DVDs:

	Pharaoh's Army Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson Lions Gate, 2004 average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Sarah Anders (Patricia Clarkson) has good reason to hate the Yankee invaders, but Captain Abston (Matewan's Chris Cooper) is a gentle warrior, doing his duty with civility and honor (which is more than can be said about his unruly soldiers). Nevertheless, the Civil War's stranglehold still grips this divided region of Kentucky hills, where a gruff preacher (Kris Kristofferson) tries to uphold delicate moral order. Tensions rise, and blood will be shed, but Pharaoh's Army (which takes its title from a biblical passage) is more concerned with the roiling emotions stirred by war and death, and the extra effort required to maintain one's decency in the context of conflict. There's not a false note in this entire film, and each performance is perfectly pitched to capture a specific time and place, so it's easy to imagine that this incident unfolded very much as Henson shows it. In the roll call of little-known independent films, Pharaoh's Army should not be forgotten. --Jeff Shannon

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REAL LIFE Cinema

Let's face it, there aren't that many great Civil War films out there. "Glory," "The Horse Soldiers" and maybe "The Blue and the Gray" & "Cold Mountain" are the only ones I can recall off hand. "Gettysburg" was a bloated, melodramatic, artificial bore (made exclusively for Civil War buffs, whatever that is) and I've never seen its prequel. Nor have I seen "Ride with the Devil."

The peculiarly-titled "Pharaoh's Army" is a 1995 indie film about a real-life incident that took place in Kentucky during the Civil War. Because Kentucky was a border state the allegiances of its people were split between North & South. I'm sure it was hard to be neutral.

THE PLOT: A Union captain (Chris Cooper) and four soldiers invade a young widow's farm in the Kentucky wilderness (the widow is played by Patricia Clarkson); since her husband fought and died for the Confederacy they supposedly have the right to her livestock, even though she argues that she and her boy will likely starve to death come winter. One of the soldiers is accidently wounded and they are forced to stay for a few days. The captain attempts to be a gentleman and even helps out on the small farm, but he fails to win any kind of favor with the widow, who views them as nothing more than invading enemies (or, more frankly, Yankee scum). Events turn deadly and the captain, even though a godly gentleman, is forced into the intense position of killing the widow and her boy. Will he?

Although the story is based on real events and takes place during the Civil War, this is not an epic war film with big battle scenes, strategizing generals, etc. The entire film takes place in and around the widow's small farm and focuses soley on the events that take place there. This limited scope may turn some viewers off.

Even though this is a small indie film, the score, cast, acting and writing are all top notch. The story is fairly slow-paced and there are no cataclysmic events to arouse those with ADD. The first time I saw it, I though it was good, but not great. I viewed it again about a year later (earlier this summer) and liked it even more. Lately images of this picture have popped into my mind and something occurred to me: The way this film plays out and is presented to the viewer is REAL LIFE. What I mean is that it's almost as if someone went back in time and actually filmed the actual events. This is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. I tire of all the silly hollywoodisms common in modern American cinema -- supposedly humorous one-liners, unrealistic action scenes, excessive explosions, melodrama, unconvincing dialogue, etc.

The ending is powerful as the captain, a good man, is thrust into a position of cold-blooded murder in the name of war. It's intense, and so REAL. The insanity of war can easily turn the best of us into heartless killers.

The cover of the DVD prominently features Kris Kristofferson, but his role as a pro-South Kentucky preacher is relatively minor.

FYI: "Pharaoh's Army" was acually filmed in Kentucky, no doubt near where the real events took place.

BOTTOM LINE: This is a small film about a minor peripheral incident during the Civil War. It's not a big league Hollywood picture with the corresponding melodramtic, pretentiousness like, say, "Saving Private Ryan" (although that film has some undeniable positive qualities, like the D-Day invasion, there are way too many forced, artificial moments and dialogue -- remember the moronic dog tag scene?). "Pharaoh's Army" is generally a quiet film and likely won't blow you away or anything. What it has in its favor, however, is unpretentious REALISM. It's refreshing; and it will stay with you.

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PHAROAH'S ARMY

Pharoah's Army tells of the tragic true events which were caused by Mr. Lincoln's decision to hold "the union" together no matter what the cost. It shows the beginning of the hubris which today has brought us the likes of Bush and Cheney. And it tragically shows how good people always bear the burden of war. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who is a history buff.


good Civil War era movie

Pharaoh's Army covers one important but often overlooked slice out of life during the Civil War involving one Confederate family. Hint; Hide the food! Highly recommended. Moviemaniac

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Not bad

This is a Civil War movie with a bit of a western flare. Not a bad movie, personally I wish I had purchased a used copy. It may have not been worth the full purchase price to add it to the collection. I'm not sure why Kristofferson is so prominantly displayed on the cover since he's only in the movie for 10 minutes at most...


reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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"GREAT INDIE FILMS"