EDIT/CORRECTION: A few commenters have pointed out that choroform and ether were actually much more common in the ACW than I had ever anticipated! It turns out, then, that the scene of the man having an amputation is likely exaggerated from what it would have looked like, unless for some reason they weren't able to anesthetize him, which would be unlikely. One source I saw said ~95% of all surgeries used it. I would have thought campaign figures to be much lower! Maybe something I can do a video about as a follow-up. I'll need to look into my schedule to see what I can make work. This video wasn't sponsored, so, go check out my book instead! If you enjoyed this video there is a good chance you'll be interested in it, as it's all about privations and sufferings across military history. www.nativeoak.org/bookshop (Also you can buy it on Amazon, but it's cheaper for you AND it gets me more money to buy it on my website directly!)
Surprised you didn't mention the symbolism of the Amputation Scene. How it's representation is of the painful nature of Civil Wars, and in the United States example, how the once composite component of the Slave Economy, which helped underpin other aspects of the United States economy at the time, was being violently severed from the social body.
To be fair to the surgeon, he did ask where the chloroform was, so he expected it to be available, but it does not reveal why it wasn't. Maybe it was in use, maybe it was taken, maybe it was just lost in the chaos of the hospital, but he did call for it... ... but when you have hundreds of men needing treatment, how long do you wait before you just put your head down and get the job done?
I think something Brandon missed was the orderly informing Shaw that the Union won that battle. So many battle movies the victorious side erupts in cheers and open excitement but here Shaw is being told they won while he’s in a state of overwhelmed PTSD watching a man lose his leg.
agree. It really drives it home. Like all the visual storytelling is signaling to us that this is an utter defeat for the union. Only to then hit you. This is what victory looks like
At that point, the orderly would not have known. As far as he and McClellan were concerned, the battle would resume the following day. But McClellan did not stir, and Lee did not advance, and eventually slipped away over the Potomac, leaving the battle a draw.
Just like Shaw, I didn't really register that this was a victory. This movie was the first civil war movie I watched, I saw all the union soldiers dying and just assumed the union lost lol. I just didn't really register what the orderly said.
Me: Great Scott! I’ve run out of video essays to play in the back while doing homework at 2 am! Brandon F: *descends from heaven to a dulcet chorus of angels*
I'm over here studying and taking notes for my AP World History class, and then this video pops up and now i'm stuck in an unbreakable cycle of procrastination. Please send help.
@@FtanftangfnarrrIt's meant to be that way. These are people, in all their honor and dishonor, but there is a brotherhood in their shared struggle and, ultimately, their shared fate. These are the men that wrought the modern cornerstones of our nation; should we not look back on them with some sentimentality, and portray them so?
As I recall, the "Give 'em hell" "actor" was one of the writers and he wanted that part specifically to represent a soldier who didn't respect the USCTs and show the change in his perspective and attitude towards them.
Personally I like the Morgan Freeman reveal. Our captain has just been kicked awake, when he probably thought he would be dead when he passed out, and the light reveals not an angel but the very reason he is fighting, almost flipping the white savior narrative. There is the dichotomy that for him this is one of the most profound moments of his life, while for Freeman its just another guy on the ground. There are just so many layers to unpack as you delve deeper into what each man was thinking in that moment and the ways they intersect its almost overwhelming. Or its just a Hollywood troupe moment to reveal a star like Morgan Freeman, you decide.
My favorite "Glory" moment? It's after the 54th has been recruited, trained, and deployed to South Carolina and one of the soldiers moans to another "Lord! I forgot how HOT it gets down here!" Having served in North Carolina I felt his pain immediately!
Growing up in East Texas, I know exactly what he means. pain was I also know that while enough water enables a man to do very hard labor, under that sun, that a soldier in the field does’t always get that water. Always wondered why films seldom show troops p[ausng to drink. One recollection by a soldier in Jackson’s force talks about how even men used to Jackson’s fast marches kept dropping omn thaw side of the road as hey closed with the enemy not from Would but from sheer exhaustion. On a visit there is summer I tried or a half mile to keep up the pace of those men and then gave up. Even a marathoner would find it hard to keep keep up if they were carrying a heavy rife and pack.
The opening also shows, not tells, Gould's driving motivation to train his regiment as rigorously as he did. It wasn't for idealism or a desire for promotion, but a first person knowledge of the horrors of combat.
Sorry, quick bugler reenactor nitpick!!! The bugle call sounded here as mentioned at roughly 15:00 is "To The Colors", not "Retreat". It was played to try and rally the breaking federal forces to the colors. Love the video, great work as always!
