Glory

My favorite movies to watch are probably war movies. I've seen many great films. From the Vietnam war (Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, The Deer Hunter) to World War II (Saving Private Ryan, When Trumpets Fade, The Thin Red Line). But the best war film comes from the Civil War. Glory is an incredible film. It's about the 54th regiment for the Union, the first all black regiment. Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Godzilla) stars as Robert Shaw, a white man in command of the regiment. Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Kiss the Girls) is his second in command. Denzel Washington (The Siege, Courage Under Fire) is magnificent as a runaway slave in the 54th. The always-great Morgan Freeman (Seven, Deep Impact) is superb as a spiritual leader of the soldiers. In my mind, the film has no faults. Broderick has been the main criticism by some people. I have to disagree. Broderick (though a bit young-looking) gives a wonderful performance. Cary Elwes has been an underrated actor his whole career. The same goes for Glory because his great supporting performance was widely ignored. James Horner delivers a haunting score which adds so much to the movie. A must see.

With one of the best ensemble casts of all time, this ranks as one of the best war films of all time. With a collection of great black actors like no other, everything seemed to work well in this film, from the cinematography to the acting. Edward Zwick created a masterpiece, which, in any other year, would have swept most of the major awards. Sadly, this did not even make the AFI Top 100 so inferior movies could squeeze in. In my opinion, the likes of Born on the Fourth of July and Driving Miss Daisy were vastly inferior to this film during the 1990 Academy Awards. I mean, how the heck were films like Dead Poets Society and My Left Foot nominated for best picture when this one wasn't? (sure they were good films, but c'mon)

Matthew Broderick completely surprised me with his performance, as well as Cary Elwes. And one cannot forget the likes of Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman giving great performances as soldiers weary of being the Union's lackeys. While the historical accuracy may not be perfect, as least this was a tribute to those who helped emancipate the slaves during the Civil War.

If you think about it, most war movies are about WWII and there aren't as many movies about the Civil War. I haven't seen Gettysburg, but I did see Gods and Generals, and believe me that wasn't all that great. The best Civil War movie I've ever seen is Glory. The movie has an excellent cast which includes Mathew Broderick(only three years after he was in Ferris Buellers Day Off), Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman.

I first saw this in my eight grade history class when we were learning about the Civil War. This movie has a great score and it really captures the feel of the Civil War through its battle scenes. For those of you who only watch war movies to see people getting their heads blown off, this is the wrong movie for you. This movie focuses on the characters and what they're going through. Despite having a long running time, the result of this movie is an entertaining and well made war movie.

You should only buy this movie if you really like it, because it gets a little bit slow the second time you see it. Either way, I'd say you should watch this movie to see what quality war films are all about.

"Give 'em Hell, 54th!" A horribly underrated film, this is, in my opinion, one of the greatest movies ever made period. Anyone who doesn't like this has to be below the age of 11. A great performance by Denzel Washington (one of his top five). Matthew Broderick also gives a career performance. Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, Andre Braugher, and Jihmi Kennedy are also wonderful. The Attack on Fort Wagner has to be one of the best battle scenes in movie history (Top 3 IMO). And James Horner's beautiful, sweeping, heroic score helps the film a great deal. The best film involving the Civil War. Incredible film. 4 out of 4 stars.

This is an ambitious film and is successful in everything it sets out to accomplish. Glory does not rely on the visual aspects to accomplish its perfection, but rather it relies on the emotional to convey its message and humanity. This is a film that managed to get some of the best actors of our time, as well as, withdraw from these actors their best abilities. While the film does show the realities and horror of war, especially when it involves good people thrown in, it captures the viewers attention by making us empathetic, as opposed to simply sympathetic. The score of the film is done by the brilliant James Horner, which compliments the film, but at times envelops the film completely. Director Zwick shows the various levels of humanity, one scene can display the blunt bravery of these men, and yet the next scene reminds us how scared and how human these men are. I wish I could write a paragraph on each actor, but I must mention Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washingtion, Andre Braugher, Cary Elwes, and Jihmi Kennedy. The characters of this film are wonderfully well-developed and the relationships between these men adds a dimension that is rarely seen in modern films. Each performance is Oscar-calibur, overall, this is a film that should now be ranked as a classic for all time. Simply amazing.