Gettysburg

Gettysburg (1993) portrays the battle from the perspective of different officers and soldiers in the Union and Confederate armies. The story covers the battle from July 1 to 3, 1863, and the movie focuses on the action at Gettysburg and the minds of those in charge. The movie especially explores the strategic considerations, motivations for fighting, and the shared heritage and friendships across the lines. In particular, Ron Maxwell, the director and screenwriter, saw the movie as an opportunity to meditate on “who we are and what we are today.” The Civil War prompted him to ponder the “things that are bigger than my life. What are those things and where do I risk my life for something? What are those things that are bigger than me?"[1]

The film is based on Michael Shaara’s novel, The Killer Angels (1974), which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1975. After reading the novel, director and screenwriter Ron Maxwell spent over a decade working on the project. TNT picked up Gettysburg to air on the network. However, Ted Turner, owner of TNT, decided to release the project theatrically in 1993 and air a longer version on TNT in 1994. Gettysburg is one of the longest movies ever released by Hollywood at 4 hours and 17 minutes long.[2]

[1] Ronald F. Maxwell and Bruce Henrickson, “‘Gettysburg: The Killer Angels’ Comes to the Screen,” Pennsylvania Heritage 19, no. 2 (June 1993): 28–29; Gary W. Gallagher, “Movie Reviews,” Journal of American History 81, no. 3 (December 1994): 1398–1400.

[2] Gallagher, “Movie Reviews,” 1398.