I had heard of this movie but had never seen it myself until tonight on Turner Classic Movies as part of their memorial day weekend line-up. What a great film! Great cast too. The ending battle scene truly had me riveted. As an American, I think it may be uncomfortable for some to see the treatment of black people in our history portrayed in film. At the same time, I think it is important that the truth be shown as accurately as can be done and that the contributions of former slaves be discussed. I'm glad to read on these boards of teachers showing the film to young people. it reminds me of how my teachers discussed Roots when I was a kid.

Love the music in this movie. Exactly perfect to what is going on.

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I just rewatched as it's been playing a lot recently; no doubt because of the Confederate flag kerfuffle. This was always among my top favorite films, but it's been so long since I've seen it it dropped out. It's back
Call them
ISIL
. Isis is an overloaded term that has many other legitimate uses.

I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it and was sad it did not get the recognition it deserved at the Oscars.
"That Barney Rubble, what an actor!!" -Night Shift

The music the movie are fantastic. By far my favorite movie of all time.

I heard the music in another room and thought Braveheart was on tv. He uses the same 3 bells when the army is about to attack.

The soundtrack was composed by James Horner, and is actually one of my favorites of all time.
But if you listen closely to it, and then listen to his theme to 'Avatar', you will find that the Avatar theme is almost a note-for-note copy of his secondary theme for "Glory". I can't even watch 'Avatar' without being bugged by the similarity.

I like this movie..i do have a complaint about the soundtrack..which is OK..but to me overdone to the extreme setting up melodrama to the point of overuse..anyway..

Yep. They were pity nominations.

@Degree7
So let me get this straightyour claim is that they ignored it by nominating it for awards and by giving it awards.
Is that correct?

I'm not being racist. You're being racist by ignoring how the Academy ignored this movie because they're racist.
~ That's much too vulgar a display of power, Karras.

@Degree7
It was ignored by the Academy for the major awards because it had a majority black cast.
It was nominated for 5 awards and won three (Denzel Washington). It was nominated for several other awards,Denzel Washington also won a Golden Globe. And it won a grammy too.
But you should definitely ignore the facts and continue on with your racist rants. It makes you sound so smart!

Facts facts are useless things.
~ I've been very lonely in my isolated tower of indecipherable speech.

Yet Denzel Washington won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
We applied Rule .303. We caught them and we shot them under Rule .303!

It was ignored by the Academy for the major awards because it had a majority black cast.
~ I've been very lonely in my isolated tower of indecipherable speech.

^^^This

I think the subject matter is too heavy for some people. They want escapist entertainment that doesn't require any thought, nor the possibility of becoming emotionally attached to a character or plot. Others avoid movies like this because it might force them to take stock of themselves and their personal beliefs/morals. Others don't enjoy watching the horrors of war. Finally, some just don't like good movies.

As others mentioned, wasn't marketed well. I never watched it until one of my U.S. history professors showed it to us in class. I would say it is one of my favorite movies of all time.
There are no ordinary moments. There is always something going on. Peaceful Warrior

This Texas history teacher loves this movie and shows it to my students. Your comment was ignorant and unnecessary.

Gettysburg isn't that good.
There is no such thing as a hipster.

Better than Gettysburg? You bozo.

in my opinion the best, civil war movie ever made.
I certainly prefer this to The Birth of a Nation or Gone With the Wind.

I have been a movie fan for 40 years and this film never came on my radar, nor was it ever shown on British TV, so I can see what the OP meant about 'not popular'. Also the profit on the film is on the low side (gross $26m, cost $18m) suggesting it didn't get a big popular runs in theatres as similarly expensive blockbuster war films.
I only found this movie when searching out all imdb highly rated movies on Amazon and Netflix, which I did before these lists were on the web for all. It takes a time to warm up as a movie but it is really gripping and dramatic. Amazing to see Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Andre Braugher acting off each other.
Also before watching this movie, as a Brit I had naively thought that, at time of the war, everyone from the North was anti-slavery and everyone from South was pro-slavery. But the movie shows it was not as simple as that, there was racial prejudice on both sides, and of course I hadn't realised that the Union soldiers may actually resent anyone who is black because without them, they would not have to fight in the first place.