I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

A different way of telling a story

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

If you ever find yourself with a long afternoon and nothing to do, head down to the video store and pick this one up. For drama-lovers, this is about the most dramatic movie around. Andersonville reveals so much about human nature as clans of prisoners form and battle each other for limited resources, some become delusional and die in the throngs of madness, and others starve from sheer despair. The complex characters in the film are its most compelling element, and their realism will convince the viewer that he is watching these scenes unfold from the guard tower. I was glued to the screen for the whole (very long) movie. It gets even better when you realize that 15,000 prisoners actually died in this camp in the Civil War.

Good movie, some electric acting and action scenes, but drifts into the arena of silly on more than a handful of occasions.Gotta disagree with some of "historynut"'s points....for one, I think the TV Guide review of this film hit the nail on the head with regards to the acting: "the performances have the subtlety of sports broadcasting". And that excludes Jan Triska's performance as Captain Wirtz, which I think stole the film along with William Sanderson and Freddy Coffin. All three are over-the-top performances, but each actor knew how to pull it off. The main group of "heroes", however, played up everything they could to IMAX-scale proportions. Oftn to the point where sometimes....well, cartoonish wouldn't too far off in describing it.And as far as the use of reenactors, Frankenheimer does use them very well here, as mentioned by historynut. Where it slips away from him seem to be the stunts...check out the prisoner v.s. raider brawl, led by Limber Jim. There's some play-fighting going on that has not been seen since my high school production of West Side Story.And as far as past reenactor usage in film...I agree they were used well in Glory. I also agree that reenactors were used not-so-well in "Gettysburg". However, for all its instrinsic faults, Maxwell seemed to have learned his lesson when using reenactors in "Gods and Generals". There was a FAR more strict screening process in the casting of onscrean reenactors than in "Gettysburg" (I, too, participated in that film). As well, and perhaps most importantly, Maxwell did not let ANY reenactor attempt his own "death" or even "maiming" in any of the major battle shots without prior expressed permission by him, his A.D. or his stunt coordinator. When reenactors were chosen to "get hit", they were then properly coached in how to take a death fall, and placed strategically away from the actors and stuntmen. "Gods and Generals" also had a much higher production value than here, but that goes with the huge budget the film had.

This film won three awards and was nominated for several others. The directing, acting, editing, script and cinematography are all of a high standard. It seemed quite authentic, and this is confirmed by the comment below. Even if you do not normally like 'films of this type', this film is worth watching or even studying, because of the overall excellence. An admiration of the quality of this film is probably the reason that the brutal story that it portrays did not place a heavy or negative feeling upon me. Lesser films would contaminate the story with adding romance, light comedy or bright flashbacks. This film powerfully gives the viewer a strong sense of realism.

The movie Andersonville was one of intense drama. The historical subject matter made the film all the more pertinent to society today. Man against Man, Brother against Brother. That is what the Civil War was, and Andersonville was its worst. Men treating other men like animals and game for sport. The utter despair. The terrible suffering.Andersonville is set during the Civil War, in the south, in a Prisoner Of War camp run by the Confederate Army. The story depicts the conditions of suffering that the Union soldiers endured while held captive. The best and the worst of humanity is shown in this film as the viewer is shown all ends of the spectrum of pain and suffering.Peter Murnik's character, Limber Jim, was the voice of conscience in this film. Jim was the one who finally stood up to the injustice that other Union soldiers were enacting against their fellows. It was Jim who rallied the troops to a riot to stop the "Raiders" from continuing their carnage. Not a single 'Peter' scene went by without the viewer sensing the intensity. He portrayed it in his face, in his demeanor and most of all, in his eyes. In this film, Peter said so much without uttering a word. The look he gave in his eyes told the viewer the intensity of his feelings. His determination. His desire to see the wrongs righted. In a sense, Limber Jim was one of the saviours of this film. His standing up to the injustice he witnessed and lived through, enabled his fellow prisoners to also rise up and change the world around them, as small as it was.In spite of the fact that this was a film and an artistic production, the real Andersonville shone through. The viewer came away knowing the despair that the Union soldiers felt and lived. There was no question that humanity, as a whole, had been wronged by the cruelty that took place at Andersonville. The human race came away from Andersonville worse off for having realized that we could fall so far from the very civilization we pride ourselves on creating to treat other fellow human beings the way the Union soldiers were treated.Andersonville actually existed, and does so today as a Federal Park and tourist attraction. This movie is a very good link in telling the tale that so many never got to tell. The actors, staff and crew of Andersonville did such a magnificent job that anyone seeing this movie will know what it was like to have been there. They will know the suffering, the pain, the disease, the despair. The cast and crew are to be applauded for their efforts.In his bio, Peter lists Andersonville as one of the projects he is most proud of. And, well he should be. He did an excellent performance and is to be commended. It will go down as one of the favorites with his fans. Once again, Peter's genius comes shining through.