Introduction to the story of glory

Introduction to the story of glory | Appreciation | Reflection

1989 color film 133 minutes

Produced jointly by Columbia Film Company/Samsung Film Company.

Director: Edward Cvik Screenplay: Kevin Jerry Photography: freddie francis The main actors: matthew broderick (as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw), Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (as Tripp), Carey Elvis (as cabot Forbes) and Jah Kennedy (as Thomas Charles).

abstract

1862, the American civil war was in full swing. Robert Gould Shaw, a young black man, hated racial discrimination and slavery. He took an active part in the anti-slavery struggle, so he was noticed by his employer and dismissed. Robert shaw was forced to leave his hometown and wander to other places. Finally, he joined the northern army and became an ordinary soldier. He trained hard and fought bravely, so he was respected by his comrades. The Battle of Antioch Crick started, and Robert Shaw experienced an extremely cruel battle. Familiar comrades died one after another, and he felt pain and fear. The enemy attacked, and robert shaw fought bravely. Suddenly, he felt a pain and dizziness and fell to the ground at once. He's hurt!

When he woke up, he found himself lying on a broken ox cart. When a black grave digger buried the body in place, he found that he still had a breath and saved him.

Robert shaw said goodbye to the old black man before the wound healed. He went through all the hardships and finally returned to his hometown to continue his recovery. Xiao will never forget the horrible and bloody battle scene. Now the young soldier is no longer an idealist. He knows very well that he is lucky to be alive. His military career is not over, and he has to be prepared to risk his life at any time. In his hometown, when he saw that white women with gorgeous clothes were living a leisurely life, snobbish businessmen were making huge war money, and the gap between the rich and the poor, especially poor blacks, he felt extremely angry. At this time, a letter of appointment came to him again. Robert shaw was appointed head of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment of the Union Army with the rank of Colonel. This is the first black team of the federal army. Robert shaw is determined to change his bad temper, join the just war and fight like a hero. Robert shaw invited his best friend and comrade-in-arms cabot Forbes to assist him as deputy head; His other black friend, Thomas Charles, also resolutely joined the army!

In the training camp, Thomas, an intellectual, shared a tent with Rawlings Shatters, a long-term laborer, and Tripp, a black slave who escaped from the manor. He felt that the language was unreasonable and unaccustomed, so he was depressed. Robert shaw realized that this prejudice would affect the morale of the army. He hoped that his men would not just work in the fields for a long time, but should be real soldiers, so he trained them very strictly. But Forbes thought it was meaningless to train like this, and they had a fierce quarrel. Tripp was detained on suspicion of escaping, and robert shaw ordered him to be whipped. However, I learned from Tripp's comrade-in-arms Rollins that Tripp just wanted to change into a good pair of military boots. The soldiers showed robert shaw old boots. Angry Xiao found the quartermaster. Seeing the mountains of new military boots in the warehouse, he couldn't restrain his anger and ordered that new military boots and uniforms be given to soldiers immediately. These soldiers also learned that their wages were much lower than those of white soldiers. Robert shaw stood with his black comrades-in-arms and asked his superiors to pay them back.

1863, the 54th Infantry Regiment of Massachusetts was incorporated into a brigade under the command of Colonel Montgomery. At the camp in South Carolina, robert shaw found that the team commanded by Colonel Montgomery was composed of slaves who fled to the north. They have never received formal military training. Robert shaw also found that Colonel Montgomery was an irresponsible white officer who discriminated against black soldiers. He can't treat the life of his black brother as a joke, so he refuses to carry out the order to go to the front. When he found that Colonel Montgomery and General Hunter connived at the burning, killing and looting of his white soldiers, he accused them and wanted to expose their illegal behavior. Colonel Montgomery and General Hunter had to accept Shaw's suggestion and retrain this infantry regiment composed of slaves.

The 54th Infantry Regiment became the first army with good military discipline and defeated the Southern Army again and again. Thomas was wounded in a battle and fought bravely. The brave and skillful fighting of the black army also won the praise of the white comrades-in-arms, and Rawlings and Tripp, who hated the white people deeply, also realized that this was a war for freedom and independence, and they should live and die together with the white comrades-in-arms.

In the famous battle of Charleston, Robert Shaw volunteered to hold the most difficult fortress in Waggoner. This is the fiercest battle in the civil war. Robert shaw commanded his black soldiers to repel Confederate attacks again and again. The confederate army organized a crazy counterattack. In the fierce battle, robert shaw and his close comrades Tripp, Thomas Charles, cabot Forbes and thousands of black soldiers gave their lives for freedom. The northern army finally repelled the southern army.

President Lincoln ordered the recognition of these black fighters who fought for freedom. Under his call, 654.38+800,000 blacks, mostly slaves, joined the Northern Army. They fought bravely and finally won, making great contributions to the reunification of the United States.

Distinguish and appreciate

Since the late 1980s, the American film and television industry has produced many films and television programs featuring blacks and describing their lives and history. Some critics point out that this is just a technique used by Hollywood to attract a large number of black audiences; Especially in southern black states, movies are still the main form of entertainment, and cinemas are still frequented by young people. Some critics are optimistic that this marks the victory of the American human rights movement and the anti-racial discrimination movement, and also shows the self-awakening of the majority of blacks and the efforts of black artists. Of course, some critics pointed out that many works, especially those written, directed and performed by black artists, exposed a prejudice and self-isolation of white people and went to the other extreme. For example, in some film and television programs, there is no white person from beginning to end, or white people are described as thugs and bad people. In a large number of black films, "Glory" can really be called an excellent work.

