Having looked forward to seeing this film for quite a while, I was quite let down when I finally managed to view it. Andersonville is a story that needed to be told, but this telling of the tale rattles and rambles trying to find its sense of direction. The production suffers from a rather poorly written script and mediocre acting. There were some decent scenes, and a few good performances, but by and large this was a rather jumbled, boring, over-long, predictable mess. It could have been, and deserved to be, so much more.So unless you really have to see a movie about this notorious prisoner of war camp, I'd give this one a miss.

As a Civil War buff, this is one of my favorite films. If you enjoy romantic war stories, don't rent this. There are no romantic plot lines or even women in the movie. The closest thing to a romantic plot line would be when Martin speaks of his wife and asks Josiah to send her his wedding ring.If you enjoy war films that are not cluttered with cliche romantic plots and are more like buddy films this one is for you. The acting is amazing, and the story if fresh look at a little known part of Civil War history. The only problem with the film is time spent watching the men weaken and starve. Those scenes could have been cut a bit, but overall they are needed in order to feel the despair of the men.The story and characters are completely enthralling and I recommend this film to everyone. Just be prepared to cry.

As a practicing Civil War re-enactor, I have found myself drawn into viewing this movie several times. I considered the movie to be the result of a very thorough and extensive research done by its creators. Everything was completely in accordance with what we in the re-enacting community call "of the period". I am speaking of authenticity. I have studied the true-life accounts left to us in the words of both Union and Confederate soldiers found in exerpts from the pages of their personal diaries, and in so doing, I have been able to combine this newly acquired knowledge with other experiences and studies related to this time period in our nation's history. After doing this, I was then able to formulate unbiased opinions about the movie.We have to remember that the people of the middle nineteenth century were men and women just like us. There was nothing "mysterious" about their ways, their words, their fears and all their other emotions. I felt that these natural human reactions and outlooks were well portrayed by the actors of the movie, "Andersonville".

The movie Andersonville was one of intense drama. The historical subject matter made the film all the more pertinent to society today. Man against Man, Brother against Brother. That is what the Civil War was, and Andersonville was its worst. Men treating other men like animals and game for sport. The utter despair. The terrible suffering.Andersonville is set during the Civil War, in the south, in a Prisoner Of War camp run by the Confederate Army. The story depicts the conditions of suffering that the Union soldiers endured while held captive. The best and the worst of humanity is shown in this film as the viewer is shown all ends of the spectrum of pain and suffering.Peter Murnik's character, Limber Jim, was the voice of conscience in this film. Jim was the one who finally stood up to the injustice that other Union soldiers were enacting against their fellows. It was Jim who rallied the troops to a riot to stop the "Raiders" from continuing their carnage. Not a single 'Peter' scene went by without the viewer sensing the intensity. He portrayed it in his face, in his demeanor and most of all, in his eyes. In this film, Peter said so much without uttering a word. The look he gave in his eyes told the viewer the intensity of his feelings. His determination. His desire to see the wrongs righted. In a sense, Limber Jim was one of the saviours of this film. His standing up to the injustice he witnessed and lived through, enabled his fellow prisoners to also rise up and change the world around them, as small as it was.In spite of the fact that this was a film and an artistic production, the real Andersonville shone through. The viewer came away knowing the despair that the Union soldiers felt and lived. There was no question that humanity, as a whole, had been wronged by the cruelty that took place at Andersonville. The human race came away from Andersonville worse off for having realized that we could fall so far from the very civilization we pride ourselves on creating to treat other fellow human beings the way the Union soldiers were treated.Andersonville actually existed, and does so today as a Federal Park and tourist attraction. This movie is a very good link in telling the tale that so many never got to tell. The actors, staff and crew of Andersonville did such a magnificent job that anyone seeing this movie will know what it was like to have been there. They will know the suffering, the pain, the disease, the despair. The cast and crew are to be applauded for their efforts.In his bio, Peter lists Andersonville as one of the projects he is most proud of. And, well he should be. He did an excellent performance and is to be commended. It will go down as one of the favorites with his fans. Once again, Peter's genius comes shining through.