Gettysburg (1993)

Director, Ron Maxwell. (254min)
Based on Michael Shaara’s novel The Killer Angels (1974), the film offers an epic treatment of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. More than four hours long, it concentrates on three key events in the battle, one for each day: the initial defence of Gettysburg by Buford’s Union cavalry and Reynold’s infantry corps as an encounter battle; the desperate defence of Little Round Top by Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine; and ‘Pickett’s charge’ and the ‘highwater mark of the Confederacy’ on the afternoon of the third day. Made with thousands of re-enactors as extras and a galaxy of heavy weight names in the major roles, the film takes pains with the history while respecting the need to tell a good story.