Gods and Generals review and reactions?

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Tom DeFranco said:
No argument there. My only knock about the Stonewall book is that it is probably a little too gushing - in terms of heaping maybe too much praise on Stonewall. He went too easy on him during the Seven Days, for example. Other than that, I think very highly about Robertson's ACW knowledge and his ability to convey that knowledge to others.

What I was trying to point out was that when, on Maxwell's website, it was announced that the movie would get made and that Stonewall would be a major character in it, Robertson went a bit overboard in defending his favorits subject, almost to the point of deifying the guy.
I tend to agree with you about Robertson. He is to Jackson, what Freeman was to Lee. Not that his book isn't a good read, but at times he does make Jackson appear to be "the second coming"....
 

last_cav1971

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I agree with Janos. What was/is wrong with placing the person you admire most in a high position?
I make an annual trip to Guinea Station just to reflect on the death of this great man we call 'Stonewall'. Its amazing if nobody else is there.

Mark
Deo Vindice
 

Tom DeFranco

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last_cav1971 said:
I agree with Janos. What was/is wrong with placing the person you admire most in a high position?
I make an annual trip to Guinea Station just to reflect on the death of this great man we call 'Stonewall'. Its amazing if nobody else is there.

Mark
Deo Vindice
Nothing is wrong with that - on a personal level. When his rosey views on a pivotal character become almost the sole opinion of that character in a movie that everyone in the ACW community was awaiting I think there is a problem. I felt the same way (let down) after seeing MacArthur seven years after Patton. MacArthur painted a way too rosy picture of its subject and thus, I liked MacArthur, the man, even less after viewing the movie. After seeing Patton, I felt I knew more about the guy and was more inclined to defend him on most points (except maybe the slapping incident).
 

GeorgiaDixie

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Tom DeFranco said:
Nothing is wrong with that - on a personal level. When his rosey views on a pivotal character become almost the sole opinion of that character in a movie that everyone in the ACW community was awaiting I think there is a problem. I felt the same way (let down) after seeing MacArthur seven years after Patton. MacArthur painted a way too rosy picture of its subject and thus, I liked MacArthur, the man, even less after viewing the movie. After seeing Patton, I felt I knew more about the guy and was more inclined to defend him on most points (except maybe the slapping incident).
Exactly Tom. And the comparison is excellent. MacArthur (besides seeming kind of slow and boring) didn't show what many others thought of him, as an egomaniac and such. But you know, in Patton as well there was a character shown with rose-colored glasses- Omar Bradley. He is never shown in any bad light during the movie. Maybe that's because Bradley helped advise on the movie itself!
 

Tom DeFranco

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GeorgiaDixie said:
Exactly Tom. And the comparison is excellent. MacArthur (besides seeming kind of slow and boring) didn't show what many others thought of him, as an egomaniac and such. But you know, in Patton as well there was a character shown with rose-colored glasses- Omar Bradley. He is never shown in any bad light during the movie. Maybe that's because Bradley helped advise on the movie itself!
Right! Plus Patton was partly based on A Soldier's Story, by Bradley. If it were honest about Bradley, it would have shown how he graded his subordinates (he tended give flashy leaders poor marks and upgraded uninspired leaders like Simpson.)
 
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