'Glory' Movie Facts That Will Inspire You To Watch This True Story

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Unit, the Union Army's first African-American regiment in the American Civil War, is the subject of this 1989 American historical war drama film directed by Edward Zwick.

Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the regiment's chief commander, is played by Matthew Broderick, while fictitious soldiers of the 54th are played by Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, and Morgan Freeman. Kevin Jarre's script was inspired by Lincoln Kirstein's 'Lay This Laurel' (1973) and Peter Burchard's 'One Gallant Rush' (1965), as well as Shaw's personal correspondence.

The 54th Infantry Regiment is shown in this movie from its inception to its heroic efforts during the Second Battle of Fort Wagner on July 18, 1863. Freddie Fields Productions and TriStar Pictures collaborated on 'Glory', which was released by TriStar Pictures in the United States.

On December 14, 1989, it was released in limited release in the United States, followed by a wide release on February 16, 1990, grossing $27 million worldwide on an $18 million budget.

On January 23, 1990, the soundtrack, created by James Horner and featuring the Boys Choir of Harlem, was released.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment handled the distribution of the DVD. A widescreen Blu-ray edition with the director's commentary and deleted sequences was released on June 2, 2009.

The film received five Academy Award nominations and won three of them, including Best Supporting Actor for Denzel Washington. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Political Film Society, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Golden Globe Prizes, and NAACP Image Awards were among the many other awards it received.

Importance And Significance of 'Glory'

The movie 'Glory' is extremely important and significant because it highlights the various aspects of racism that the black community faced even when they were fighting for America in the Civil War. It correctly portrays their struggles and heroic gesture even after being treated partially by their chief confederate officer and the government.

In the movie, Captain Robert Gould Shaw is taken home to Boston on medical leave after being wounded at Antietam during the American Civil War. Shaw receives a promotion to colonel in charge of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, which was one of the Union Army's first all-black units.

He invites his buddy Cabot Forbes, who has the rank of major, to be his second in command.

Thomas Searles, a scholarly, free African-American, is their first volunteer. John Rawlins, Jupiter Sharts, Trip, and a silent adolescent drummer kid are among the other newcomers.

The men discover that the Confederacy has issued an order to return all colored troops to slavery in reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation. Black troops wearing Union uniforms, as well as their white officers, shall be executed.

They are given but declined, the opportunity to get an honorable release. Sergeant-Major Mulcahy, who is especially harsh on Searles, puts them through rigorous training. Despite Mulcahy's treatment of his buddy, Colonel Shaw grudgingly accepts that strict discipline is required to prepare the regiment for the next difficulties.

When Trip goes missing and is apprehended, Robert Gould Shaw has him publicly flogged. He then discovers that Trip has gone in search of regular-issue sneakers since his guys have been refused these supplies.

On their behalf, Shaw confronts the base's bigoted quartermaster.

Shaw also stands by his men in a pay dispute when the federal government has decreed that black soldiers will only be paid $10 per month, as opposed to the $13 paid to white soldiers.

Shaw tears up his own pay voucher in support of his men when these men, led by Trip, start tearing up their pay vouchers in opposition to this unequal treatment. Shaw promotes Rawlins to sergeant major in recognition of his leadership abilities.

The 54th regiment is handed to Brigadier General Charles Harker's command after it has completed its training. Colonel James Montgomery orders the 54th regiment to plunder and destroy Darien, Georgia, on the route to South Carolina.

Robert Gould Shaw first refuses to execute an illegal order, but after being threatened with a court-martial and being dismissed from command, he ultimately submits. He continues to persuade his superiors to allow his black regiments to join the combat, despite the fact that its responsibilities have been primarily physical work up to this point.

After blackmailing Harker and threatening to disclose the unlawful actions he has found, Shaw eventually obtains the 54th combat deployment.

The 54th regiment effectively repels a Confederate onslaught that had defeated other forces in its first fight at James Island, South Carolina. Searles is injured during the struggle, but he rescues Trip.

