Reviewed by Michael Peck
The Military Book Review

Presented by the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee, Three Days of Destiny covers the 140th reenactment of the battle. Seemingly using every Civil War reenactor in the nation, this video is part documentary, part drama.

The dramatic portions will be familiar to those who have seen Ken Burns' Civil War series and the epic (yet strangely unimpressive) feature film Gettysburg. Filmed in conjunction with the reenactment, Three Days of Destiny features voiceovers by actors reading letters and memoirs written by the combatants, as well as the obligatory battle scenes with smoke, cannons and bewhiskered gentlemen grandly waving swords.

Interspersed with the dramatics are glimpses of how the reenactment was done, from a look at the pyrotechnics (350 pounds of dynamite more than simulates a cannon shell) to an interview with a desperate actor who used little tricks to nag a producer into letting him play Confederate General A.P. Hill. ("Hey, I'm hungry. Let's go to the A&P supermarket.")

This is not a high-budget film. Some of the voiceovers are leaden, while the acting often is more worthy of the Gettysburg High School drama club than the greatest battle of the Civil War. Truly weird is the scene where a tenor strides over the battlefield singing "Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground." But there are poignant moments as well, such as when a Confederate general listens tenderly as his dying Union counterpart asks that his last words be conveyed to his wife.

Yet most aficionados will see Three Days of Destiny for the battles, and director Robert Child doesn't stint. Probably three-quarters of the film are battle scenes, ranging from mass cannonades and bayonet charges to swirling cavalry combat. They don't have quite the immersive quality of a Hollywood epic, but at least the soldiers aren't digital. There is something about a war movie that demands flesh-and-blood people instead of computer graphics. The reenactors may not be great actors, but you can be sure that their weapons and the way they march are as authentic as dedicated, passionate human beings can make them. And if that appeals to you, if there is something mesmerizing about watching people with a genuine love of living history, then Three Days of Destiny is worth watching.