The film stars scott schwartz as laserdisc wielding teenager scott schwartz as. It was produced by cinerondecanada and independentinternational pictures and premiered at the paris festival of fantastic films in march, 1986. In the film shermans march 1986, ross mcelwee parodies several film. United by theme rather than story, shermans march doesnt progress, it only deepens. Ghost fever is a 1987 american comedy film directed by lee madden and written by oscar brodney. An utterly charming docu, mcelwees personal essaytravelogue parallels and inverses general shermans march during the civil war, centering on lost loves and new ones, shrewdly using the camera. Aliens 1986 allan quatermain and the lost city of gold 1986 american anthem 1986 an american tail 1986 april fools day 1986 armed and dangerous 1986. Ross mcelwee native southerner ross mcelwee wrote and directed this selfindulgent, hypnotic sleeper hit about his own modern retracing of general shermans destructive route. If ever a movie fit that description, it would be ross mcelwees groundbreaking 1986 documentary shermans march, a loping, idiosyncratic reverie through history and the heart, loosely conjoined by the camera lens. That is, i think, one of the signs that the film was effective. In small blackandwhite photographs, she impersonated various female character types from old bgrade movies and film noir.
Shermans march 1986 directed by ross mcelwee, 1986 after his girlfriend leaves him, ross mcelwee takes a voyage along the original route taken by general william sherman but rather than cutting a swath of destruction designed for force the confederate south into submission, as sherman did, mcelwee searches for love, camera in hand, training his lens with phallic resolve on every. Mcelwee began the film with the idea of tracing general shermans decisive campaign through the south, showing how its devastations still linger psychically, if not visibly. Sustained union, cut off their supplies, destroy their communications and produce among the people of georgia a thorough conviction of the personal misery which attends war, and the utter helplessness. Osu students contribute to online archive of the american.
Raiders of the living dead headhunters horror house. Sherman, one of the unions leading generals, led his troops on a mission now known as shermans march to the sea, his primary objective was to end the confederacys ability to make war. The campaign began with shermans troops leaving the captured city of atlanta on november 15 and ended with the capture. A meditation on the possibility of romantic love in the south during an era.
Filmmaker ross mcelwee states in the films opening shots that, as a native southerner, he had always been fascinated with the psychological effect that union general william tecumseh sherman has had on the region. A meditation on the possibility of romantic love in the south during an era of nuclear weapons proliferation is a 1986 documentary film written and directed by ross mcelwee. Shermans devastating sweep through georgia and the carolinas during the last days of the u. In a time when most films, and certainly to my mind all of reality tv, are forgettable, this film is not. Shermans infamous scorchedearth march through the confederacy in the. In november and december 1864, general sherman marched his troops. A meditation on the possibility of romantic love in the south during an era of nuclear weapons proliferation, 157 minutes, d.
It was awarded the grand jury prize at the 1987 sundance film festival. This clip, from the conquerors, provides background on shermans objectives and the plan to carry them out. A documentarians attempts to study the effects of general sherman. At the beginning of ross mcelwees shermans march, the film maker tells us that he had originally planned a documentary about the aftereffects, which are still to be found in georgia and the. When first run released ross mcelwees sundance award winning shermans march in 1986, it went on to become one of the largest grossing documentaries ever. In addition to the thorough and engaging narrative, davis includes eyewitness accounts from hundreds of soldiers and civilians that serve to make history come alive in this work of non. Mcelwee initially planned to make a film about the effects of general william tecumseh shermans march through georgia and the. Shermans march 2001 documentarian ross mcelwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing general william t.
