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Look past the skimpy budget, kitschy death scenes and cheap visuals. Its fictional account of the Civil War's bloodiest battle still brings a catch to the throat

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In 1998, five years after the release of my guiltiest cinematic pleasure, Christopher Hitchens attended a 135th anniversary re-enactment at Gettysburg. He subsequently considered our endless fascination with such great battles: "Either you can feel a thrill and a catch in the throat at the mention of Thermopylae and Agincourt, Culloden and Gallipoli, Jarama and El Alamein, or you cannot."

It really is that simple. At the mention of Gettysburg, battle or movie, I feel a thrill and a catch in my throat. I suppose, that I am compelled to suggest why this should be so, as well as why it shouldn't.

The battle of Gettysburg was fought in rural Pennsylvania between 1 and 3 July 1863. Fifty-thousand men died, the Union...

Gettysburg: DVD/Blu-ray, History Channel, 94 mins

DVD Review by Gary Young

The battle of Gettysburg was a pivotal moment in the history of the American Civil War - and the History Channel has pulled out all the stops to bring the struggle back to life.

Created to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the war, this drama documentary is executive produced by Tony and Ridley Scott and has the trademark cinematic sweep for which both filmmakers have become famous.

Combining real actors and CGI, the battle scenes offer an exciting and effective overview of the 1863 battlefield as the soldiers of North and South bloodily snatched the initiative from each other over several gruelling days of warfare.

Filmed in the rugged and unspoilt terrain of Western Cape, South Africa, the action feels horribly authentic, with battle scenes that occasionally bring Saving Private Ryan to mind. Featuring a large...

When faced with a tone-deaf would-be fanboy film, it's hard not to think about Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

The woman who popularized the "five stages of dying" was also right on the money in describing all that went through my mind during last night's screening of "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."

First came denial ("No, this is just a subversive B-movie romp!") then anger ("I'm gonna to go Russia and make a dumbass movie about Peter the Great and see how Timur Bekmanbetov feels!") then bargaining ("Please! Someone go get John Wilkes Booth on my ass and put me out of my misery right now!") then depression ("This is my fault for forwarding all those Funny or Die videos") and finally acceptance ("Okay, I guess the fight with Marton Csokas with the stampeding horses was kinda cool.")

With these five stages flushed through my system, I found myself asking one more: just how...

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

With set-pieces that include a vertiginous stand-off atop a perilous, flaming train, and The Battle of Gettysburg re-imagined with vampires thrown in for good measure, there’s no doubting that the absurdly-titled Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has all the makings of a gleefully silly B-movie. However, under the guidance of Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov, this adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s acclaimed titular mashup novel suffers a fatal identity crisis, which undermines its strong visuals and solid performances.

In this piece of alternate history, Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) has lived a secret life as a vampire slayer since he was a young man. Under the tutelage of mysterious hunter Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper), Lincoln battles the creatures of the night and hopes to one day vanquish Jack Barts (Marton Csokas), the vampire who killed his mother. In his later life, as President of the United States, he...

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases on Blu-Ray

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

13 Assassins (2010)

Synopsis: Cult director Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition) delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan’s feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a wartorn future. (Courtesy of MagPictures.com)

Special Features: Deleted Scenes; Interview with Director Takashi Miike; Theatrical Trailer; Trailers for Hobo With A Shotgun, Rubber, Troll Hunter, and The Perfect Host.

Bloodrayne: The Third Reich – Unrated Director’s Cut (2010)

Synopsis: Rayne fights against the Nazis in Europe during World War II, encountering Ekart Brand, a Nazi leader whose target is to inject Adolf Hitler with Rayne’s blood in an attempt to transform him into a dhampir and attain immortality. (Courtesy of Blu-Ray.com)

Special...

Chicago – “Gettysburg” and “Gods and Generals” have legions of hardcore fans who adored them when they first played in theaters and will love the new Blu-ray editions that feel like hardcover books more than your standard disc release. One has to admire the marketing machine at Warner Bros. who can tie these titles in to the 150th Commemoration of the Civil War and make them perfect Father’s Day gifts at the same time.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

“Gettysburg” and its prequel “Gods and Generals” barely made a dent at the box office (as epic period pieces rarely do) but I’ve always gotten the impression that they have very loyal audiences, the kind of old-fashioned men who would sit down and watch these two Blu-rays back-to-back and lose a whole day in their Civil War recreation.

As for the rest of you, the films are good but not great. They both...

Gods and Generals

Warner Home Video is still releasing director Ronald Maxwell’s historical war movies Gettysburg and Gods and Generals on Blu-ray on May 24, in time for Memorial Day on May 30. But if you want both films, you might want to wait until July 5 to purchase them, because that’s when Warner will release the pair in a double-feature Limited Collector’s Edition set.

1993’s Gettysburg stars Tom Berenger (Inception) and Martin Sheen (Love Happens) and follows the battle between the Confederacy and the Union in summer 1863. The film is based on Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Killer Angels and filmed at the actual battle locations. Released in theaters in 2003, Gods and Generals, about the rise and fall of legendary war hero Stonewall Jackson, stars Robert Duvall (Get Low) as General Robert E. Lee.

Warner will release its Gettysburg/Gods and Generals Limited Collector’s Edition on DVD and Blu-ray.

Ghost Adventures: My “Hunt for the Evidence”

Nearly everyone debates their very existence, Yet many claim that they exist. What am I talking about you ask? I’m talking about one of the most basic superstitions, One of the oldest beliefs, That has ever existed in the history of mankind. What I’m talking about my friends… Are ghosts. Also known as spirits, poltergeists, ghouls, hobgoblins, bogeymen down to what many call them; Figments of our collective imagination. Sure, Most argue that our seemingly irrational fear of things from beyond the grave coming forth to haunt us in the wee hours of the morning is an evolutionary response, A way for our brain to tell us “Don’t go in the dark! Predators lay in wait!”. Personally, I believe this is a sound explanation for nearly all bumps in the night that we experience. Simple throwbacks to the day...