Surprisingly incoherent and boring

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Truly superb film. Poetic and realistic. Not easy to pull off.Regardless of what you think about each side's politics, for me the movie describes well what particular young men of one side of the conflict were like.The relationships were complex. I pick up new meaning each time I see it.Regarding the way the actors spoke, I think Lee was suggesting that speech patterns in 1860 Missouri were certainly different than today. I am sure they were. Each scene develops in an organic way that many directors just don't know how to do. Very special movie.

I watched this film at random on Netflix. I knew nothing about it and picked it at random. I watched the film all the way to the end and felt pretty much unmoved. I kinda just thought "Umm OK..." When it finished I was curious to see what IMDb fans thought about it. I was quit surprised and see this film is another movie mis-reviewed by it's fans who chime in at how great and wonderful it is while regular people watch it and then go on with their lives. I mean by reading some of these reviews you would think this film puts Casablanca to shame and makes One Flew Over Cuckoos Nest look like an episode of Three's Company. The "Best Film Ever Made" 10/10! Really? This film had some of the great things over reviewers harped about. Attention to detail, historical accuracy, a daring screenplay about little know Civil War events, brutal violence........but, the movie was boring. If I want all those things I watch the history channel or catch a documentary. This movie seemed to suffer from identity syndrome in the end it could no less than be summed up as period drama...very BBC period drama.The violence, although harsh, was few and far between. The story was straightforward but at the core very uninteresting. I watched a movie to be entertained.The casting feel short here I think. Drama is all about a good story and acting. Toby Maguire is at best a good supporting actor but a lead in an epic drama? Wow no way. From the beginning of the film to the very end his character shows emotion. Does he cry, laugh a lot, rage, joke around...nope. We are left unmoved. Little Big Man was a period drama/comedy with a great actor at the helm. Sorry Tobey.In the end just an OK film. Don't let the fanboys fool you. Mildly entertaining at best for the aesthetics and the spotty violence. Yes historically accurate but really...who cares?

Interesting movie based on a novel by Daniel Woodrell and professionally directed by Ang Lee . It deals with Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire) and Jack Bull (Skeet Ulrich) , two friends living in Missouri when the Civil War bursts out . Jack Bull's dad is murdered by Jayhawkers , so the young men join the Bushwhackers to fight Union soldiers . Bushwhackers are irregulars loyal to the South led by Black John (Jim Caviezel) and the violent Pitt Mackeson (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) , besides George Clyde (Simon Baker). One of them is an African-American , Daniel Holt (Jeffrey Wright), beholden to the man who bought his freedom . They are a little-known band of Civil War fighters known as Bushwhackers . They skirmish then spend long hours hiding. Sue Lee (Jewel), a young widow , brings them supplies . She and Jack Bull become lovers and when he's grievously wounded , Jake escorts her south to a safe farm . Later on , there takes place the looting and burning of Lawrence , Kansas , actually occurred on 21 August 1863 also known as Quantrill's Raid . As his friends die one after another, Jake must decide where honor lies .Exciting film based on historical events set during American Civil War (1861-1865) in which the Bushwhackers use guerrilla warfare to destroy Yankee targets and led by men set on revenge, make a raid into Kansas. The picture efficiently describes the atmosphere of violence in which Women and Blacks have few rights, confrontation among bands and bloody battles . Emotive and evocative musical score by Mychael Danna . Colorful and adequate cinematography by Frederick Elmes. Very good production design , including breathtaking attacks and battles ; the scenes of the Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, Kansas were filmed in Pattonsburg, Missouri , Pattonsburg was flooded out during the great flood of 1993 and the town was relocated leaving many empty buildings and homes available . The motion picture was well directed by Ang Lee (Brokeback mountain , Sense and Sensibility , Hulk , Crouching tiger , hidden dragon). The flick based on real deeds , these are the followings : The Lawrence Massacre, was a rebel guerrilla attack during the U.S. Civil War by Quantrill's Raiders, led by William Clarke Quantrill, on the pro-Union town of Lawrence, Kansas. The attack on August 21, 1863, targeted Lawrence due to the town's long support of abolition and its reputation as a center for Jayhawkers and Redlegs, which were free-state militia and vigilante groups known for attacking and destroying farms and plantations in Missouri's pro-slavery western counties .By 1863, Kansas had long been the center of strife and warfare over the admission of slave versus free states. In the summer of 1856, the first sacking of Lawrence sparked a guerrilla war in Kansas that lasted for months. John Brown might be the best known participant, but numerous groups fought for each side in Bleeding Kansas.By the beginning of the American Civil War, Lawrence, Kansas, was already a target for pro-slavery ire, having been seen as the anti-slavery stronghold in the state and more importantly, a staging area for Union and Jayhawker incursions into Missouri. Initially the town and surrounding area were extremely vigilant and reacted strongly to any rumors that enemy forces might be advancing on the town. However by the summer of 1863, as none of the threats had materialized, citizen fears had declined and defense preparations were relaxed.Quantrill himself said his motivation for the attack was, "To plunder, and destroy the town in retaliation for Osceola. That was a reference to the Union's attack on Osceola, Missouri in September 1861, led by Senator James H. Lane.The attack was the product of careful planning. Quantrill had been able to gain the confidence of many of the leaders of independent Bushwhacker groups, and chose the day and time of the attack well in advance. The different groups of Missouri riders approached Lawrence from the east in several independent columns, and converged with well-timed precision in the final miles before Lawrence during the pre-dawn hours of the chosen day. Many of the men had been riding for over 24 hours to make the rendezvous and had lashed themselves to their saddles to keep riding if they fell asleep. Almost all were armed with multiple six-shot revolvers.Lawrence in ruins as illustrated in Harper's WeeklyBetween three and four hundred riders arrived at the summit of Mount Oread, then descended on Lawrence in a fury. Over four hours, the raiders pillaged and set fire to the town and killed most of its male population. Quantrill's men burned to the ground a quarter of the buildings in Lawrence, including all but two businesses. They looted most of the banks and stores and killed between 185 and 200 men and boys .

Hollywood gets its fact mostly right in this entertaining civil war film,what a shock, but unsurprisingly it was a box office flop and is hardly ever shown what a pity it really is a good film. the characters are a bit goody goody but the use of the black character 'hope' is loosely based on an actual black tracker that rode with quantrell's raiders.i think this movie ranks alongside films such as 'gods and generals' and the fantastic 'gettysburg' as a great civil war film.Toby Maguire might seem an unlikely choice as 'jake'the main character but he seems to pull it off but as an Englishman i cant comment on the accuracy of the accents.