When the documentarian is dumped by his girlfriend, ross mcelwee decides to retrace general shermans civil war march on atlanta, hilariously exploring romance and the mystique of southern women along the way. When first run released ross mcelwees sundance award winning shermans march in 1986, it went on to become one of the largest grossing. Shermans march is a 1986 autobiographical documentary film written and directed by ross mcelwee as mcelwee himself explains onscreen, the film was originally meant to be a documentary about, yes, william tecumseh shermans march to the sea through georgia in late 1864, and his followup march through the carolinas in early 1865, which concluded with confederate surrender and the end of the. The film is directed by rick king and the executive producer is jason williams. Shermans march is an extraordinary documentary by ross mcelwee that mixes american history, a romantic quest, and the search for meaning in the early 1980s. Cindy shermans series untitled film stills took place over a fiveyear period beginning in 1977 when she was 23 years old. Shermans march to the sea also known as the savannah campaign or simply shermans march was a military campaign of the american civil war conducted through georgia from november 15 until december 21, 1864, by maj. The yeasty comic conceit of shermans march is this.
Depressed and hopeless, mcelwee decides instead to make a film about southern women. And shermans chief legacy may be the nature of the women. While shermans march is overlong and sometimes selfindulgent, mcelwee has a gift for capturing some truly quirky moments and people on film. Anne sarah rubin talked about union general william tecumseh shermans march to the sea and the concept of civilized war. The great thing about shermans march is the overall simplicity of the idea. After charleston, a change of focus for mfa student duke. Shermans march is a 2007 american civil war television documentary film first aired on the history channel. I cant think of another film in which erotic interest has been so finely tempered. The success of such a personal film depends completely on the personality of the director ross mcelwee, whos decided to put himself in front of the camera in a project that began as one thing. Ross mcelwee is an award winning documentary film maker whos films include shermans march, bright leaves, six oclock news and something tho do with the wall.
Read about the shermans march dvd and browse other dvd movies. Film can provide an added visual and vocal account of the research process. Rent shermans march 1986 starring ross mcelwee on dvd and bluray. Audiences and critics alike fell in love with mcelwees quirky, funny and fascinating newsweek firstperson narratives that would help define a new era of personal documentaries. Shermans march 1986 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. The production combines narration with reenacted dramatic sequences as its foundation. An alltime top indiefilm, one of the first ever for me. A disarmingly engaging personal documentary, shermans march is a portrait of a man in personal crisis that is also an often hilarious ode to southern women. Ross mcelwee sets out to make a documentary about the lingering effects of general shermans march of. The plot concerns detectives buford and benny being sent to a haunted house.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Shermans march is a 1986 autobiographical documentary film written and directed by ross mcelwee. And davis notes, without bias, that shermans march to savannah went virtually unopposedthis despite the dire predictions of military men everywhere who shared an apocalyptic vision of the fate awaiting shermans army, surrounded in swamps and woodlands, fired on from fences and hedgerows, and bled to death by georgia guerrillas. Rent shermans march 1986 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Though he almost always starts off to make a film about some legitimate subject in this case, general william sherman s infamous march to the sea during the civil war, the movies ultimately never pan out, or the focus changes as mcelwee finds something more interesting to focus on. Shermans march is the popular name of the savannah campaign conducted by general sherman during the american civil war. As mcelwee himself explains onscreen, the film was originally meant to be a documentary about, yes, william tecumseh sherman s march to the sea through georgia in late 1864, and his followup march through the carolinas in early 1865, which concluded with confederate surrender and the end of the american civil war. It has won best documentary awards at numerous film festivals, been cited by the. Winner of the grand jury prize at the sundance film festival.
United by theme rather than story, shermans march doesnt. Raiders of the living dead is an american independent horror film of the zombie subgenre. In 1986, the filmmaker ross mcelwee released shermans march, an. Ross mcelwee documents his march, akin to admiral shermans, from north carolina through the south, in search of true romance. Filmmaker ross mcelwee shermans march, bright leaves finds himself in frequent conflict with his son, a young. At the beginning of ross mcelwees shermans march, the film maker tells us that he. Ross mcelwee sets out to make a documentary about the lingering effects of general shermans march of destruction through the south during the civil war, but is continually sidetracked by women who come and go in his life, his recurring dreams of nuclear holocaust, and burt reynolds. Shermans march 1986 film, a documentary by ross mcelwee. Award winning shermans march in 1986, it went on to become one of the largest. The film was released on march 27, 1987, by miramax films.
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