Andersonville

Generally these TNT original productions are nothing what one could call spectacular. This film from John Frankenheimer however is one of the better ones. A tale of imprisonment and survival inside the notorious Confederate POW camp known as Andersonville. Civil War historians would probably with certainty find various historical inaccuracies but it is worth viewing although a tad on the long side. Good performances from many of the cast but it seems Frederick Coffin and William Sanderson do the best job as two of the ring leaders of the camps vicious "Raiders" gang. A must see for any Civil War fan.

John Frankenheimer pain stakingly chronicles prisoners of war struggling to survive in an ill run Confederate prison camp during the Civil War. New prisoners are savagely introduced to the pecking order in this small pit of hell. Strong images support the story line for this well written and produced epic. Featured cast members in this trial of humanity are:Frederic Forrest, William Sanderson, Jarrod Emick, Jayce Bartok, Cliff De Young, Justin Henry and William H. Macy. It is hard to find fault in this glimpse of the notorious place called Andersonville.

This film won three awards and was nominated for several others. The directing, acting, editing, script and cinematography are all of a high standard. It seemed quite authentic, and this is confirmed by the comment below. Even if you do not normally like 'films of this type', this film is worth watching or even studying, because of the overall excellence.

An admiration of the quality of this film is probably the reason that the brutal story that it portrays did not place a heavy or negative feeling upon me. Lesser films would contaminate the story with adding romance, light comedy or bright flashbacks. This film powerfully gives the viewer a strong sense of realism.

As a Civil War buff, this is one of my favorite films.

If you enjoy romantic war stories, don't rent this. There are no romantic plot lines or even women in the movie. The closest thing to a romantic plot line would be when Martin speaks of his wife and asks Josiah to send her his wedding ring.

If you enjoy war films that are not cluttered with cliche romantic plots and are more like buddy films this one is for you. The acting is amazing, and the story if fresh look at a little known part of Civil War history.

The only problem with the film is time spent watching the men weaken and starve. Those scenes could have been cut a bit, but overall they are needed in order to feel the despair of the men.

The story and characters are completely enthralling and I recommend this film to everyone. Just be prepared to cry.

At first I thought this might be an anti-confederate propaganda piece. While I am sure some of it was exaggerated. Like in most wars both sides had people who enjoyed others suffering. The real life camp commander was hung after the war for good reason. As you will see in the film. His bad behavior and cruelty is a crux of the plot. In that he gravitated to the role due to a personality that liked inflicting un-neccesary suffering on captured soldiers in a war (not criminals).

With the dynamic of the film not just being Confederates against Yankies, also the element of the unprincipled 'Raiders'. Essentially a civil war era prison capo, given favorable treatment to boss the camp for the confederates.

One of my favorite moments in the film is when a raider who is to reveal the location of a tunnel is dealt with. This part is one of those where you look away and look back. Won't say more on that cos it would spoil it.

It's not the best action film. But as a story this is great. The personality of the prisoners is portrayed superbly by a largely green cast (in 1996). It is important that you can empathise with the characters and that is done brilliantly here and probably why I would give it an 8 and not a 7. Matinee.