Plot: What’s it about?
Glory is the story of the first black regiment in the Civil war, which is based on the writings of Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick). Shaw comes from a wealthy Boston family and is “prodded” into heading up this new regiment.
With the help of his friend, Major Cabot Forbes (Carey Elwes) they start out on what seems to be an impossible task, not only trying to maintain order, but also coping with all the prejudices that even members of the Union Army have against these new soldiers.
With a few soldiers that the story follows, namely Trip (Denzel Washington, who won a well-deserved Oscar for his role here), Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher, you probably remember him from Primal Fear) and John Rawlings (Morgan Freeman). Freeman’s character is the moral leader of the troops, while Trip is the rebel who has been a slave his whole life and wants to take his anger out on anyone who gets in his way. Thomas is also a friend of Forbes and Shaw, who grew up with them. Now, though, he is a “lowly” soldier who must cope and deal with thier “aloofness”.
When it becomes apparent that all the company is to be used for is manual labor and cleaning up after “real” battles, things start to fall apart. Also, getting proper rations and equal pay don’t help the situation. It is then when Shaw flexes his leadership muscle and pulls in a few favors to get them to battle.
Glory is not a happy movie, but one of the better, if not the best movies about the Civil War that I’ve ever seen. A strong cast, a strong director and a strong story help propel this movie all the way to it’s final scene. Truly one not to be missed.
Video: How does it look?
An early Columbia Tristar release, but still supports an astounding 16:9 picture. Some scenes appear grainy, but they are supposed to. There is a lot of grey (for smoke) and darker colors in this movie as well, and all are handled with great care. A great picture.
Audio: How does it sound?
If you ever wanted justification for having a sub woofer, or a reason to get one…play any one of the great battle scenes of this movie. Directional effects are in almost every scene, and the battle scenes sound next to awesome. Dialogue is also clear and clean. I was very suprised that a movie ten years old sounded this good!
Supplements: What are the extras?
I don’t count foreign language tracks or subtitles as extras, although this has both. Actually all you get is a trailer, but it’s good. Not one of the new ones that gives away the ending. I shouldn’t have to say it, but a SE of this would make my day.
