GETTYSBURG, Pa. — This year marks the 30th anniversary of the historical epic Civil War film "Gettysburg," and actors Stephen Lang, Tom Berenger and more than a dozen other cast members returned to the Adams County battlefield Friday to mark the occasion.
Lang, who played Confederate General George Pickett, and Berenger, who portrayed General James Longstreet, joined director Ron Maxwell and other members of the cast at a press conference in Gettysburg's new "Beyond the Battle" Museum to talk about their experience making the film and kick off a three-day celebration.
“The act of making a historical film, in that moment we’re the living generation," Maxwell said. "But we’re making it about a generation that’s long gone. And we’re making it, as I said before, for a generation not yet born.”
Released in 1993, "Gettysburg" was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel The Killer Angels, by the late Michael Shaara. The book connected an entire generation of Americans with this pivotal chapter of U.S. history and quickly gained icon status among students of the Civil War.
The three-day festival, including a director's cut screening of the movie, will feature panel discussions with the actors on the film's intricate themes, its relevance in today's polarized climate, and the enduring significance of Gettysburg as a key place where the Union was preserved.
A full schedule of events and ticket information is available here.
The Gettysburg 30th Anniversary Festival has been organized by a group of nonprofit organizations, including the Adams County Historical Society, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground, The American Battlefield Trust, the Gettysburg Foundation, Main Street Gettysburg, and the Seminary Ridge Museum.
