An Interview with Stephen Lang | Gettysburg, Preservation & More! 

It really does stick with you, glad I am not the only one.

Yes, you beat me to the comment - the line was compellingly delivered by Mr. Lang

It is especially great when you juxtapose it with the earlier scene where Longstreet, convinced he will lose, asks Pickett - "George, can you take that ridge?" and Picket just gets this big grin on his face and charges off to the battle - excited to have the chance to finally lead the charge. He went in to it cocksure that his Virginians were going to win a glorious victory... and then reality hit hard.

​@pdoylemi Shelby Foote's commentary summarizing Gettysburg..

Me too

Exactly 💯

Of a Truth.

I love that he had no issue saying the Longstreet line. Very cool, great interview

Me too. I also really love him as COL Quaritch in Avatar.

How about Ike Clanton in Tombstone?

He was awful as Stonewall but the movie itself was awful so he didn’t have much to work with.

@@DouglasLyons-yg3lvwhat evidence has led you to this conclusion?

​@@5xq38p4uHe was brilliant at being a HATED character like IKE. Coward. Alcoholic. Sneaky little snake. Lols. That's how great of an actor Mr. Lang is.

What did you mean never felt lied to by a performance from him? I don't get that part. Also he's a good actor.

@meathead6155 can always tell when actors are just in it for the paycheck. You know? What they call, "phoning it in". Lang never does that, just pick any of his roles. He doesn't do it. Serious actor, a good actor.

I first saw him in "Band of the Hand", kind of 80s vibe Mann Film; Joe Tegra, a little dated but fun.

Wait? He's NOT IKE?

@@FrankinDallas i think you misread. Yes he played Ike in Tombstone. Read the casting for that movie. It's him.

Don't forget Agent Charles Winstead from Public Enemies

Thats right law dawg. Tombstone, another phenomenal cast

Great soundtrack. I have played it many times.

It makes God's and Generals even more infuriating. The music in Gettysburg is spectacular. Perfectly balanced emotional themes that balance the sides and are not *to* heroic for the south.

If only this was possible to do. Very little of what it takes to understand the USA is being taught these days. Civics hasn't been taught for over 50 years in this country and the vast majority of people that happen to be living this country now don't even understand anything about how our government is supposed to work anymore. Civil War history can't be imparted to our children by people that have no understanding of it themselves and very, very few teachers have any knowledge of history. Then there's type and volume of non-European immigration for whom Civil War history has no connection at all. We can see today that politicians are all too happy to distort history and use it to pander to people that just want to profit from that. There are changes that must be made if this country is ever to be a nation again that I'm afraid will never be made by the present regime.

@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217Why exactly is it “non-European immigrants” that have no connection to US Civil War history? Don’t ALL immigrants by nature have no connection to the history of the country they immigrate to? Tell us what you _really_ mean.

Unfortunately, many places in the old Confederacy, especially Florida, have renewed their old efforts to whitewash history and remove all the bad parts because it “offends” them (ironic since these are the same people who cried about over sensitivity and censorship).

@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217it appears today politicians learned from Lincoln well.

@@Zarastro54Don’t think it matter much where you come from but more if you have an inclination to history. Not a lot of people has that. % wise. Perhaps if one is born in the country (USA)parents supposedly can teach or try to teach their kids about the civil war although I feel there is such a misunderstanding on the whole event that many times cliche and propaganda end up to be taught and very little history. I happen to be a European immigrant (god bless America and her funding principles ) have been to few battlefield so far, Gettysburg, manassas, Yorktown, Saratoga and look forward to visit Chikamauga soon! Studied the history of this great country and admire the funding fathers enlightened views particularly Thomas Jefferson. It is great to have the American battlefield trust here to promote the history and most importantly preserve it. Physically. I always try to donate what I can to support battlefield preservation as it is truly something that should not be lost.

Both movies flopped, I doubt we will get TLF unfortunately.

Perhaps a streaming service will eventually make it. Media has changed so much since 1992.

