Glory Film Review.

The title of the movie I have chosen to review is called "Glory" released in 1989. The film Glory is Directed by Edward Zwick and stars Matthew Broderick, John Finn, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman all of which did an outstanding job. The film is about the American Civil war and the Fifty-Fourth regiment which was the first black regiment in the Civil war.

The story of the Fifty-Fourth is told through the eyes of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw who is played by Matthew Broderick. The film starts with the battle of Battle of Antietam. After this battle he is asked to lead the all black Fifty-fourth and promoted to Colonel. The black troops were undisciplined and unrefined so Shaw brings in an Irish Sergeant Major named Mulcahy, your typical tough and hell bent on making your life a living hell, to get them in shape and toughen them up to prepare them for war. Mulcahy is played by John Finn and is always yelling and insulting the troops with curses and insulting there preferment's to make them better. On a side note I think he was enjoying ever moment of his character and he did an awesome job of it. After Mulcahy gets through with drilling them to death they are one of the most disciplined regiments in the army. During the early stages of the movie the Fifty-fourth is primarily used as labor until Colonel Shaw blackmails his commander into transferring them to a combat command. There first real battle was a James Island in South Carolina on July 16th, in 1863 to be followed by the attack on Fort Wagner two days later where the film ends.

The lighting of the movie and the camera work were both well done in my opinion. The music used in the movie flowed nicely with the mood of the film especially during Trip's whipping. The emotions on his face and the music made it seem even more moving. The special effects were alright but not as high quality but I think that it was still excellent and very believable. The uniforms looked nice and real so I would also have to give them a plus for there work on costumes as well as props however a few things were off such as when Rawlins hands out the En-field rifles, he calls out each one's serial number. Authentic En-field rifles don't have serial numbers, but the reproductions did. But other then a few little slips here and there you can hardly tell.

From watching this movie and looking up facts about it I learned a lot about the Fifty-fourth and Colonel Shaw. I would have to say that I knew there was an all black regiment but I had no idea about it. I had never even heard about Shaw for that matter or the Battle of Fort Wagner. It is truly a great movie but is not a documentary it is a movie so not everything is fact. It is just based off a true story, but regardless it is a great movie to watch and I highly suggest it if you like war movies. In my opinion this movie goes right up there with The Patriot but still under it.

Now two major people in history around the films time line were President Lincoln and Harriet Stowe. President Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, lead the country through the civil war and was assassinated after the war. Harriet Stowe wrote the book called Uncle Tom's Cabin which enraged many abolitionist and set the country even closer to civil war. When President Lincoln meet her they clam he said" So you're are the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!"



( Fun Facts )

With the exception of Shaw, none of the primary characters are based on real people in the 54th.

The Film "Glory" depicts the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry training through the Christmas holidays of presumably 1862 (after the September 1862 Battle of Antietam,) but the real 54th Massachusetts did not organize until March 1863, and were engaged in their first battle on James Island, SC on 16 July 1863, and then Battery Wagner (the final battle in the film) on 18 July 1863.

In May of 1900, Sergeant William H. Carney became the first black to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic actions he'd performed while a member of Company C of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment during the assault on Fort Wagner.

The Fifty-fourth was the first black regular army regiment in the Civil War.

In the opening scenes, when Shaw is seen marching beside his soldiers towards the Antietam battle, the rank insignia on his epaulets change from that of a captain (two bars) to that of a second lieutenant (no insignia within the epaulet borders) because it's a flashback.

As Rawlins hands out the Enfield rifles, he calls out each one's serial number. Authentic Enfield rifles don't have serial numbers, but the reproductions do.

Robert Gould Shaw was the one responsible for inspiring his troops to refuse a lesser pay.

At one point Shaw tells Sergeant Major Mulcahy "at ease." During the Civil War this command did not exist. The command would have been "rest" or "in place rest."

