1993 AMARAs (Vote for the winners!) 6/15 deadline

Second point of order: I paused the end credits just now because I did a double take upon seeing Patrick Stewart listed, but it was actually Patrick Stuart. And then I was about to start again when I saw George Lazenby listed a bit below and choked on my cheerios.

Okay, this is a good movie. It is, however, based on a M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E of a novel, and I couldn't help comparing it unfavorably. It is all perfectly acceptable, I have few issues outside of the obvious fake beards and fight scenes that are too vaguely staged to have any impact.

But the movie dispenses with the inner monologues of its (massive) cast of characters, and although the film still works, it cannot work as well as the book because of this. We do not know the thoughts and dreams of all these men unless they monologue these thoughts to others - which does happen a few times! But Maxwell thinks that he can replace an inner monologue with an actor's face or a well-timed cut... and I don't think the editor or a quarter of the cast are good enough for that. Jeb Stuart getting chewed out by Lee has no power because Sheen doesn't communicate how utterly pissed off he is; likewise, Trimble venting about Ewell fucking everything up lacks power because Sheen doesn't have the capacity to show how he is assessing Trimble's analysis. (I don't mean to diss Sheen - I think he does an adequate job and even the best actors would find it near impossible to communicate so much by doing nothing)

What we get is a narratively solid picture that is as good of an adaptation of The Killer Angels as we are going to get. I like the film. I like the absolutely amazing, brilliant, out of this world book more. That is no slight on the movie.