Simply A Masterpiece

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

"Journey to Shiloh" (1968) details the story of seven youths from Concho County in near-West Texas who travel across the Mississippi to join the Confederate Army and kick some Yankee arse. While they intend to ride to Richmond, Virginia, they end up hooking up with Braxton Bragg's Gulf Coast outfit and fighting in Shiloh, Tennessee. The male ingénues learn a lot on their long journey and their introduction to soldiering and war. Who lives and who dies? James Caan plays the main protagonist, "Captain" Buck Burnett, while the other six "teens" (all well into their 20s) are Michael Sarrazin, Don Stroud, Jan-Michael Vincent, Michael Burns, Paul Petersen and, believe it or not Harrison Ford, a full nine years before his breakthrough with Star Wars, but don't get too excited as he gets the least screen time of the bunch.On the downside, Universal was huge on TV movies at the time and so "Journey to Shiloh" looks like a TV movie; in fact, it was directed by one of their TV movie directors. So don't expect the cinematic scope of contemporaneous Westerns, like "Duel at Diablo," "Bandolero!," "Hang 'Em High" and "Shalako." It looks serviceable, but also phony and stale. A big part of the phoniness is due to the fake Southern countryside, as the movie was shot in Agoura and Thousand Oaks, California, but takes place in East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and adjoining regions. No matter how you slice it, California doesn't look like the deep South, not to mention the studio sets. Another issue is the movie's cartoony vibe. Things that would ordinarily take much longer occur with the quickness of a comic book.Despite these glaring flaws, I found myself ignoring them in favor of the story, particularly as it moved along. You feel like you get to know most of the gang by the end of the movie, Harrison's character being the biggest exception. The "boys" grow from wide eyed youngsters to hardened men over the course of the movie, the biggest rude awakening of course being their baptism into soldiering and war.Speaking of which, I really enjoyed the last third of the film that involves the youths joining up with Bragg's brigade, the ensuing warfare, deaths, injuries, possible desertion and aftermath. Although decidedly comic booky the movie offers a unique glimpse of being a Confederate soldier.The film features no less than four beauties, albeit all relatively short roles: Tisha Sterling as Airybelle Sumner; the un-credited Susanne Benton as the blond saloon girl, Lucy; Brenda Scott as the brunette saloon girl who falls for Buck; and a nurse (Eileen Wesson).FINAL WORD: Someone criticized "Journey to Shiloh" for its obvious low-budgeted faults by pointing out that it's no "Magnificent Seven" or "The Wild Bunch." While this may be technically true I found myself enjoying "Journey to Shiloh" more than these heralded Westerns. Yes, the movie has the unmistakable gloss of one of Universal's factory-made television movies, but it's strong in characters and story, cartoony or not. This is likely because the movie's based on Henry Wilson Allen's excellent novel (aka Will Henry). Some call it an "anti-war movie," but this isn't really true; it's simply a "showing-soldiering-and-war-the-way-it-really-was" movie.The film runs 101 minutes.GRADE: B

James Caan is the star of this interesting but far from great movie. Off his role in El Dorado with the Duke & Mitchum I suppose he earned the role as chief Buck. It's a film about the loss of youth and growth into manhood. It's unclear just how experienced Caan is, particularly with the ladies, but clearly he is capable of Caaning his way into the best bed in Shreveport. The love scenes are handled with more romanticism and yes love, than you'd expect in a near B film.The film does seem to reflect the unhappiness and questioning of the then ongoing Viet Nam war, yet our band of 7 from Texas for the main, soldier on until death accomplishing nothing but filling their duty and being honorable men. They come to question slavery and therefore the basis of the war but aren't able to do anything about it. In that sense the film is believable. I like Caan's performance although not his haircut. He is the strong, silent type but with plenty of charm.It's his movie and he does alright. A great cast of actors not yet at their peak.

The book by Will Henry is absolutely terrific. A joy to read; the laconic dialog is realistic, hilarious ... and poignant. The book is available for cheap on eBay and other sites and I recommend it. Of the seven Concho County boys, Buck is drawn most fully; the others are tantalizing sketches. I saw this movie on TV years ago and I'm amazed at its unavailability on video/DVD, esp. given the "future-star" status of its cast. I most remember the stoic Buck soldiering on as each of his friends/comrades met his fate. The naive perception of war by the young finds itself face to to face with reality in this story. It is believable to think that many of the kids who fought in the Civil War marched off with these kinds of notions in their minds.

I remember seeing this as a 16 year old back in 1968 and really enjoyed it.As I'm typing this, I'm watching it again on the history network and it's interesting to see the people in it and think about their careers over the last 36 year. A young James Caan wearing a silly looking "wig" - a very fresh faced Jan Michael Vincent before he descended into the bottle and is now just a shadow of himself - Don Stroud, a great bad guy in a couple of Clint Eastwood and a fellow named Michael Burns who was a big star back then but just seemed to drop off the face of the earth shortly afterIt was a good story about 7 young guys heading off to fight in the Civil War. A great song and good story - maybe not a classic but very watchable..!!