Trip is offered the honor of carrying the regimental flag in combat by Shaw. He resists, wondering whether winning the war would provide ex-slaves like himself a better life.

Shaw and other commanders are informed by General George Strong of a planned effort to gain a footing in Charleston Harbor. This entails attacking Morris Island and taking Fort Wagner, which has just a sliver of the open beach, as a landward approach; a charge will almost certainly result in high deaths.

Shaw offers to lead the 54th regiment in the assault. The black regiments do a religious ceremony the night before the war.

Several people give passionate speeches in order to motivate others, including Trip, who ultimately hugs his fellow troops.

The 54th regiment is hailed on its march to the battlefield by the same Union forces who had ridiculed them before. The 54th regiment leads the Fort Wagner nightfall assault, sustaining heavy casualties.

The regiment is pressed against the walls of Fort Wagner as darkness comes. Shaw is murdered by several bullets while attempting to push his union soldiers (black and white Americans) onward.

Despite his previous assurances that he would not do it, Trip raises the flag to encourage the troops to continue, but he is shot and killed as well. The men are led by Forbes and Rawlins, and they burst past the fort's outer fortifications.

Forbes, Rawlins, Searles, Sharts, and the two black sergeants, who seem to be on the verge of success, are fired at by Confederate artillery.

The beach is covered with the remains of black and white soldiers the morning after the fight, and the Confederate flag is flown above Fort Wagner. Shaw and Trip's remains are buried close to one another in a communal mass burial for the union of black and white soldiers.

A textual epilogue shows that although Fort Wagner never fell to the Union Army, the valor displayed by the 54th regiment led to the United States' admission of thousands of black soldiers for battle. President Lincoln praised the troops for their help in reversing the course of the war.

Characters And Actors in 'Glory'

The casting of the movie is as follows: Matthew Broderick plays Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, Jihmi Kennedy takes up the role of Private Jupiter Sharts, Morgan Freeman excels as Sergeant Major John Rawlins, Alan North does well as Governor John Albion Andrew, Cliff DeYoung plays Colonel James Montgomery, Denzel Washington is given the role of Private Silas Trip, Andre Braugher amazes us as Corporal Thomas Searles, Cary Elwes does well as Major Cabot Forbes, and RonReaco Lee is in the role of the mute drummer.

Audience Reception

The film was released in limited distribution in the United States on December 14, 1989. The film earned $63,661 in its restricted debut weekend at three theatres.

On February 16, 1990, it was released in cinemas nationwide for the first time. The picture made $2,683,350 in 801 theatres after debuting in ninth place.

During that weekend, the picture 'Driving Miss Daisy' easily outperformed its rivals, debuting in first place with $9,834,744. The film's second week of distribution had a 37% reduction in income, collecting $1,682,720.

The picture stayed at eighth place for that weekend, running in 809 theatres and failing to challenge for a top-five spot. 'Driving Miss Daisy', which grossed $6,107,836 at the box office, stayed in top position.

'Glory' went on to gross $26,828,365 in total domestic ticket sales over the course of its 17-week theatrical run. For the whole year of 1989, the picture would have a total box office performance of 45.

On June 22, 1990, the movie was released in VHS video format after its theatrical debut. On January 20, 1998, the film's Region 1 DVD widescreen version was released in the United States.

Interactive menus, scene options, a widescreen 1.85:1 color anamorphic format, and subtitles in English, Italian, Spanish, and French are among the DVD's special features. On January 30, 2001, a special edition DVD of the film was released.

The film has a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 44 reviews with an average rating of 7.88/10.

'Bolstered by great photography, passionate narrative, and an Oscar-winning portrayal by Denzel Washington, 'Glory' remains one of the best Civil War movies ever filmed', according to the site's consensus.

In his review for The New York Times, film reviewer Vincent Canby said that Broderick offered his most mature and controlled performance to date and Washington was an actor on the verge of a huge movie career.

The film was told in a series of vividly rendered vignettes that trace the 54th's formation, training, and initial encounters south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Idiosyncrasies of the characters arise. The Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert scored the film three and a half stars out of four stars, calling it a powerful and vital picture regardless of whose eyes it is viewed through.