This comment should be pinned. The call to rally shows the attempt to reorganize the company as individuals scatter, but also that the wider battle is still going.
Captain Shaw's PTSD moment where he seemingly tunes out the sounds of battle, reminds me of a similar scene in Saving Private Ryan,where Tom Hank's Captain Miller seems to tune out the sounds of battle on Omaha Beach after being disorientated by a near by blast. The battle is clearly raging around him as men continue to be killed horrificlly but he doesn't snap back to "normal"until he's directly addressed by a soldier asking him for orders.
I think It is more basic than simply tuning things out. I have never been in combat but I am an avid shooter. On a couple occasions when I foolishly shot a high power rifle without proper hearing protection I literally could not hear clearly for a few minutes. Even people talking close to me voices were indistinct. They almost sounded like they were talking to me for across a lake. It is a disorienting experience. Excellent review by the war.
as a huge Civil War fan seeing this notification pop up at a late hour of the night, from no other than one of my favorite Napoleonic youtubers, covering one of my favorite Civil War openings ever, was like seeing heaven's pearly white gates open up before my very eyes. Thank you Brandon, im not sleeping tonight.
The shot of the fighting continuing over the hill was straight shocking to me as a kid. You know 60,000 men fighting isn't just one charge, but for whatever reason, the scale of these battles never really got through to me.
Another comment here mentioned the "Waterloo" movie and its record-setting 15,000 extras. I think it's a great contrast, showing "both sides". "Waterloo" in its immensity makes you as the viewer realize that this was... well... ARMIES of men all standing a field ready to kill each other. The scale of it. And scenes like here in "Glory", with just the "50 men"... they pull it down to the individual level. Armies are made up of individuals, each fighting their own personal battle for victory and survival.
One thing I like about the bit where Shaw wakes up on the battlefield is how it shows the viewer that all that carnage we'd just witnessed was almost... inconsequential. We (and perhaps Shaw as well) may expect a scene like that to signal the _end_ of a battle, and the fact that the battle keeps going after _all that_ almost makes all those men's sacrifices seem "meaningless," as if they'd died for nothing. Like, imagine going through all of that-blinded by gunsmoke, men fighting and dying all around you, deafening gunshots, blood, and getting grazed by a bullet that was a few centimeters away from blowing your head off... and the battle just keeps going. It's almost like a close loved one, someone you cared for very deeply, passing away, and being distraught that the world can simply go on without them. Perhaps they were attempting to foreshadow the end of the movie-when the 54th is massacred, only for the fort to go uncaptured and the war to be won without them.
Excellent stuff, this is my favorite Civil War film, it brilliantly shows the importance and social and emotional scale of the war while also not shying away from how awful it was. When I was in high school I got the chance to transcribe some letters written by a Union soldier from my home town, an ardent abolitionist. But in one of his last letters written after he’d been fighting for more than two years, he told his cousin that he no longer cared about freeing the slaves and that he just wanted to go home, so traumatized was he. It was heartbreaking to read. Sadly he died in Andersonville prison a few months before his enlistment would have ended.
An absolute dream come true to see you putting out Civil War era content; including our work together! The title alone is absolutely correct, and the beginning of this video, complete with the classic Brandon F. commentary and film clip already have me so excited to hear your thoughts. I have no doubt that you’ve produced yet another classic commentary video, and one of my favorites on this platform. So thrilled that you viewed this wonderful film; I am positive that you appreciated it in the same regards of authenticity and combat depiction which I have! P.S - At school for now… excitedly viewing all tonight. Keep up the wonderful work. Godspeed!
@@BrandonFit's been a family standard for 30 years. There are must read books in my family and must see movies. At no point at all did I think Glory was being hokey. That's if you're comparing it to every other movie if it's the 10th or the 20th time you've heard of voiceover of a letter from home. To me, the movies tone is perfect. The major minor characters are deployed just when they're needed. Really faultless movie
Glory is one of those movies that deserves a sequel. The 54th Massachusetts gained another notable action at Olustee. Being the rearguard of retreating Union forces there.
@@cosmictraveler1146 yeah. Look at the US and British redcoat uniform. Same style. Its an allied forces to destroy the tartarian remnants in the USA. Remove tartaria from memory. Now invent the US vs British story.
@@cosmictraveler1146 much of history is a fanfic. Mongol empire? Fake. The ancient Gladiator Roman empire? Fake. They even added 1000 fake years into our calendar. Year 2024 should be 1024. This is a very deep rabbit hole. Much of historical figuers are also fake.
