Cold Mountain (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Cold Mountains", one of the best films of the year (it's a crime it wasn't nominated for Best Picture), is beautifully crafted, stirring, poetic tale of love, loss, and the will to survive. Directed and adapted to the screen by the wonderful Anthony Minghella and boasting a stunning cast of Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Jack White, Brendan Gleeson, and Donald Sutherland, this film is truly a force to be reckoned with.
"Cold Mountain" tells the story of Inman (Law), a carpenter working in Cold Mountain, North Carolina in 1861 when the alluring, elegant, and well-educated Ada (Kidman) and her father, Reverend Monroe (Sutherland), move to the Blue Mountains from the city. Inman and Ada, in true Hollywood fashion, are instantly taken by each other and engage in restrained flirtation, Ada's preacher father and their different social classes being the bulwark from romance. Soon the Civil War begins and the entire young male population of Cold Mountain departs in eager anticipation of glorious battle. Inman and Ada engage in one fleeting, hungry kiss before he rushes off to join the departing procession.
During battle, Inman is wounded and, after reading Ada's numerous earnest letters imploring him to return to her, deserts the Confederate army and embarks upon an Odyssey-like journey back home to his true love. Meanwhile, Ada's father has died, leaving her helpless and alone on their 300 acre farm. Soon Ruby (Zellweger) arrives and offers Ada her services in exchange for food and shelter. Realizing that she simply cannot manage on her own, Ada agrees. The rest of this spellbinding film flashes back and forth between Ada, being "all that keeps Inman from sliding into some dark place" and Inman, being Ada's "last thread of courage". Though these two souls barely know each other, they both remarkably become the single thing in each others world worth living for, worth fighting for.
When boiled down to it, "Cold Mountain" is simply a beautiful testament of the human soul's fierce will to survive and, as corny as it sounds, the power of love. If it weren't for their love, neither Ada nor Inman would have found the will and courage to survive after their lives had been shattered by the brutalities of war.
The seamlessly intertwined music plays such a large emotional role in this film. From Gabriel Yard's haunting score to Alison Krauss' tender songs, the music in this films helps to create an absorbing atmosphere that sucks you right into the Civil War. In addition, John Seale's breathtaking cinematography complete with sweeping views of the snow-encrusted Blue Mountains makes this a film you simply must see on the big screen.
This has been a very difficult review for me to write. Upon first seeing "Cold Mountain", I was pleased with the film, but definitely not as taken with it as I soon came to be. That all changed in the weeks following. I simply cannot get this film out of my head. The hope, the sacrifices, the pain, the loss, the love. It really sticks with you. It's hard to put my feelings into words and I sincerely hope that this review has given you the incentive to go see this film, and by doing so, embark upon an unforgettable journey.

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Nicole Kidman (Academy Award(R) Winner -- Best Actress, THE HOURS, 2002) stars with Academy Award(R) winner Renée Zellweger (Best Supporting Actress, COLD MOUNTAIN, 2003) and Academy Award® nominee Jude Law (Best Actor, COLD MOUNTAIN). At the dawn of the Civil War, the men of Cold Mountain, North Carolina, rush to join the Confederate army. Ada (Kidman) has vowed to wait for Inman (Law), but as the war drags on and letters go unanswered, she must find the will to survive. At war's end, hearts will be dashed, dreams fulfilled, and the strength of the human spirit tested ... but not broken! Directed by Academy Award® winner Anthony Minghella (Best Director, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, 1996).

