Routine inspirational sports drama that's a vehicle for Margaret O'Brien to play her first grown-up role.

And there wouldn't be nothing but rebs dyin if they'd let the fifty-fourth in it. Based around the actual letters sent by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw to his parents, this Civil War picture tells the story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the first black regiment to fight under the American flag. Led by their white leader (Shaw), they must overcome bigotry, in fighting and the war itself, and this just to feel like men of honour. The most striking thing about Glory is that it is never over sentimental. With the subject to hand it would have been easy for the makers to over egg the pudding and rely solely on a racialist stance purely for impact. What we do get is actually a candidate for one of the most politically correct war films to have ever been made. It's harsh and at times heart tugging, that in fact is certainly true, but the narrative never veers from the core essence of men wanting to be just that - men! Director Edward Zwick has many critics in the industry, but here his attention to detail should be roundly applauded. He perfectly captures the period whilst molding a tightly plotted piece of work. Zwick also needs a pat on the back for hiring cinematographer Freddie Francis (Academy Award Winner), who weaves his magic to bring the brutality of the surroundings vividly to life. While James Horner provides a wonderful swirling emotive score (fans of his work on Brav…

**An excellent film that deserves to be revisited and brought back from oblivion.** For me, as a historian, this film couldn't be more interesting. It's not your average war movie, with soldiers running and shooting, and heroism spilling over from bloody deaths. It is much sharper and deeper because it talks about a topic that is treated with excessive ease when talking about the American Civil War: racism. And it's a shame that it's another relatively forgotten film these days. Really, if we think about it and are faithful to the mentality of the time, it cannot be said that the Civil War was a war against racism, because it was everywhere and in the Northern states, which were mostly against slavery, there was a strong racism that revealed itself in other ways. If in the South African-Americans were only good for slave labor, in the North they had to stay between the factory and the unhealthy suburbs. The difference was quite subtle. What existed in the North was a firmer awareness that slavery was something that should not continue to exist, a vision of things that the South did not accept because it did not suit them, they were heavily agricultural states and their wealth depended on the export of cotton. The film tackles the subject by showing us how a black regiment was virtually segregated within the unionist army, and the pressure maneuvers its commander had to do to…

Based on historical fact and on letters written to his parents by Col. Robert Gould Shaw, this dramatises the creation of the first all-black regiment in the Union army that fought in the US Civil War. It was created as the Confederacy looked dominant and there was an element of desperation, rather than because the army had great faith in this new squad, but the newly promoted Shaw had faith in these men. What now ensues illustrates that their foes were not just those wearing grey uniforms, but that their own side was fairly sceptical as to their effectiveness. Indeed, one of the first tasks for Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is to equip them. With shoes. With socks. With basics. What’s also clear here is that these men are not all of the same mind, either, and that’s well enough demonstrated by Sgt. Mjr. Rawlins (a powerful effort from Morgan Freeman), Pte. Trip (Denzel Washington) as well as by Major Forbes (Cary Elwes) who is the Colonel’s long term ally and friend. This is a story that is well worth telling, but I didn’t really think Broderick had quite the skills to hold this together and without a solid anchor, much of the poignancy of the history was rather lost in a sort of television movie realm. It might actually be Elwes who delivers better here as at least his character has some more strength and elements of conflict to it. The rest of the cast deliver a story of courage…