In association with

Glory [1990]
from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, Jihmi Kennedy
directed by Edward Zwick

Features:

• Anamorphic
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

"The negroes fought gallantly and were headed by as brave a Colonel as ever lived", was one Confederate soldier's eyewitness verdict on the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers immediately after 247 of their 600-man regiment had fallen in bloody swathes beneath the withering fire from Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina in 1863. Glory is their story: the mustering of the first black regiment in the US Army, their battles with the Southerners as well as with the Northern military authorities, and their own moment of glory when they paid a terrible price for the opportunity to demonstrate to the world their courage. In telling this little-known story, director Ed Zwick single-handedly changed perceptions of the American Civil War: when a Grand Review of the Armies was held in Washington at the end of the war, none of the almost 180,000 coloured troops who fought for the Union were present; when that parade was restaged in 1990 a year after the movie was released, the 54th Massachusetts re-enactors were at the front of the procession.

Zwick's stirring, factually accurate account is greatly enhanced by obsessive period detail and frighteningly realistic battle reconstructions (which were not to be surpassed in scale until 1993's Gettysburg). But Zwick also illuminates individual characters in the regiment with great sensitivity. As crucial as the military set-pieces are the scenes of the men together: talking in the tent or baring their souls in song. Denzel Washington, as the embittered ex-slave, gives a performance of real depth; he richly deserved his Oscar win for the heartbreaking flogging scene alone. Morgan Freeman brings great gravitas to his paternalistic role, and Matthew Broderick's idealistic Colonel Shaw is the centre around which the story revolves. With a clutch of remarkable lead performances, a sensitive and touching script, one of James Horner's finest musical scores, and a director with both the vision and heart to pull it off it's easy to agree with the backcover blurb: "Glory is one of the greatest war movies ever made". Without even a hint of hyperbole, it undoubtedly is.

On the DVD: This is a superb looking (anamorphic) and sounding (Dolby 5.1) print, and the disc has some excellent additional features. Ed Zwick's commentary is insightful and extremely detailed: here's a director who obviously cares deeply about this movie. Of the three featurettes, one is a short-ish promo piece but the other two are genuinely impressive: there's a 20-minute "Making of" feature with major contributions from Zwick, Freeman and Broderick, and best of all a 45-minute "The True Story Continues" feature narrated by Freeman which tells the complete story of the 54th Massachusetts from beginning to end using footage from the movie as well as archive material and film of battle re-enactments. Also included are two deleted scenes, although a third scene which was shot for the movie but not used (the Frederick Douglass' speech) crops up in the "True Story" piece. James Horner's emotive score gets an isolated track all to itself and there are also some filmographies and trailers. All in all, this is a superb DVD. --Mark Walker

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

• Righteous and Compelling
  A rousing story about a black platoon facing prejudice and annilation during the American civil war. Matthew Broderick's finest performance as the leader of the first all black regiment fighting the confederates and racism from their own Union army. Supported by the fine Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington. The plight of these brave men will emotionally move you, possibly to tears, although mine was more of a controlled welling, though my lower lip did quiver when the credits rolled.
  

• Touching and Brilliant
  I watched this film not being much of a fan of war films but I was amazed. The story of Glory deserves to go down in history to the bravery of all the men who fought there.
  Led by Colonel Shaw, brilliantly played by Matthew Broderick, who gives the performance his all, he's well cast as the young idealist who leads his troops into battle and Matthew Broderick deserved to get an award for this film.
  The rest of the cast are also fantastic, with a beautiful score and amazing effects.
  This... more info

• Give 'em Hell, 54!
  Glory tells the story of the 54th Regiment, one of the first African American regiments that Abraham Lincoln credited with turning the tide of the war. The events portrayed in the film lead up to the heroic and bloody battle at Fort Wagner in which the 54th lost nearly half of its men.
  There is nothing better than watching a film that wants to tell you a tale of great heroism, and Glory is one of the best examples of its genre. It is a war film in which perhaps only fifteen minutes of its nearly two... more info

• Deserves another star....................................
  Having recently watched Gods & Generals and Gettysburg its' sequel, every so often a really "special" film comes along and for me this is it - the true story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first Black regiment to fight for the Union side against the Confederacy of the Southern States. Matthew Broderick plays the charismatic Robert Gould Shaw from a Bostonian family of abolitionists who rises to the rank of Colonel, who sees the racism against the black men who are even initially denied proper... more info

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