved did a great job. I thought that Frederick Coffin and William Sanderson really brought the villainous 'Raiders' to life. Also special mention to Frederic Forrest and Jan Triska. Having recently visited Andersonville prison site, thoughts of this movie ran thru my head as I walked the grounds of the old stockade. Movies like this help us remember the great sacrifices made by both the Blue and the Gray during our nations Civil War.

dcheek56 I believe this is one of the best and most fair-minded Civil War movies ever made. The actors all give a first-rate performance, and the director keeps the movie focused and on track, without laying blame to either side. Most of the movies facts are historically accurate and the dialog reproduces (in my opinion) the attitudes of the times.The Raiders were a historical reality, and the trial and subsequent execution were unique during the Civil War. While many parts of the movie are memorable, the most poignant scene is at the end when one of the major characters is buried in the cemetery. The camera zooms in on the white-painted headboard with his name, and then pans back to show you the real, present-day cemetery - with this particular headstone name in the center. Seeing nearly 13,000 headstones of real-life prisoners who died at Andersonville really puts the film in perspective.

Menri11433 Good movie, some electric acting and action scenes, but drifts into the arena of silly on more than a handful of occasions.Gotta disagree with some of "historynut"'s points....for one, I think the TV Guide review of this film hit the nail on the head with regards to the acting: "the performances have the subtlety of sports broadcasting". And that excludes Jan Triska's performance as Captain Wirtz, which I think stole the film along with William Sanderson and Freddy Coffin. All three are over-the-top performances, but each actor knew how to pull it off. The main group of "heroes", however, played up everything they could to IMAX-scale proportions. Oftn to the point where sometimes....well, cartoonish wouldn't too far off in describing it.And as far as the use of reenactors, Frankenheimer does use them very well here, as mentioned by historynut. Where it slips away from him seem to be the stunts...check out the prisoner v.s. raider brawl, led by Limber Jim. There's some play-fighting going on that has not been seen since my high school production of West Side Story.And as far as past reenactor usage in film...I agree they were used well in Glory. I also agree that reenactors were used not-so-well in "Gettysburg". However, for all its instrinsic faults, Maxwell seemed to have learned his lesson when using reenactors in "Gods and Generals". There was a FAR more strict screening process in the casting of onscrean reenactors than in "Gettysburg" (I, too, participated in that film). As well, and perhaps most importantly, Maxwell did not let ANY reenactor attempt his own "death" or even "maiming" in any of the major battle shots without prior expressed permission by him, his A.D. or his stunt coordinator. When reenactors were chosen to "get hit", they were then properly coached in how to take a death fall, and placed strategically away from the actors and stuntmen. "Gods and Generals" also had a much higher production value than here, but that goes with the huge budget the film had.