Ambrose Bierce: Civil War Stories

As a high school English teacher I welcome this video as an opportunity to show my students how a very strong writer of short stories can manipulate his audience. The discussion in the parlor adds to the students' understanding of the times and of the attitudes of the people.

The twist at the end of each story grabs my juniors and takes them by surprise every time. The discussion by Bierce, Hearst, and Atherton between the stories allows the students to get a glimpse of the writing process and the ideas from which a writer gets his ideas.

If you want car chases and explosions look elsewhere. If you want a very nice glimpse into the civil war and the mind of one of America's great writers then this is an excellent place to look.

This is a must see for any true Civil War historian. I think it should be shown in every high school and college American history class in the country. Campbell Scott is simply amazing as Ambrose Bierce. Vivian Schilling and Nathan Darrow do an excellent job as Gertrude Atherton and William Randolf Hearst. The time period is represented very authentically as well as the political and social commentary of the time. The three Bierce tales--"Story of A Conscience", "One Kind Of Officer" and an all-new remake of "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" are recreated realistically and I had a real sense of being there instead of just watching from afar. I highly recommend this film to not only Civil War buffs but all lovers of good film making.

As a narrative technique, framing a story, or a series of stories, within a larger story has its merits. But not so in this case. We don't need, after all, to meet Ambrose Bierce (who was far more handsome than Campbell Scott, by the way) or William Randolph Hearst, or a woman writer of dubious talents whom no one reads anymore, as a prelude to the filmic adaptations of Bierce's stories. But that is where this mediocre film begins and ends: on a rather cheap looking set (think Gunsmoke) designed as the parlor of a western hotel where the three meet and where Bierce reads three of his stories. The adaptations are not so good as I might have liked. The acting was only passable in most cases. The first story, about shell-shock, drags on interminably, the second has occasional good moments, and the third, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," almost manages to get things right. The quality is thus incremental but the attention dulls along the way. All of the stories are hampered by actors of limited talent who appear to have been culled from local theater companies, by rather dull cinematography, and especially by an exceedingly unskilled makeup and hair artist.

This film succeeds in capturing the intensity and the realism that Bierce portrays in his writings. This isn't a typical war film, or even a standard civil war film. Instead it is more layered. The connections to Bierce's writings are overt, but if you aren't familiar with them, it might put you at a disadvantage.

The best part about this film is that it ISN'T a standard bloody war film, nor does glorify war. It is both lyrical and stark. The Direction is fluid and deft and authentic to the era. Campbell Scott carries the Bierce role with real dignity.

This is not intended to be a "Hollywood" film. It mines from a literary figure and his work to create vision of one era from a slice of literary history.