Field of Lost Shoes

I believe that this movie was sufficiently accurate to support the events of history during the civil war. Throughout this movie, the viewer was clearly able to see how the lives of the cadets were at the time. It showed their struggles at the young age, along with their sacrifices for their people. In addition, the movie provided the fact that not all southerners supported slavery. There were some who were willing to fight for their family, but wanted a change if they were victorious. However, "Field of Lost Shoes" became a bit cliché. The love story that began in the film was too focused on. I felt as though the story of slavery and the stress and efforts of the cadets and soldiers did not get the attention that was expected given the current situation of the story. Overall, I thought that the movie provided good facts regarding the locations, uniforms of both sides, weaponry, women's clothing and responsibilities, and the tactics used. It is a movie that could have focused more on effects and the main plot, but the details and information were accurate.

What I assumed about this low budget period piece came true. Unfortunately its littered with problems from the production, story telling and pacing of the movie.. The noticeable civil war re-enactments embedded to the battle scenes took me right out of the movie and the long and establishment camera shots had terrible cgi. The one thing I did enjoy was the fact that all the cadets had different motivations for fighting in the civil war. If you're a civil war buff it's worth watching but I couldn't see myself viewing this more than once. The last positive thing I'll say about this movie is I enjoyed the score, especially towards the end while the battle is taking place.

A great part of the movie was it's historical accuracy. Showing confederate soldiers without shoes and low on supplies, with the facts about the tributes to the group of cadets by the Virginia Military Institute today in the beginning and the end. It tells stories of perseverance, love, and sacrifice all at once. Right when it felt like it was starting to drag in the middle it threw a twist to keep things interesting. This movie is underrated, and a great showing of the side that isn't shown as often.

This is a film dedicated to the boys of the Virginia Military Institute who in May of 1864 answered the call from Confederate General Breckenridge to go to defend their homeland from the oncoming Union Army of General Ulysses S. Grant.

They were mere cadets of varying age and all went to fight at the Battle of Newmarket Gap. The film follows the plight of seven cadets and incorporates their back stories up to a point and the issues of slavery. The slavery aspect is used as the sole reason for the Civil War and is posted right up front. That kind of myth should really be stopped from any more propagation as the causes were never that simple and it is only with retrospect that the nobler cause of emancipation was ever used to justify the slaughter. Still I digress.

The film itself is rather good; it balances the comradeship and action perfectly and is filmed using real actors / re-enactors for the main battle which is also done very well. It is overly sentimental but then I am a sucker for such and never mind that at all. The title 'The Field of Lost Shoes' is in reference to the many that became unshod in the fog and mud of the battle. Noteworthy performances are aplenty - but Jason Isaacs as Breckenridge is extremely good at getting the Southern charm with steely resolution just right. All in all a film that war fans and indeed some history fans will appreciate.

Ever since having seen Ken Burns' magnificent documentary, "The Civil War", I've become somewhat of a "Civil War buff". Remember that episode of "Seinfeld"- George is like, "I always wanted to be a Civil War buff"- ?? LOL I saw this movie off Netflix the other day- pretty much standard direct-to-video fair in terms of overall production values. But I still liked this movie. It is based on the Battle of New Market fought in Virginia on May 15, 1864 in the American Civil War. The cast was good- Jason Isaacs, Lauren Holly, Keith David, David Arquette and Tom Skeritt played Ulysses S. Grant. President Lincoln was played by an actor named Michael Krebs, who has portrayed Lincoln in film and presentations throughout the United States. The main characters were a group of young people mostly played by unknowns, which worked out since it was less certain who would make it out alive at the end. All-in-all, thumbs up for this one.