Gods and Generals

A post by Maynard

I wanted to put in a word for “Gods and Generals”, which is running occasionally on Cinemax (see Cinemax on Demand and the schedule). And of course there’s Amazon and elsewhere.

Every now and then, media mogul Ted Turner manages to justify his otherwise miserable existence. Turner gave us “Gods and Generals”, and for this I thank him. Weighing in at 3 hours and 39 minutes (!), it gives an amazing overview of the early period of the Civil War, covering secession in 1861 up until just before Gettysburg in1863. This is the prequel to the previously-released “Gettysburg”; a final film, “The Last Full Measure”, may eventually finish the trilogy. The films are based on the excellent books by Jeff Shaara (see Amazon).

Good stuff. Watch this to pick up some history, and also as a reminder that we’re not the first generation of Americans to face horrendous obstacles.

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6 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. Ripper says:

    As a Civil War buff of many decades, I must say that Gettysburg the movie was a piece of crock and pseudo history.

  2. MLR says:

    From what I remember of Gettysburg, I recall I enjoyed the film. Gods And Generals I know was well done. Hopefully, Ted Turner will make it 3 times the charm and give us The Last Full Measure.

    By the way, Maynard, at the risk of nitpicking, Gettysburg was based on The Killer Angels, written by Jeff Shaara’s father, Michael Shaara.

  3. Shawmut says:

    Great reminder, Maynard. These productions can provide a lot in terms of history, spirit and American endurance.
    I’ve been slipping into recent conversations lately that as a country “We haven’t been asked to give up anything since 1946.”

  4. Ripper says:

    If you saw Gettysburg (a long film if there ever was one) you would think that Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the 20th Maine single handedly won the battle. Actually the 15th Alabama which was outnumbered was more impressive as it had to charge uphill (Little Roundtop) and did not even have their canteens with them that hot July afternoon.

  5. Maynard says:

    I appreciate the nitpicking. These details and comments are very important; I skipped them in the main text because it was just a quick tease. Hopefully some people will be intrigued enough to catch up on this stuff.

  6. Mwalimu Daudi says:

    More recently Jeff Shaara’s write his American Revolutionary War series (Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause). Loved the first and am reading the second.

    But the best historical book that I have read recently has been Adams by David McCullough.

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