Big Jake Review

The Wild West also known as the Old West, American Old West, or the Great West was used to describe the area west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century. Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President of the United States and more then double the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. President Jefferson assigned Louis and Ck During this time line was the Gold rush. Many people traveled to the west to claim there prize and some did thou some did not. Two Trails were used to travel the west. The Oregon trail and the Santa Fe trail. The Oregon trail was used but those seeking to farm and make a home for themselves while the Santa Fe trail was used for traders, hunters and gold seekers. In 1859 Oregon gains state hood. On May 10, 1869 the First ever rail road line to stretch across the nation was open.

The title of of the movie I have decided to review is Big Jake. Directed by George Sherman and produced by Michael Wayne. Staring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. The move was released in 1971 on May 26th. The film sets the time period at 1909. The film starts at the McCandles Ranch going on in to Mexico.

The movie starts at the McCandles Ranch where some thugs kill ten people along with kidnapping Little Jake, Jacob's grandson, and leave a ransom for 1 million dollars for the boy. For that they call on Jacob McCandles or Big Jake to find the boy and give the kidnappers what they asked for. Joining him along the way are his dog named simply Dog, Sam Sharpnose(Played by Bruce Cabot) and his two sons James McCandles and Michael McCandles (Played by Christopher Mitchum). James is played by John Wayne's eldest son Patrick Wayne. Little Jake is played by Ethan Wayne who is John Wayne's youngest son.

The props used in the movie looked real and had me believing it was real. The costumes used in the film I think fit well with the actors and flowed well with the movie. The effects were great for there time and it was fun to watch. Compared to now days the filming was good however for the time I think it was very good.

The only big draw back when it was first realised was that in the film John Wayne's Character Big Jake cursed and at the time it was a big no no. So they bleeped that part out until years later they left it as it was.

All in all it is a great entertainment movie to watch however it is not something that holds a lot of historical value. So it would not be something to base a history report on unless you are prepared to do a lot of research on such things. I did not learn much from this film other then some info about the McCandles Raid. This movie was more of entertainment then historically in my opinion but it was fun to watch and to review.

Amistad Review.

The title of the movie I am reviewing is "Amistad" made in 1997 and directed by Steven Spielberg. The two actors I liked the most were Dijmon Hounsou and Anthony Hopkins. The movie time set is around 1839. The film starts off on board the ship Amistad then going to America where it ends.

The Movie is about a slave ship called Amistad and the slaves fight for freedom. All the way from fighting the crew of the ship to fighting for there rights in court again and again.

I really like John Adams in this movie who was played by Anthony Hopkins. His performance and just the way he captured the wisdom of his character made it look believable to me. Such as when he is in the court room speaking giving a heart moving speech to let Cinque and his people free. Cinque is played by Dijmon Hounsou who plays in another movie and one of my favorite movies "Gladiator" and did a great job in this movie as well. I do think it could have been better, however it was still very good. He shows a lot of emotion when talking to Baldwin tells him "What kind of a land is this where you almost mean what you say? Where laws almost work?"

In the film the lighting was good as far as I am concern, However I do think it could have been improved. I think the music was fitting for the films mood and setting. Some of the effects are a little out of place such as with the ships and such. Or just little changes from scene to scene. I thought the costumes were fine, but a officer in the movie is wearing the wrong out fit for his character and it is mixed up as well.

I think this movie did a good job in portraying the events of the Amistad and the slaves with only a few small down falls here and there. I learned a lot from this film about the ship Amistad itself and the history of the slaves that were aboard it. It caused a domino effect that led to civil war with the North ageist the South. It is a good history movie as well as a good drama.

Now two major people in history around the films time line were President Lincoln and Harriet Stowe. President Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, lead the country through the civil war and was assassinated after the war. Harriet Stowe wrote the book called Uncle Tom's Cabin which enraged many abolitionist and set the country even closer to civil war. When President Lincoln meet her they clam he said" So you're are the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!"