The American Civil War has always been a creative theme of interest to Hollywood. However, most of these films always praise the South and the Confederate Army. Although the Union Army led by President Lincoln is a party representing justice, the victory of the Union Army truly safeguarded the founding spirit of the United States-all men are created equal. From Griffith's blockbuster The Birth of a Country to Gone with the Wind, which was released in 1939 and is still popular today, we all look at this war from a southern perspective. In these films, the northern army is described as a mob. However, in Glory, the Union Army is described as a just army fighting for freedom, and at the same time, as many film critics have pointed out, this is the first art film to praise the heroic fighting and glorious sacrifice of the Union Army Black Corps in the American Civil War. After the film was released, it caused great repercussions in southern States. Some states began to count the names of black soldiers who fought in the war that year, and planned to build monuments to commemorate these heroes.

War movies have always been a popular style in Hollywood. However, as the director of this film pointed out, in recent years, a large number of war films are based on war, or they shoot some sensational melodramas or express some ideas. For example, in a large number of films describing the Vietnam War, the war is only an environment and background, and there are many exaggerated and even fictional elements in the films. The symbolic significance of Coppola's Apocalypse Now far exceeds its practical significance. Director Cvik emphasized the difference between this film and other war films. He said, "We don't want to distort history and create a farce." This war (civil war) is history and the content of the film. In order to reappear the historical truth, artists have read a lot of historical materials with * * *, from the choice of location to the production of military uniforms, guns and a large number of props, which are as close as possible to the facts at that time. Even the colors of props, such as military caps, were dyed with green pigments that were unique to Massachusetts in those days, although there was nothing special in the film. When shooting a large battle, mobilize 1500 people to take part in the shooting; Most black soldiers were selected from southern states. Although director Cvik lacks the experience of shooting big scenes and Coppola's verve, he still tries his best to describe the fierceness and cruelty of the battle. There are many spectacular scenes in the film, such as shooting the battlefield at high altitude after the battle, where there are dead bodies and smoke everywhere, giving people a tragic feeling.

Photographer Francis is a talented artist. He didn't shoot the war in a dark tone like other photographers. Instead, he used brighter colors to photograph the magnificence of the war. He wants to use color to explain that this is a war for freedom. Later, he was invited to shoot a TV series of the same name, but he was very dissatisfied, because the effect of this tone on the TV screen was very different from that in the movie. People can also realize the great difference between these two visual arts.

Broderick is a popular black actor in recent years. He is a typical acting actor and is famous for expressing his inner feelings delicately. In this film, he shows the growth of a black soldier in a rich way: from freely opposing racial discrimination and slavery, to becoming a strict commander who loves soldiers very much, and finally becoming a soldier who is committed to fighting for freedom. Broderick convincingly demonstrated this growth process. At the beginning of the film, robert shaw only thought, "We are fighting for thousands of men and women in Qian Qian, and our battle songs will echo forever!" This is just the romantic feelings of a young soldier. Later, when he had an argument with his boss, he angrily pointed out the difference between blacks and whites: "I'll try my best!" " I don't know these people (white officers and soldiers) or their music. Their partnership is far from ours. However, I have great patriotic enthusiasm and real courage, and I will try my best to adapt ... "At this time, he has grown from a passionate warrior with romantic ideals to a hero who is still determined to sacrifice in the face of cruel reality and racial discrimination. In a March, he showed great strength. The long and arduous March made the soldiers exhausted, but in order to show the military strength of the Black Legion, Robert Xiao Qiang pulled himself together and led the soldiers to sing the black battle song. It was a very touching scene: the soldiers wore old military uniforms and worn-out military boots, and some of them were injured, but they were all full of energy and expressed their determination to die bravely with heroic battle songs-slaves' songs of black people fighting for freedom. When the audience sees this place, they can't help saluting and thanking like those white officers. Broderick's performance, the cameraman's lens scheduling and the majestic black military songs made the scene extremely touching. As some film critics said, the information it conveyed far exceeded the plot content of the scene.

The most touching scene in the film is the defense of Fort Waggoner in Charleston, South Carolina. The magnificent war scene, coupled with special sound effects: the sound of bugles, guns and thunder intertwined, coupled with special effects, makes this war scene very spectacular. In American war movies, the recent battlefield is very scary. But this film embodies a kind of classical beauty, just like the Iliad, the epic of the Trojan War in ancient Greece. Cvik seems to prefer single-shot long-lens shooting. He carefully designed this photography with a long lens and a single lens, constantly changing the angle and focal length. Some are very successful and gorgeous passages, such as the camera moving back and opening, and seeing black soldiers charging forward one by one. Fall in the war, never back down-This is the only scene in the film to watch the black soldiers from the perspective of the Confederate army (enemy). After the war, the director deliberately used a large panoramic lens. The distant view and the middle view are battlefields full of corpses, and the close view is guns and small mounds inserted in the ground. As soon as the camera turned, the flag of the Northern Army proudly fluttered on the position of Fort Waggoner, symbolizing the victory of the Northern Army.

Compared with the development trend of American war movies in recent years, especially a large number of movies depicting the Vietnam War, people will feel that Cvik seems to be reliving the old dream of American war movies in the 1950s, that is, praising war and heroes positively. Of course, from a historical point of view, the civil war is a decisive battle between justice and injustice, and the federal army led by President Lincoln is just, which is completely different from the wars of the United States invading Korea and Vietnam in the second half of this century. Therefore, Cvik's praise for the Union Army is correct. After watching this movie, people can't help but think, since the Vietnam War Memorial has been built in Washington, should another memorial be built to commemorate the black soldiers who died for freedom in the American Civil War?