The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War (Mass Market Paperback)
As much as I enjoyed certain parts of this fictional account of the
battle -- at his best Walter Shaara is a superb story-teller -- I must
side with those who challenge the very concept of fictionalized history.
There is ignorance enough about the Civil War (not to mention American
history in general) to question the value of such a book, especially one
that takes such liberties with historical fact. The danger is that due
to the critical acclaim for, and popularity of, this book (and movie),
it will plant historical myths that will remain permanently imprinted on
public consciousness.
Let's leave aside for the moment the questionable practice of
assigning mundane motivations and fanciful thoughts to the protagonists
via stream of consciousness, and consider one issue that is central to
the book -- J.E.B. Stuart's supposed negligence (i.e. his 'joy ride' at
the expense of gathering intelligence) and calls for his court marshal. I
am not a professional historian, but I could not find a single
reference to Longstreet's belief that any officer in the Confederate
army thought Stuart should be court marshaled. In fact, there is no
evidence General Lee even reprimanded this general of his cavalry corps,
let alone contemplated summary action. There are any number of reasons
for Stuart's prolonged separation from Lee's main body, too detailed to
go into here. When you come across discrepancies like this, you tend to
question the factual basis of entire novel.
As pedantic as it may sound, the sticklers for historical accuracy
are correct: "The Killer Angels" is a triumph of facile melodrama over
historical truth.
Cowboys + Aliens = ?
It's not as bad as it sounds. Today, when movie production values
are higher than they've ever been, you can't go wrong, even if you're
watching a B movie, especially considering you're only paying $1.99 for
VOD. The opening scene of C&As is a picturesque western landscape
with lush evocative music to match. Today set design, art direction and
photography are astonishing compared to movies of the 60s and 70s. And
except for some black and white classics like "To Kill a Mocking Bird,"
movies from that era often look shabby and amateur even standing next to
some of today's low budget indies.
For example, "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Midnight in
Paris," and "The Help," while not exactly paragons of cinematic art, are
technically impressive, and all three have their moments too, i.e. a
passable scene or two. The problems is when you leave the theater (or
turn off your media center or PC home theater) you are left with an
empty feeling, the sense that have just wasted 90 minutes of your life.
These, and most products coming out of Hollywood today, are all about
concept, at the expense content. Content requires knowledge of the
heart, and that has always been in short supply on the big lots of the
major studios.
"Cowboys and Aliens" is an excellent example. The premise is simple
enough: appose some rough and ready cowboys (and Indians) against some
bug-eyed marauders from outer space. The technical wizardry of this
movie is amazing, worth the price of the ticket alone (if you happen to
be a student of cinema). The aliens are scarier and more disgusting than
ever, and the alien space ship is a monument to futurism; and the
western town and its seedy characters are equally impressive. But with
such an investment in CGI wizardry and special effects, why couldn't
they have run the script through the word processor a few more times and
edited out all the sappy love scenes?
Robert Ebert gave the movie 3 out of 4 stars. I give it 2.5. I docked
a half point for some really terminally cringe-worthy father-son
cliches. You can blame all this sickly sentimentality on cornball Steven
Spielberg.
From the director of Iron Man and starring Daniel Craig and Harrison
Ford, an unlikely posse rises against a force from beyond this world in
an epic showdown for survival.
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Universal Pictures
William Fankboner
Wm. B. Fankboner's Website
Wm Fankboner Articles (Kingscalendar)
Copyright 2011 William Fankboner
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