@@odinsavenger4965 I can understand the box office issue, however, the longevity of especially Gettysburg can't be denied. It made a great historical contribution to the Civil War (ok not entirely accurate from many folks perspectives. But it did and still does raise interest in perhaps seminal event in the History of the United States.

The reason Last Full measure wasn't made because most of the financing was coming from people that wanted Maxwell replaced as Director. Many people thought he pushed the Confederate "lost cause" myth beyond the pale, in God's and Generals. To this date Glory is the best Civil War movie starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman.

Gettysburg was supposed to be a series on TV but never got released. I think it would worked well as a serial. I personally think as a movie it is no great work but has its moments.

I agree! Tremendous. However the movie itself was pure neo-confederate propaganda pushing the "lost cause" myth of the Confederacy.

This is true. It’s what worries me about a growing cancel culture.

"History does not repeat, but it does rhyme.." Mark Twain

That buffet has been slated for destruction as that part of the battlefield is being reclaimed. The joke used to be that Pickets Charge would have succeeded if he hadn't stopped for lunch at the buffet.

The movie Glory is the best Civil War movie starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman. Gettysburg is pretty good. God's and Generals is neo-confederate propaganda. Maxwell pushes and propagates the "Lost cause" myth of the Confederacy.

Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

I'm part of a volunteer group that goes up twice a year to do battlefield maintenance such as rebuilding fences, clearing brush, etc. They do this to get a "day of battle" appearance. The battlefield has no power lines or phone lines and as you approach the town, you feel you are in 1863. Hope you come to see it. I want to go to Stirling Bridge in the UK!

@@donchoq Actually every wealthy gated community neighborhood in the south has no power lines or cable lines, phone lines showing especially in Florida. However, every other neighborhood has them all over the place. There should be a federal law passed that forces these private power companies to put there lines in the ground. It's saver. Especially in states that have hurricanes. The US is really a third world country with amusement parks, sports coliseum palaces, and Hollywood. Actually 71% of the wealth is inherited from the original white, revolutionary, slave owning oligarchs, to this day. Most new wealth comes from Wallstreet(casino) Sports athletes, Hollywood actors, government officials.

I am a veteran, and how anybody fought those battles is beyond me. Just marching in formation into withering fire - how do you DO that?

@@pdoylemi you love America more then you love your own life. It's bravery beyond duty. Many of those charges should not have been made. I think it's heartbreaking to think of Americans killing one another in massive numbers. I have been a student of the Civil War since I was 17. I've Always been draw to the soldiers and their great bravery and tremendous sacrifice of life on both sides. They were all American. And I truly believe our country still suffers from the problems that were never really figured out during the Civil War or during reconstruction. Thank you for your service and your bravery my friend. We owe all of our armed forces the respect and honor they deserve. Both living and dead. And there is no country on this planet that should be more paternal to its soldiers than the United States. The United States government derives all its power from the great body of the people. And sometimes that great body of the people has been laid upon the altar of freedom.

@@matthew-jy5jp Yeah - at the time, what seems foolhardy today was probably the best chance to stay alive and win. And I agree that this country still suffers from problems that led to the Civil War, and I have no idea how to resolve them, even though I came close to being one of them. Growing up in the south in the 60's and 70's my history education in school was biased to put it mildly. As a kid, I idolized Confederate leaders, and believed all the lies I was told about the causes of the war. Fortunately, my father, a Naval officer and history buff with degrees in psychology and history set me straight eventually. He probably would have done it sooner, but he was away a lot, and when he was home we didn't talk much about school - he took time playing with us and doing all the dad things he had not been able to do. But one of those was a trip to Gettysburg, where I lamented that it was sad that Ewell failed to take the high ground on the first day. That's when he realized that, in my mind, the world would have been better if the south had won. I thank you for your sentiments. I am glad that I never had to lay down my life, nor did my father or brother, though we all came close a couple of times, and hopefully my niece and her husband, both active duty Army officers never have to. But I also respect the people who get out and protest, and those who fight the legal battles needed to keep us free, and those who simply get involved and vote and work for a better future.

In both roles, Stephen Lang delivered the charisma which one would find in such personas as Pickett and Jackson as well as a reflection of the motive of the times: defense of one's home state, among others.