Its about the transcendence of the human spirit in the face of bigotry, bad treatment, and almost certain death. Glory takes some such liberties, but far fewer than most historical epics. An analysis of the accuracy of the movie glory directed by edward zwick. Atish shrestha apush january 8, 20 glory glory is both an awe inspiring and heart wrenching movie about the first all black volunteer company to fight in the civil war. Historian eric foner, dewitt clinton professor of history at columbia university, examines the issues surrounding the historical film amistad. And those who were asked to detect the inaccuracies in the films learned just as much incorrect information as students who were merely told to watch them.
Glory is not only the first feature film to treat the role of black soldiers in the american civil war, but also the most powerful and historically accurate movie about that war ever made. Produced in 1963, this movie is a one of a kind as it portrays the roman republic transition. In this essay he explores the problems faced by the producers of amistad and the shortcomings of both the film and its accompanying study guide in their attempt to portray history. Top 15 history ancientmedievel movies you have to watch hd. It accurately depicts the story of a unit, its commander, and their importance in american history.
Although it has its minor inaccuracies, glory is overall an ambitiously correct telling of black union regiments during the civil war, and portrays significant events and people nearly flawlessly. Glory the movie i have chosen for extracredit is glory. The historical inaccuracies in movies used in the research included. More seriously from the standpoint of historical accuracy, the 54th, portrayed in the movie as made up largely of runaway slaves like john rawlins morgan freeman or private trip denzel. Mel gibsons film braveheart is both one of the most celebrated and one of the most reviled pieces of historical filmmaking ever. The movie selma is a combination of historical inaccuracies, writer paul webbs imaginations and director ava duvernays fallacious recreations, wrote cecil williamson, selma city council vice. While such films can be powerful teaching tools, they also run the risk of becoming the true history for many viewers, experts say. The cinematography and the battle scenes are impressive and very touching. What the film glory got right about the american civil war and. The 54th massachusetts regiment in myth, memory, and history. These are the films that actually got history right. It looks like hollywood is about to give us a movie which matches historical accuracy to patriotic pride. The many historical facts the movie braveheart got wrong.
We asked a number of usct experts to share their perspectives on the legendary engagement and its historical significance. Like the nonsense movie redtails, it had an agenda to promote a false participation of ex slaves in the civil war. The film does a lot of tweaking of the facts, but none of it is egregious and all of it advances the. Common and john legend perform glory the new york times. I thought chiwetel ejiofor as solomon northup acted with incredible intensity, as did michael fassbender, who played northups violent and sadistic master, edwin epps. The reason isnt just the way in which kevin jarres script illuminates a frequent oversight of history books, nor is it the fine acting or epic feel that director edward zwick achieves on a modest budget although those elements are part of glorys effectiveness. The accuracy of the film, combined with the cinematography, music, and emotion, makes the entire film readily enjoyable, with a ranking of 4. Im generally skeptical of hollywood history, but i confess that glory is fairly accurate in portraying the lot of the africanamerican soldier and the assault on fort.
Accordingly, mcpherson had this to say about zwicks work. I saw glory twice at the theater when it was first released in 1989, amazed to see an actual period film, something that seemed increasingly rare, and thrilled to see a work honor such unsung heroism in american history. Glory is a fullout celebration of a littleknown act of mass courage during the civil war. The 54th was the most celebrated of all black units in the war because it was the first su essay. How historical accuracy was the movie glory answers. He also credited the film for its overall attention to detail, particularly dealing with the. Perhaps the glory standard should be applied when judging the patriot. The films historical accuracy is also part of what makes it great. It is not only the first feature film to treat the role of black soldiers in the american civil war. Robert gould shaw leading a company of soldiers in.
Glory reel american history films list lehigh university. Edward zwicks film glory is one of the bestknown screen depictions of the. Specific incidents of racism by officers were invented for the movie, but the. At least, thats my takeaway from the new trailer for roland emmerichs midway. The american film, glory of 1989 is based on the true historical story, of the 54th massachusetts volunteer infantry, as seen through the eyes of the commanding officer robert gould shaw a white officer during the american civil war. I would agree since a movie that is 100% accurate would have to. The 54th was the most celebrated of all black units in the war because it was the first su. The biggest mistakes you never noticed in glory 1989.
Free essays on historical accuracy of the movie glory. In the case of glory, critics recognized that there was what mr. What the film glory got right about the american civil war. While glory gets some deserved credit for civil war realismit historically is a hollywood version of madeup events. These films informed, inspired and moved its audience with its true to life dedication to its characters, setting and story. Glory road plays fast and loose with facts hollywood sports films often ignore facts in favor of plot, and the new hit glory road is no exception. The subject matter made 12 years a slave a very uncomfortable film to watch, although some of the actors gave astonishing performances. Glory is, without question, one of the best movies ever made about the american civil war a. To be sure, africans fought bravely, but no more so than their white counterparts and many times less. Glory is a 1989 american war film directed by edward zwick about the 54th massachusetts infantry regiment, the union armys second africanamerican regiment in the american civil war. Top 15 history ancientmedievel movies you have to watch.
