Glory (1989)
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The film follows the formation and heroic actions of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the Union Army's first African American regiments during the American Civil War.
The story
During the American Civil War, Captain Robert Gould Shaw is injured at the Battle of Antietam and returns home to Boston on medical leave. Shaw accepts promotion to Colonel commanding the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first black regiments in the Union Army. He recruits a diverse group of men, including his friend Cabot Forbes and a bookish African-American man named Thomas Searles. Despite the threat of execution by the Confederacy for any black soldiers captured in uniform, the men of the 54th refuse to be discharged and undergo rigorous training under Sergeant-Major Mulcahy to prepare for the fight ahead.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After training, the 54th is ordered to various missions, including a task to burn Darien, Georgia, which Shaw resists until he secures a combat assignment. The regiment eventually fights at James Island, where Thomas is wounded but saves Trip. Later, they are assigned to a high-stakes mission to capture Fort Wagner. The night before the assault, the soldiers hold a religious service. During the battle, the 54th suffers heavy losses; Shaw is killed while attempting to rally his men, and Trip is mortally wounded while leading the survivors with the regimental flag. The film concludes with a postscript showing that while Fort Wagner was not captured, the bravery of the 54th led the Union to accept thousands more Black men for combat, a move President Lincoln credited with helping turn the tide of the war.
- First release year
- 1989
- Runtime (minutes)
- 122
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Edward Zwick
- Writers
- Kevin Jarre · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Matthew Broderick · Colonel Robert Gould Shaw; Denzel Washington · Private Trip; Cary Elwes · Major Cabot Forbes; Morgan Freeman · Sergeant Major John Rawlins; Andre Braugher · Corporal Thomas Searles; Jihmi Kennedy · Private Jupiter Sharts; Cliff DeYoung · Colonel James Montgomery; Alan North · Governor John Albion Andrew
- Genres
- epic; historical war drama
- Themes
- racial inequality; sacrifice; civil rights
- Tone and mood
- serious; heroic
- Setting
- The American Civil War (1860s) in locations including Massachusetts, Georgia, South Carolina, and Maryland.
- Premise and plot tags
- war; historical; civil rights
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews, particularly for Denzel Washington's performance. It is noted for its strong storytelling and cinematography, and it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · scale: percent · review count: 60; Metacritic · score: 78 · scale: 100 · review count: 22
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Supporting Actor · won; Golden Globe · Best Supporting Actor · won; BAFTA Award · Best Cinematography · nominated; Kansas City Film Critics Circle · Award · won; Political Film Society · Award · won; NAACP Image Awards · Award · won
- Production trivia
- The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2025.; The script was originally intended to be written by Lincoln Kirstein and Lloyd Fonvielle.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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