Glory Movie Critique

Glory is a movie about the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (during the Civil War), directed by Edward Zwick. It stars Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes and Morgan Freeman and it was produced in 1989. The movie is based on Robert Gould Shaw’s personal letters, This Laurel by Lincoln Kirstein, and One Gallant Rush by Peter Burchard. I watched this movie over winter break with my friends. The movie was released on February 16th 1990 and it made about $26,828,365. The movie Glory is shown through 5 different perspective: Robert Gould Shaw and his journey commanding the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment during the civil war, Private Trip, Private Jupiter Sharts (a scared and aloof man), Corporal Thomas Searles (an educated man who grew up with Shaw) and Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins (a wise runaway slave). In the movie, initially all the African American men are treated brutally since they are indiscipline. Sergeant major Mulcahy helps teach these men discipline by making them go through hours of training and by whipping them. After witnessing the torture, Shaw learns to accept the men and convinces his commander through blackmail that they should be transferred to a combat command. When they finally are transferred, they are involved in their first real battle at James Island, but on the way there these African American soldiers are mocked by white Union soldiers who laugh at them since they are black. Shaw’s men prove themselves in battle and the white men who initially mocked them, bowed down to them in respect. Two days later the men march proudly under the command of Robert Gould Shaw to attack Fort Wagner, but unfortunately Shaw and most of the men (including the 4 African American characters) are killed. Robert Gould Shaw and Fredrick Douglass are the only characters in the movie based on real people. Fredrick Douglass was a rather minor character in the movie because we only see him when Shaw is introduced to him after he

Citations: www.wikipedia.org http://www.movieeye.com/reviews/read_movie_review/995.html http://www.nps.gov/anti/historyculture/upload/Battle%20history.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_James_Island http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Fort_Wagner