Some things are unknown, others are uncertain, and liberties are taken both for the practicalities of filmmaking and to show broader truths. The movie does a very good job of addressing the discrimination faced by the 54th massachusetts as well as their heroic performance at battery wagner in july 1863. Glory was a great catalyst to raise awareness about the 54th, but it should be noted that it was not the first african american unitthere were the kansas colored troops, for. A critique on historical accuracy glory glory, reports the major battles of the american civil war, and most importantly retells the tale of the 54th massachusetts regiment. I also try to add greathest scenes from each movie so you can enjoy in that. Glory tells the story of the 54th regiment of massachusetts volunteer infantry in the united states civil war.
Glory is an excellent example of a movie that takes the basic historical facts and constructs a narrative around them to bring recognition to a military unit in a way that is attractive to a mainstream audience. One of the themes that the movie captures is the slow progress that col. Historical inaccuracies in the film glory free essays. How accurate is the movie glory in portraying events of the. Glory regiment attacks fort wagner, 150 years ago history. Need help with your international baccalaureate how historically accurate is the film glory. A heartstirring and carefully crafted piece of storytelling, it won five oscars. In the golden age of the hollywood western films, accuracy wasnt exactly a. It stars matthew broderick as colonel robert gould shaw, the regiments commanding officer, and denzel washington, cary elwes, and morgan freeman as fictional members of the 54th. The movie unfolds in a succession of often brilliantly realized vignettes tracing the 54ths organization, training and first experiences. During our exploration into ford v ferraris historical accuracy, we learned that the race at willow springs raceway in california never actually happened in real life. Set during world war i, the film stars kirk douglas as colonel dax, the commanding officer of french soldiers who refuse to continue a suicidal attack, after which dax attempts to defend them against a charge of cowardice in a courtmartial. List three historical inaccuracies in the film glory.
Glory 1989 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Cleopatra the historical epic film, cleopatra depicts the queen and her relationships with two great roman rulers, julius caesar and mark antony. No historical film perfectly captures every detail. Paths of glory is a 1957 american antiwar film cowritten and directed by stanley kubrick, based on the novel of the same name by humphrey cobb. Today my civil war classes finished watching the movie glory, which is. Did all of the races in the movie actually happen in real life. Still, in the end, glory isnt about big, noisy battles. Its about a watershed moment in our bloody history that elevated us all and must never be forgotten. On the 150th anniversary of the bloody battle that inspired the movie. The paper concludes that the historical accuracy of the film is not as important as the actual making and viewing of the film.
Yet the wild liberties it took with history have led it to be repeatedly panned by historians and critics. It was created to help develop the personalities and relationship of raceteam leader carroll shelby matt. Historical inaccuracies in movies can hinder learning. The film implies that most of the soldiers in the 54th regiment were former slaves, when in fact a majority had been. The true story behind the movie glory community table. Several historical films are vying for the golden statue this year. More seriously from the standpoint of historical accuracy, the 54th, portrayed in the movie as made up largely of runaway slaves like john rawlins morgan freeman or private trip denzel washington in a role for which he won an academy award for best supporting actor was in fact, a regiment of freedmen, like thomas searles andre braugher. Like all historical movies glory gets certain things right and certain things wrong. The question isnt which of these is your favorite, but rather. By jeff merron page 2 glory road is an inspirational and refreshingly funny story about a team that breaks barriers and overcomes deeprooted prejudices against tremendous odds. The first two are invaluable resources for specific historical inaccuracies at least. The best written book about events is milby burtons book the siege of charleston if historical facts interest you.
Kmc forums movies movie discussion historic inaccuracies or accuracies in glory. Bernstein called a truth truer than the literal truth and were therefore willing to forgive historical inaccuracies. Rogers criticism is essentially accurate, even if in 1989 a period satirized so effectively by robert altman with the. Common and john legend perform glory in an exclusive performance, the artists showcased the song glory from the movie selma at the metropolitan club in new york city.
Simply put, the heroes involved have been ignored by history due to racism. The film glory, which tells the story of the 54th massachusetts infantry in the civil war. So is glory accurate, i would say yes 710 it may not be as accurate as say gettysburg it gives the sequence of events close enough to events to keep a college professor satisfied. Though pageantlike, glory has mind as well as soul. Historical films create our view of history live science.
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