Seeing someone on here capable of actual film analysis is rare, getting somehow who is both able and look at them through a historical framework is precious
I thought the most poignant part of the film was when all the black soldiers stayed in the regiment after Shaw reads a missive stating that no prisoners would be taken by the Confederates. As a true story, this hits home for everyone.
I do wish this movie had been slightly longer to provide more info to the layman. The scene with the pay refusal was more significant than just “less pay” $10 a month is what the union army was paying specifically to hired laborers (typically refugees following the army, and contraband). It’s definitely my favorite civil war movie along with Gettysburg. It’s extremely well done.
This movie is so well done when it comes to the details: uniforms, piping colors, drill, etc. Even the ptsd moment with the shudders closing and shaw jumping was a nice, small touch. By far my favorite civil war movie
What makes this scene all the more impactful is that Antietam was a strategic Union victory. At the end of the battle, Lee reconsidered further pressing into the north and turned his army around back across the Potomac leaving McClellan in command of the field. But does this scene really paint it as a “Union Victory”, even as Shaw gets up he discovers the battle is still raging on, just further down the field.
I think the point of the sun blocking MF for the reveal is because you're not supposed to know if its a member of the union or the confederacy Edit, rewatched that bit and you can clearly see union boys wandering about before the reveal, so idk
I see it as realism excusing a dramatic film tradition. Confusion/suspense can be easily created by obscuring the face. If you've been out cold for hours while face-down, the sun will blind you when you look up. It's annoying and takes awhile to clear in real life, but having the guy emote horror while wincing and squinting wouldn't be as dramatically affective.
Aaron Judge could be described as a "formulaic" ball player. It doesn't mean he's any less amazing. The same is true for Glory's opening. In my Lost Cause days (daze?), I thought Glory was sappy and heavy handed. These days I think it's my favorite Civil War movie. I think you outlined a lot of the reasons I came to love the movie in this video. Stellar job, sir!
I grew up as (and in many ways still am) a Lost Causer and my family always loved Glory. Back when I was uncritical about Gods and Generals (still don't hate it) I would often pair it with Glory as I loved how both were very small casts and rather contained stories considering the scale of the war IRL. I always loved the depth of characterization that both films make earnest attempts at achieving (to different degrees of success, ofc)
Shoutout to my personal hero and a TOP-NOTCH historian Brian Pohanca at 0:47. He portrays a Captain here. If you have not read his work or viewed his many interviews on “Civil War Journal”, (1993) please do so!
I would love nothing in the world more than a follow up to this video, talking about the final 10 -12 minutes of Glory as well. It literally near brings me to tears every time i watch it. Its profoundly emotional, especially if you've read his letters as they've been compiled.
I think the reveal of Rollins (Morgan Freeman) was meant to almost be a sign from God of what Shaw's true destiny would be in the Civil War. Rollins of course would go on to be Sgt Major Rollins of the 54th Massachusetts, and its his leadership that both helps Colonel Shaw step up as a regimental commander, and helps individual soldiers such as Trip (Denzel Washington) bond with their fellow soldiers.
I believe that Shaw’s reaction to seeing the carnage around him as he rises, and then sees and not hears the battle over the hill was that he is in shock!!
You should do a video about Zouave units in the American civil war. Yknow, about why they decided to adopt a french uniform and their high casualty rates, cool nicknames, and stuff like that. I think that might be interesting
One thing that is to be commended are movies or entertainment as a whole that can make war not look cool or a place I would certainly not want to be in. I love to cite both the openings of Glory, and Saving Private Ryan as perfect examples of that. "They never tell you how they all shit themselves. They don't put that part in the songs." -Robert Baratheon I
Best part about the letter is that it sets up the themes of the whole movie in a natural way, plus shows you the way people back then thought of the war.
I read the sun blocking our view of Morgan Freeman as meant to sync up with Shaw's eyes coming back into focus as he woke up. When we can see him that's when Shaw is fully lucid again, and the first thing he hears is a nonchalant, "you alright there?"
You’re such a Gen Alpha. GENX Chicago native here. My parents divorced and my father moved back to Joliet (his family were the first settlers of Joliet). It was in Joliet I saw my first black person. I had never seen one before outside of TV. We were friends and played Star Wars together. He was about 3 years older than I was. 30 years later I was helping a soldier retire and we got to chit chatting. 30 years later. I’m signing off on this NCO retiring and it gets to talking about home. It’s Bobby. Here was my friend from childhood. First black person I ever saw.
