Glory (1989)

Academy Awards, USA 1990

Winner Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Denzel Washington
	Best Cinematography Freddie Francis
	Best Sound Donald O. Mitchell Gregg Rudloff Elliot Tyson Russell Williams II
Nominee Oscar	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration Norman Garwood Garrett Lewis
	Best Film Editing Steven Rosenblum

Tri-Star Pictures
Directed by Edward Zwick
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Sony)

Matthew Broderick is a captain in the Union army at Antietam, where he survives the massacre by playing dead. His family connections back in Boston get him promoted to colonel. He is assigned to command the first all-black regiment, with his best friend as second in command. The ranks consist of mostly illiterate former slaves eager to fight the southern rebels. However, the spend their time doing manual labor not that much different than their former lives. Broderick blackmails another officer and they get orders to see real combat, which despite some losses they easily win. Broderick next volunteers his unit to lead an attack on Charleston Harbor, even though he knows their will be heavy casualties. They bravely march into battle, finally earning respect. The ultimate movie for fans of Civil War re-enactments, the battle scenes are intense. Broderick may be slightly miscast. Denzel Washington steals every scene in which he appears.