GLORY Movie Review
1989 Edward Zwick
Writers Kevin Jarre and Marshall Herskovitz and director Edward Zwick cleverly disguise a basic formula of the American war movie, apply it to real events and produce the finest depiction of the Civil War ever to appear on the big screen. They leave themselves open to charges of historic revisionism, and their work is unbalanced, with many of the strongest moments held back until the second half, but Glory is still a masterpiece.
Their chosen formula is the World War II “unit” picture, where young men from diverse backgrounds are brought together in one regiment (or platoon or squad). After considerable conflict among themselves, and with the rough guidance of a gruff sergeant and the wise counsel of their commanding officers, they submerge their individual identities to form a coherent fighting group and are tested under fire. With many variations, the same story has been told from Sergeant York to Saving Private Ryan.
In this case, it's based on the truth, and most of the men are black. The 54th Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry is to be a regiment of escaped slaves and free black men commanded by white officers. Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is the son of abolitionists, and even though he'd been wounded at Antietam, he is still something of an idealist when the 54th is created and he takes command. At first, when the focus is on Gould and the problems he faces with his friend and fellow officer Lt. Forbes (Cary Elwes), the action tends to move slowly. The stories of his recruits are more interesting.
Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) is a grave digger who becomes an NCO. Searles (Andre Braugher), another childhood friend of Shaw, is the intellectual. Sharts (Jihmi Kennedy) is a sweet-natured, baby-faced kid who's a dead shot. Trip (Denzel Washington in an Oscar-winning performance) is a bitter escaped slave.
Zwick and Oscar-nominated art directors Keith Pain and Dan Webster aim for strict authenticity in costumes, equipment, and sets, and even in the pervasive racism that the 54th faced from other parts of the Union Army. Col. Montgomery (Cliff DeYoung), an equal opportunity bigot who hates Southerners and Jews with equal ferocity, sums it up when he says of Shaw's troops, “They're little children, for God's sake. They're little monkey children, and you've just got to know how to control them.”
The first two-thirds or so are about the creation of the 54th as an effective force and the transformation of the group—the gradual, halting, imperfect understanding that comes to white officers and black enlisted men. For all of Shaw's protestations of abolitionist enlightenment, he has a lot to learn, and so do his men. All of them are facing a new world with changing rules. For a war film, that learning process is unusual because it is not accomplished through big action scenes. The opposition to the 54th comes from within the Union bureaucracy, not from the Confederates. When those battle scenes do occur, Glory is transformed. The concluding attack on Fort Wagner is emotionally powerful and wrenching. The incredible bravery of the men who fought and the incredible waste and horror of the war itself have seldom, if ever, been brought to the screen with such emotional power.
The entire film is one of those rare Hollywood productions where every element is given the full Hollywood treatment, and they all work toward a single goal. James Horner's powerful score adds the same inspirational dimension that he gave to Titanic.
Though the casting of Broderick may seem odd, he does perhaps his best screen work, and his resemblance to the real Shaw is remarkable. Along with Washington, veteran cinematographer Freddie Francis and soundmen Lon Bender, Donald O. Mitchell, and Elliot Tyson also won Academy Awards.
One of the greats.
Cast: Matthew Broderick (Col. Robert Gould Shaw), Morgan Freeman (John Rawlins), Denzel Washington (Trip), Cary Elwes (Lt. Cabot Forbes), Jihmi Kennedy (Sharts), Andre Braugher (Thomas Searles), John Finn (Sgt. Mulcahy), Donovan Leitch (Morse), John Cullum (Russell), Bob Gunton (Gen. Harter), Jane Alexander (Mrs. Shaw), Raymond St. Jacques (Frederick Douglass), Cliff DeYoung (Col. Montgomery), Alan North (Gov. Andrew), Jay O. Sanders (Gen. Strong), Richard Riehle (Quartermaster), Ethan Phillips (Hospital steward), RonReaco Lee (Mute drummer boy), Peter Michael Goetz (Francis Shaw); Written by: Kevin Jarre, Marshall Herskovitz; Cinematography by: Freddie Francis; Music by: James Horner. Producer: Pieter Jan Brugge, Freddie Fields, Tri-Star Pictures. Awards: Academy Awards '89: Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actor (Washington); Golden Globe Awards '90: Best Supporting Actor (Washington); Nominations: Academy Awards '89: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Film Editing. Boxoffice: 26.8M. MPAA Rating: R. Running Time: 122 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, 8mm, Letterbox, Closed Caption.