Gods and Generals

Name: Gods and Generals
Genre: Action, Drama, History, War
Released: February 21, 2003
Duration: 219 min
Rating: 30
Cast: Jeff Daniels, Robert Duvall, Stephen Lang

2003

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 44 Ratings

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5.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 44 Ratings

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Gods And Generals

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: February 21, 2003 | PG-13

Starring: Jeff Daniels, Robert Duvall, Stephen Lang

Summary: Gods and Generals, the screen adaptation of Jeff Shaara's heralded best-selling novel and prequel to the acclaimed drama "Gettysburg," is and epic and sweeping portrayal of a nation divided at the start of the Civil War. (Warner Bros.)

Director: Ronald F. Maxwell

Genre(s): Action, Drama, History, War

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 219 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Michael Wilmington

Has the unfortunate effect of overtipping the dramatic scales in favor of the Southern generals and turning almost everybody into waxen idols who spout flowery rhetoric. Read full review

Bill Stamets

Maxwell continues his textbook emphasis on military maneuvers, but despite literally thousands of Civil War reenactors recruited for the film, the wide-screen canvas fails to map the tactics or evoke the terror of battle. Read full review

James Berardinelli

If ever there was a movie that could cause even the most restless sleeper to fall into a deep slumber, this is it. Read full review

Liam Lacey

General Boredom meets Major Tedium on the Civil War fields of Virginia. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Less a movie than a meticulously, tediously accurate Civil War reenactment committed to celluloid. Read full review

Jack Mathews

Turner's guileless amateurism stands in refreshing contrast to the rest of the performances -- stilted, self-conscious and sleep-inducing -- that fill this tedious 3-1/2-hour marathon, the Civil War in real time. Read full review

Michael Atkinson

Shot with the TV-movie blahs, the film itself is nothing more than an elaborate reenactment, perfectly mating box-of-rocks acting (bring rotten fruit for Mia Dillon's Southern matriarch) and repetitious dialogue so scripturally florid Maxwell might qualify for a Comedy Screenplay Golden Globe next January. Read full review

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User Reviews

Trev4664

May 24, 2023

Absolutely amazing film. One of the best I have ever seen. I can't praise it high enough. The historical accuracy is off the scale, probably because they used thousands of historical reenactors.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BigSlimJimmy

Apr 15, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Since I started to research and become passionate about the histoeical topic of the American Civil War, I have loved Gods and Generals. Unlike most, I did not read the book, and when first viewing the film, was not aware there was one. I'm sure, as Civil War flicks go, many critics did not enjoy the film, but this is probably due to the lack of extensive historical knowledge about the Civil War (specifically that history of Stonewall Jackson and the South's point of view on the war). Many criticize this film beause of how it makes the South look, and many people with a standard knowledge of the Civil War may safley assume that the South was Evil, hated Black people, and drank sweet tea all day. Not getting a stereotypical "Gone with the Wind" setting and an "Uncle Tom's Cabin" storyline, most people were likley going to call this film racist and say they hate it.

Historical accuracy seems to be lacking in most Hollywood films about any time period. In "Gods and Generals" many of the characters talk like, well, someone from the mid-Nineteenth Century South would talk. Not getting the watered down version that many people call accurate in films, people were probably confused the entire film (and the length probably did not help).

Gods and Generals is a great film, and tells the story of a Southern General who is tragically killed by his own men, and even though it is missing the sprinkle of Hollywood in it, Civil War buffs will love this film.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

griffor

Aug 2, 2020

Best civil war movie ever made the speeches and conversations really show you how truly awful a war it was as men were forced to choose between their country and their home. And of course the battles are what everyone watches it for anyways and they are truly epic.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Gavolc260

Jul 11, 2022

It depends from which point you see this film:
From a historic point, it is pretty accurate and well-written. The battles are well maid.
From a film point, it's not a good drama, it's more of a documentary. Depende desde qué punto se vea esta película: Desde un punto de vista histórico, esIt depends from which point you see this film:
From a historic point, it is pretty accurate and well-written. The battles are well maid.

From a film point, it's not a good drama, it's more of a documentary.

Depende desde qué punto se vea esta película:
Desde un punto de vista histórico, es bastante preciso y está bien escrito. Las batallas están bien hechas.

Desde un punto de vista cinematográfico, no es un buen drama, es más un documental.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

ClaytonS.

Dec 22, 2006

Overly long, shapeless, overly pious, over blown. Overly sancitimous toward General Jackson. Those who wish the South would rise again would love this movie. I give it a three because it does portray the battles accurately and Robert Duvall is greatness.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

shiftworker

Nov 30, 2016

US Civil War. Ridiculously long, though it ends before Gettysburg, and amounts to a biopic of Stonewall Jackson. Cannon-shot explosons turn the victims into acrobats and the sanctimonious script and swirling score both invite parody, so it might be possible to watch some of it in a group onUS Civil War. Ridiculously long, though it ends before Gettysburg, and amounts to a biopic of Stonewall Jackson. Cannon-shot explosons turn the victims into acrobats and the sanctimonious script and swirling score both invite parody, so it might be possible to watch some of it in a group on the basis of so-bad-it's-funny, but it's too long to serve any practical purpose for anyone not in a coma. Handily the movie is divided into parts 1-4, which I saw with breaks over 3 days and avoided being bored to death in one sitting.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

KevinK.

Jan 22, 2007

It's bombastic, the scenes attempting to enshrine the glorious heroes of the South come across as put-ons, and the battles were neither exciting, nor were they historically accurate. (A real Civil War battle would make Saving Private Ryan look like children's programming.) What I It's bombastic, the scenes attempting to enshrine the glorious heroes of the South come across as put-ons, and the battles were neither exciting, nor were they historically accurate. (A real Civil War battle would make Saving Private Ryan look like children's programming.) What I saw here was nothing more than a four-hour Civil War re-enactment with a heavy Southern slant.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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