At nearly 4 hours, 'Gods and Generals' will thrill Civil war buffs

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

GODS AND GENERALS (Rated PG-13) Stars: A giant-sized Civil War epic about the three years leading up to Gettysburg. But despite its epic scope, the film fails to raise much emotion, except in its vivid portrayal of the fascinating Stonewall Jackson (Stephen Lang). Robert Duvall and Jeff Daniels co-star for writer-director Ronald Maxwell. Warner Bros., 216 minutes.

The prequel to "Gettysburg" takes nearly four hours (counting intermission) to escort us through the first three years of the Civil War.

The film points cameras at thousands of Civil War battle re-enactors, forming wave after wave of yelling, shooting and falling soldiers on both sides, recreating the battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

And along the way, the docudrama tells us of:

• Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall), who was asked to lead the North before signing on to defend his Virginia homeland for the Confederacy.
• Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels), a Maine college professor who is fated to make history at Gettysburg.
• And Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang), a fascinating, legendary Southern commander whose death at Chancellorsville might have also meant the demise of the rebel cause.

"Gods and Generals" is an exhaustive and exhausting history lesson that will thrill hard-core Civil War buffs and make teachers' jobs easier.

But film thrives on emotion — and nothing in "Gods and Generals" conveys war's terror and pain like the opening sequence of "Saving Private Ryan." "Gods and Generals" has been written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, a filmmaker who has made the Civil War his chief showcase.

First he created "Gettysburg" as a mini-series for Ted Turner and his television networks. Although long, the film was deemed too strong to go directly to television — so it had a well-received theatrical release in 1993. It was adapted from the novel "The Killer Angels," by Michael Shaara.

"Gods and Generals" is based on a follow-up novel by Shaara's son, Jeff, and tells of the years leading up to Gettysburg. Once again, Turner is behind the project.

Jeff Shaara's book, "The Last Full Measure," completes the trilogy (and the Civil War) and will be the next project for Maxwell and Turner.

It is unfortunate that Maxwell views his Civil War films as all encompassing for powerful human stories often are blurred by his broad brush.

The fascinating core of "Gods and Generals," for example, is the story of Stonewall Jackson, a vibrant character with the religious fervor of an Old Testament prophet and the warrior genius of Julius Caesar. He was much loved and respected by his men. When told of his mortal wounds, Lee said, "I have lost my right arm."

The engrossing performance of Stephen Lang as Jackson is the first great performance of 2003. (Curiously, Lang also starred in "Gettysburg," as Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett; but the actor's talent and the new character's full-sized beard helps make the transition plausible.)

Lang's Jackson is the most dynamic screen portrayal of a military man since George C. Scott's "Patton" in 1970. It would make a superb two-hour bio-pic, but here it must rise above nearly endless waves of fighting soldiers and too many other stories about Irish-American soldiers, black soldiers in both armies, Lee's patriotic conflict, and Chamberlain's coming of age.

Daniels' Chamberlain is the "star" of "Gettysburg;" but here the character is more of a distraction. It doesn't help that Daniels seems older and a bit heavier than in the first film, which admittedly was shot a decade ago.

Another challenge in any all-encompassing Civil War film is achieving balance in the portrayals of the North and the South. In "Gods and Generals," Maxwell clearly favors the South in both screen time and perceived sympathies.

Perhaps it's the influence of Ted Turner, Maxwell's Atlanta-based boss. Or maybe it's just because Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee were undeniably larger than life.

Rated PG-13, with battlefield violence.