Glory(1989)

And there wouldn't be nothing but rebs dyin if they'd let the fifty-fourth in it. Based around the actual letters sent by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw to his parents, this Civil War picture tells the story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the first black regiment to fight under the American flag. Led by their white leader (Shaw), they must overcome bigotry, in fighting and the war itself, and this just to feel like…

Reviewed on February 5, 2019

**An excellent film that deserves to be revisited and brought back from oblivion.** For me, as a historian, this film couldn't be more interesting. It's not your average war movie, with soldiers running and shooting, and heroism spilling over from bloody deaths. It is much sharper and deeper because it talks about a topic that is treated with excessive ease when talking about the American Civil War: racism. And…

Reviewed on July 20, 2023

Based on historical fact and on letters written to his parents by Col. Robert Gould Shaw, this dramatises the creation of the first all-black regiment in the Union army that fought in the US Civil War. It was created as the Confederacy looked dominant and there was an element of desperation, rather than because the army had great faith in this new squad, but the newly promoted Shaw had faith in these men. What now…

Reviewed on March 22, 2025

"Glory" is an extremely important film and you can only hope it is historically accurate. It ought to be with the wealth of material widely available and historians knowlegable in the period being called upon to advise, assist and guide the production. They have contributed to putting a tremendous film on screen which looks suitably authentic and the battle scenes once more reaffirm how futile war always is,…

Reviewed on November 21, 2025