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The Horse Soldiers (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)A wonderful picture of the war between the states, "Horse Soldiers" follows the story of Wayne leading his troopers in an attack deep into enemy territory. Loosely based on a factual event, the Union must cut off the supply lines to Vicksburg. DUKE leads the raid.
This is a fantastic transfer, as others have mentioned. I spotted literally one damaged frame, with a "V" shaped crease in it. The colors blaze off the screeen, and although there are no booklets, inserts, or extras (other than the original trailer), the disc is a real keeper.
Although many see this picture as "Ford-lite," there are several classic Ford touches throughout the film. The opening shot of the calvary marching in a sundown silhouette is stirring. The charge of the child soldiers is a great moment (you see Wayne tip his hat to them as he rides off).
For me, I like the subtle, "hidden" Ford touches in all of his films, which reveal telling information about characters without the overbearing, in-your-face, and just plain heavy-handed direction in today's movies.
In "Horse Soldiers", the dyed-in-the-wool Southern patriot Hannah Hunter has spent several days as prisoner of the Union soldiers. At one point, in order to make her feel better, a soldier gives her a candle for light. Another offers her a fragment of a looking glass. The soldier holds up the broken mirror, and when she looks at her reflection she can see the soldier's Yankee cap over the top of it, as if she wore it herself. That's Ford telling us she's been converted, without slapping us in the face or dumbing it down for us.
You'll see familiar Ford faces pop up here and there, too. Jack Pennick is in just about all of John Ford's westerns. Hank Worden and Ken Curtis will be instantly familiar to fans of "The Searchers". Ken Curtis was also in "Rio Grande" and "The Quiet Man", and is probably best known as Festus on "Gunsmoke".
O.Z. Whitehead was in "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". Walter Reed was in "Sergeant Rutledge" and "Cheyenne Autumn".
Bing Russell, who plays Dunker, is the man gunned down in the saloon in another DUKE movie, "Rio Bravo".
Of couse, other familiar faces include Storther Martin and Denver Pyle as a pair of Confederate deserters.
This is a really solid cavalry film, with The DUKE in the thick of the action. William Holden is a good match as a foil for DUKE.
For those who say DUKE couldn't act, DUKE has a great scene in the Newton Station bar when he reveals why he doesn't like doctors.
"Horse Soldiers" is an overlooked gem from Ford, only because his more famous films shine that much more.

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John Wayne teams with William Holden and eminent western director John Ford for this frontier actioner "packed with laughter, romance and thrills" (The Hollywood Reporter)! Written by John LeeMahin and Martin Rackin, this faithful representation of one of the most daring cavalry exploits inhistory is both a moving tribute to the men who fought and died in that bloody war and a powerful, action-packed drama.Based on an actual Civil War incident, The Horse Soldiers tells the rousing tale of a troop of Union soldiers who force their way deep into Southern territory to destroy a rebel stronghold at Newton Station. In command is hardbitten Colonel Marlowe (Wayne), a man who is strikingly contrasted by the company's gentle surgeon (Holden) and the beautiful but crafty Southern belle (Constance Towers) who's forced to accompany the Union raiders on perhaps the most harrowing mission in the war.

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The Red Badge of Courage (1951) Review

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(More customer reviews)This movie is a Matthew Brady photo come to life. While it is true that the leads, Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin, were not professional actors, they were cast for their wonderful faces and the fact that they had actually been through a recent war. Considering what Murphy had been through, his innocence and boyishness is a joy to behold. And they are surrounded by pros such as Andy Devine, Bill Easton and Royal Dano - as well as the usual Huston cronies. It has many moving vignettes - the captured Rebs being questioned by their Yankee peers, Andy Devine, as the jolly soldier, leading Murphy back to his unit, the General falling to prayer before battle, Murphy confessing his cowardice to Mauldin, the General promising to have supper with the men, etc...
The narration was added later because the studio had no confidence in Murphy being able to convey the story. This was years before Hollywood understood how effective non-professionals could be if directed properly. The studio also hated the General's high-pitched voice and so dubbed in a different actor and, of course, the complete butchering of whole scenes which reduced the movie to about 55 minutes.
With all its faults, this is one of Huston's true beauties.

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Psychological study of an untried young Union soldier who panics in his first encounter with the enemy but regains his courage and emerges a hero. Based on Stephen Crane's novel. Screenplay by John Huston.