He said Norman Garwood's production design and Freddie Francis' photography devoted enormous attention to historical detail.

The overall performance was panned by Rolling Stone's Peter Travers as he described Broderick as catastrophically miscast as Shaw.

The movie's spectacular cinematography and boldly soaring choral music by James Horner transfigure the truth, offering it the stature of vital myth, according to Richard Schickel of Time.

The Washington Post's Desson Howe remarked on various errors, such as referring to Broderick as a pleasant non-presence, thus conveying the image that the 54th earned their stripes under feeble leadership.

Without a doubt, one of the greatest movies ever created about the American Civil War, said James Berardinelli for ReelViews, adding that it has vital things to say, but it does so without getting academic.

The film was given four stars by Critic Leonard Maltin, calling it grand, emotional, gorgeously shot (by veteran cinematographer Freddie Francis) and faultlessly done, and one of the best historical dramas ever created.

Like 'Driving Miss Daisy', this is another wonderful picture that turns out to be pleasantly enjoyable, said Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune. He believed the movie had real societal relevance and that the performers depicted characters as more than just black males. He observed that they were so diverse.

'The film accomplished a remarkable feat in sensitizing a lot of today's black students to the position that their forefathers played in the Civil War in having won their own freedom,' said the American Civil War historian James M. McPherson.

FAQs

What is the message behind the movie 'Glory'?

In the narrow sense, the film 'Glory' is about the various aspects of racism, from slavery to uneven pay for black Union Army men.

What is the movie 'Glory' based on?

'Glory' is based on the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Unit, the Union Army's first African-American regiment in the American Civil War.

Why is the movie 'Glory' so important?

The movie 'Glory' is important because it is a well-made picture with a strong educational message. It is a realistic portrayal of the experiences of Civil War troops.

The movie's conclusion is quite appropriately depicted. Drawing more attention to the significant and heroic job that black forces did during the American Civil War will help us as a society and culture.

Was the movie 'Glory' historically accurate?

One of the most well-known cinematic representations of the American Civil War is Edward Zwick's 'Glory'. From its formation until its first major engagement, it tells the tale of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, one of the first African-American colored troops. However, the film had some events that were not historically accurate.

For example, 'Glory' indicates that the 54th Massachusetts Regiment was largely made up of freed slaves in order to dramatize the difficulties of the American Civil War. In actuality, the majority of guys in the unit had lived their whole lives in freedom.

They were both northerners fighting for the north and African-Americans fighting for the black community.

Some of them were members of prominent families. The genuine soldiers who fought in the regiment did not portray the period's persecution as vividly.

Frederick Douglas' two sons enlisted immediately, one of them rising to the rank of regimental sergeant major. During the attack on Fort Wagner, Garth Wilkinson James, the brother of William and Henry James, was killed while acting as an adjutant.

Three days before he was tragically wounded in action, Sergeant Robert Simmons lost a nephew in the conscription riots. A more complicated tale of those individuals and their role in American culture has to be told.

They were better off than other African-Americans, but they still had to deal with a lot of racism.

It's a narrative that the film couldn't possibly cover in its allotted time while staying true to the central theme of 'Glory'. Perhaps their story will be presented during the golden era of television dramas.

The focus on the significance of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment is correct. They were the first highly acknowledged African-American battalion, raised by Governor Andrew of that state.

What was the point of the movie 'Glory'?

Colonel Robert Shaw and the first African-American regiment in the Civil War are celebrated in the film 'Glory'. Paying greater attention to the vital and courageous job that black troops did during the American Civil War would be beneficial to us as a culture and society.

Which characters were real in 'Glory'?

'Glory' was historically accurate to a degree. Although the bulk of the prominent characters, such as Trip, John Rawlins, and Private Jupiter Sharts, were fictitious and did not exist in real life, they enriched the picture by representing archetypes of genuine individuals who would have served in the 54th regiment.

However, Robert Gould Shaw, in real life, stated that during the attack on Fort Wagner, he would take up the flag and go on.