I love how they open with the battle of Antietam! I was just looking up information about it because were decommissioning the namesake of the battle this month. CG-54 USS ANTIETAM, after 37 years of service is being decommissioned in Pearl Harbor on 27SEP2024.
Glory had one of the most wonderful, moving and epic scores ever made. The boys Choir of Harlem did the vocals. And the battle depicted is the sunken road section of Antietam, it’s only one nook in a huge battle.
The entire film shows how big of an ordeal just getting to a battle really is for the common unit in that era. 1.Forming and marching out of camp to towards the battle. 2. seeing the refugees and self emancipated slaves fleeing the battle. 3.Arriving in the rear. 4.Forming into line of battle awaiting orders to move to the front. 5. The final order to move out. 6. Seeing the enemy. 7.Seeing the elephant. 8. Realizing your units part in the battle is done while other units of men from all over the country are going to do the same thing you just did. And the battle just goes on. In this film you arrive to ever battle with the Shaw and the 54th. Perfect film entirely.
To me still the best American Civil War film. I've always like how the film gave Shaw a pinch of PTSD after the opening sequence. Where he is jumpy, gets flashbacks a few times in the film as well. Locks up during those flashbacks. etc
re: the sun reveal. Yeah, it is a bit over-the-top, but I think they did it that way cuz it's a character reveal. Like: Morgan Freeman was a top-tier actor at the time, so 1)you want to give an actor of his caliber a good introduction in the film, and 2)the audience would have known on seeing him that this was someone important to the plot(cuz you're not going to pay Freeman-prices for a cameo), so you want to honor that cinematographically.
Narratively, the first battle scene also acts as a counterpoint to the final one. Shaw's men break under fire and Shaw survives by feigning death. SPOILER: at the end of the film, the 54th Massachusetts infantry hold steady in the face of horrendous casualties and Shaw dies for real alongside his men. The difference between the two scenes highlights the phenomenal valour of the 54th, that they went above and beyond what was expected of men in combat because of their devotion to their cause, and through the military discipline they developed over the course of their training. It also shows the culmination of Shaw's journey. At the start he talks a good game, but his courage wavers when it is truly tested. At the end, he has become utterly committed to the battle for emancipation and the men he fights alongside, and is ready to die. Not only does this deliver a satisfying payoff to the film's narrative arcs, but it also manages to underline the extraordinary nature of the heroism of the events it portrays without undermining or downplaying the experience of those less celebrated. It's normal to panic and want to run away when people are getting killed and maimed all around you. Almost all of us would. That's what makes those who don't so exceptional.
I feel like it doesn't give the impression of "look how stupid they are to fight in such a manner"; it's just violence and chaos. The forest skirmish is also great, reduced, bloody and fast-paced. The storm of Fort Wagner is way more dramatized but i felt the rocket lights (on the US flag colors, nice trick), orchestra and sudden end merged so well that it enhanced the fact that it's indeed a bloody battle, instead of focusing in mere drama.
So glad we have a video about this. I rewatched Glory just about a month ago and have since than been obsessed with this first 10 minutes of the film you discuss. How it goes from the score of the film in the beginning to right when the score cuts to pure warfare is I feel like the best depiction of civil war combat on film and how I'm sure it felt to someone like shaw. Everything feels so real, hopeful, and with a little stress right up until the second that score cuts out and you can't think of anything more or less than the gun fire and smoke blocking out the sun with drums all while marching straight into the enemy. Such a surreal film to watch.
I have a video about the role of Colours in linear warfare, and another on officer ranks in the AWI which covers ensigns, so maybe those will fill that role! You can find them here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rfRL1a14444.htmlsi=BDmfbWT_lFmdaw0T ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7PSrjMfZXLQ.htmlsi=JtczK_N3a2IGOU8_
Another thing Glory does better then Gettysburg is that it shows the blood and gore of the battle. I'm guessing with Gettysburg because they used reenactors who brought their own uniforms the filmmakers didn't want to ruin their gear with squibs and fake blood.
@@ssgus3682 People like to bring down Gettysburg for its lack of violence and gore but don't realize that it was initially a miniseries. Something you are limited to do back in Pre-2000s tv era.