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Ride with the Devil (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)Thus reasoned young bushwhacker Jake Roedel, (Tobey Maguire) summing up the condition of his native Missouri, torn apart by savage guerilla warfare, as neighbor fought and killed neighbor during the Civil War. This outstanding movie manages to take much the same attitude as it tells the tale of this troubling period that has usually been handled in a much more partisan manner.
The Civil War in Missouri was particularly terrible, as the loyalties and interests of the population split between the Union and the Confederacy. Few regular troops were committed to Missouri, and most of the fighting was done by roving gangs of Irregulars; Secessionist Bushwhackers and Unionist Jayhawkers. These men more often made war on those who once had been their neighbors and friends than on uniformed troops, and terrible atrocities that were more murder than war were committed by each side.
`Ride with the Devil' is an incredibly thoughtful and nuanced telling of this sad story. All of the protagonists are bushwhackers, but the movie does not attempt to paint them as pure heroes fighting against evil for all that is good and right. Instead, it manages to show them as young men who had the misfortune to be caught up in the sweep of history and forced into a violent life by unavoidable circumstances. We see the struggle some of them had between the violent actions that had become their life and their own sense of decency, and we see others enthusiastically revel in the murderous mayhem - glad for the excuse the war had given them to be free of the constraints of civilized society. One scene in particular drives home the fact that these warriors were more boys than men. Jake (Maguire) faces his new bride, a young women already widowed by the war (Jewel) in the bedroom on their wedding night. When she asks him if he is a virgin, he blusters that "I've seen plenty" and when ask again if he has been with a woman, he seems frozen with terror, and only manages to say, "Girl, I've killed fifteen men." These were boys forced to become killers before many had the chance to be lovers.
Though there were no Unionist protagonists in this film, it used an effective device to put across the humanity of the bushwhacker's enemies. A captured mailbag was plundered, and letters were read aloud as the bushwhacker's searched for enemy secrets. The letters turned out to be mundane messages from mothers to sons and brother to brother. The young men heard and acknowledge how like their own mothers and brothers these people sounded, and how in other circumstances they might find them fine people, before someone reminded them that the sons of that mother would kill them, given the chance.
`Ride with the Devil' is filmed beautifully, and is as close to being cinematically perfect as could be desired. Its scenes of violence are quick, realistic, and brutal, but the film does not dwell on them. Indeed, there are long sequences that deal with nothing but the complex interpersonal relationships of the characters, and action war movie junkies are likely to find `Ride with the Devil' a disappointment despite its realism. Tobey Maguire is perfectly cast as a shy, decent young man trying to maintain his integrity in a violent life, and Jeffery Wright is outstanding as a freed slave who fights for the bushwhackers out of loyalty to his friend who freed him. All of the roles are well cast and acted, including Jewel in her film debut as a young Confederate widow.
`Ride with the Devil' is the best done of any Civil War film that I have yet seen. It is beautifully filmed, skillfully acted, intelligently written, and tells its story with fairness and perspective. Unfortunately, its virtues are exceeded by its obscurity, as so many have never heard of it. Now that you know of it, don't cheat yourself by missing this outstanding film.
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RIDE WITH THE DEVIL - DVD Movie

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Gettysburg (Widescreen Edition) (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Gettysburg" is one of my all-time favorite war films! It re-creates the Civil War's battle of Gettysburg with superb acting, an excellent screenplay, a hauntingly beautiful musical score, and some of the most authentic and stirring battle scenes I've ever seen in a movie.
Based upon Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Killer Angels," this film follows the principal characters, and chronicles the main events, which occurred at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from July 1-3, 1863. The events depicted in the film are notable for their historical accuracy. Some of the most exciting battle scenes in the film are General John Buford's engagement with the Confederates on the high ground north of Gettysburg on July 1; the defense of Little Round Top by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine on the following day; and, of course, Pickett's Charge on the final day of the battle. The battle scenes contain plenty of smoke and fire, but are also very tastefully done with a minimum of blood and gore.
The acting in "Gettysburg" is excellent throughout. Jeff Daniels , who portrays Chamberlain, probably gives the best overall performance, but Martin Sheen (Robert E. Lee), Tom Berenger (Gen. James Longstreet), Sam Eliot (Buford,) Stephen Lang (Gen. George Pickett), and Kevin Conway (Sergeant Kilrain) also give performances which are outstanding for their realism, grittiness, and historical accuracy. Special mention must also go to the late Richard Jordan, whose portrayal of Confederate General Louis Armistead was consistently eloquent and moving.
"Gettysburg" is a long movie; it runs to just over four hours. Still, it held me spellbound from start to finish, mainly due to its dramatic intensity and realistic battle scenes. I highly recommend this outstanding film not only to Civil War enthusiasts, but for anyone who loves a sumptuously produced and well acted war film.

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The fiercest battle fought on American soil commands the screen an epic film achievement painstakingly recreating the people and events of fateful days in july 1863. Special features: subtitles in English and French, cas/crew interview gallery, cast/director filmographies, and much more.

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