I like the way they frame the protagonist, he isn't some "dumb soldier that's just there to fight", as with any good movie about war, it takes an effort to show that he knows what he's fighting for, not for "america" or for "greatness" but to make the union whole, for all, beautiful as always brandon
Gettysburg is BOrrrrrInGgGGGGg. The most bland action scenes ever, no blood, no artillery carnage. It tries to hard. Its too broad, you cant focus on every aspect of gettysburg, focus on a reginent or something. Watch Atun Shei's video series: "fixing gettysburg". its not a very great movie imo@WorldArchivist
@WorldArchivist Gettysburg is great, but only for the civil war historians and reenactors. The main problem with Gettysburg, imo, is that it feels exclusive for a specific demographic and general enough for a general audience. It really felt like a movie meant for historians only and barely enough room for the general audience to relate or enjoy. Also, it doesn't have every event that happened. No Sickles' blunder, no action of the Iron Brigade, 14th Brooklyn, and 1st Minnesota, no Culps Hill, Reynolds' actions were SO underwhelming, Meade only getting a cameo. For a 4 and a half hour movie, you'd think there would be enough screentime for these but no, Lee and Longstreet had to hog half of the screentime. Heck, I hate how the movie made Armistead looked like he had a man crush on Hancock.
Shaw’s life has always brought me immense sadness. He was doomed to die at 25 because of tradition and honour. He never got to experience the kind of peace, freedom, family, love that he should have
Such a great movie. Glad that Brandon of all people was the one to cover it. I might use this for inspiration for some of my own writing and story telling work, so thanks for breaking it down Brandon!
Every time i watch that opening scene or the entire movie when i can, i always brace myself for the hospital scene. but every single time it feels like a gut punch when i hear that poor man, probably not even out of his twenties crying and pleading for the surgeon to stop cutting his leg off. The surgeon would probably love to stop if he could but he needs to do it or the man could possibly die. and the man holding the wounded one down would want nothing more than to not have to do it, but he is just trying to help him through the process and keep him from moving further.
The battle of Sharpsburg was Shaw's first major battle. So his letter before the battle would have been a good deal more lighthearted and optimistic than a letter after. And if you look at the letters and diaries from earlier in the war, the soldiers talked about fighting to preserve the Union. It was only after the army pushed further South, and soldiers saw how slaves lived that emancipation became more of a reason.
I would argue that Morgan Freeman’s reveal is actually done quite well. When our protagonist is last with us, he is wounded, in shock and defeated. In his mind, a split second has passed since he was last conscious. The moment of his rousing is but a continuation of a personal battle that overwhelmed him and which he’d already lost. Being roused by a person he can’t recognize continues his mental torture, cementing his trauma deeper, as this could very well be a Confederate soldier about to take him prisoner or execute him. The fact that it’s actually Freeman, also serves as the perfect context in which to reveal, what will eventually become, one of the most consequential characters in the film.
Glory is one of my top 10 movies. Have watched multiple times, but the moment you began to describe the opening I realized I've seen that scene somewhere else, I believe the opening of Band of Brothers, when the men are waiting on the air strip, is almost a beat for beat homage to the opening of Glory. Could be wrong, but they're just so similar.
I was there for a week during the filming at Jekyll Island, GA as a member of Co. C, 7th IL Cavalry. My only appearance on the big screen was all of a single second as a defender of Fort Wagner. I consider GLORY the finest Hollywood CW film. I also participated earlier in filming of NORTH/SOUTH II, near Natchez, MS. I did get a single closeup in N/S II as Gen. Grant rode up near the end - "Hurray for General Grant." I've considered N/S II nothing more than a glorified soap-opera. Back to GLORY, when I arrived they were in the process of filming, at night, Colonel Shaw's death. I watched Matthew Broderick tumble down the side of the pretend Ft. Wagner. At this point I was just a spectator. When the seen was completed I walked up to Matthew, without knowing who he was, and asked if I could take his picture. Standing there covered in sand and fake blood he asked, "Who are you?" I replied that I was a Illinois cavalry re-enactor that just arrived, and I had promised my daughter to try and take some photos of the stars. "I don't know who you are," I added, "You must be somebody important because they just spent a lot of time and money killing you off." Broderick then said, "Go ahead." I did. Before I left for home I had realized that he must be one of the stars. Three weeks after, I saw for the first time, BUEHLER'S DAY OFF on TV. To this day, I've often wondered if Matthew can recall the man wearing the Elmer Fudd "Wambo" T shirt that did not know he was the star.
I found myself appreciating your earthy yet couture brown ensemble. Smart, neutral, and as always, focused on a well rounded communication/educational content.
When I joined the military in 2001 I went to basic I had a white guy from a tiny town that had never seen a black person in real life, and we had a black guy from an old share cropper town and he had never seen a white person in real life either. Funny thing is they became best buddies. never underestimate how tiny a persons world can be.
