ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Wuchak RELEASED IN 2015 and directed by Sean McNamara, "Field of Lost Shoes" (aka "Battlefield of Lost Souls") chronicles the Civil War Battle of New Market wherein the Confederates were forced to enlist the aid of cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) to stave off Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley. While the story properly focuses on the young'uns, notable actors like Jason Isaacs, David Arquette, Keith David, Lauren Holly and Tom Skerritt are also on hand. This particular occasion in history is pretty famous and I even remember reading about it in war comics when I was a kid, so it's interesting to finally see a cinematic depiction of it. The no-name youths are up to the challenge and, thankfully, they throw in some females to keep things interesting (e.g. Mary Mouser). Practically all the main characters are based on real-life people, including David as "Old Judge," who continued working for the VMI after attaining his freedom. Speaking of the VMI, the institute is still in use today and the movie was partially shot there.One of the worst things about slavery is that it broke up families when a buyer would purchase one member of a family, but not the others. This is powerfully depicted in the opening."Field of Lost Shoes" is mostly a drama about the preparations for war during the Civil War, but when the action comes at almost the hour mark it's pretty effective and thrilling. The biggest downside of Civil War combat was that officers on both sides used outdated military tactics, which they learned from West Point & other academies. These tactics hailed from the Napoleonic wars of the early 1800s. Yet technological advances produced rifles with superior aim, which resulted in ridiculously long casualty lists. Soldiers had no recourse but to stoically march in formation right into friggin rifle and canon fire. Sure, I'd be willing to do this, but only if the Presidents, politicians, generals and colonels marched ahead of me. You get my drift.So the movie's well done, as far as cast, costumes, locations and battle scenes go (despite a couple of clichés, like one guy utterly stopping to blow precious time emoting over a wounded comrade. Why Sure!). The CGI is less effective, but it gets the job done. The story, however, needed some kinks worked out to make it more compelling in the manner of the great "Glory" (1989). Still, I'd watch "Field of Lost Shoes" any day above the relatively dull, sappy and laboriously overlong "Gettysburg" (1993). To offer balance, I love the prequel "Gods and Generals" (2003). THE FILM RUNS 95 minutes and was shot entirely in Virginia (Lexington, Charles City, Powhatan & Richmond). WRITERS: Thomas Farrell & David M. Kennedy. GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)

Connor Curley Some actors stood out for being very dull and stiff in the movie, which given that most of them are very young, it's almost expected. I recognized Most of the main actors/actresses from other movies and their performance was good but far from anything memorable, besides the younger actors performances the movie seemed to do a fair job of explaining the story and expressing the battles. I give it 6 out of 10 because it was fine to watch the first time,but i probably wouldn't want to watch it again. If you want to watch this movie solely because its a civil war movie , you'd most likely be better off watching Glory or other well known civil War movies.

Lina Huynh I believe that this movie was sufficiently accurate to support the events of history during the civil war. Throughout this movie, the viewer was clearly able to see how the lives of the cadets were at the time. It showed their struggles at the young age, along with their sacrifices for their people. In addition, the movie provided the fact that not all southerners supported slavery. There were some who were willing to fight for their family, but wanted a change if they were victorious. However, "Field of Lost Shoes" became a bit cliché. The love story that began in the film was too focused on. I felt as though the story of slavery and the stress and efforts of the cadets and soldiers did not get the attention that was expected given the current situation of the story. Overall, I thought that the movie provided good facts regarding the locations, uniforms of both sides, weaponry, women's clothing and responsibilities, and the tactics used. It is a movie that could have focused more on effects and the main plot, but the details and information were accurate.

Abby Sauer This film had some positives and some negatives. The battle scenes and costumes seemed realistic rather than cheesy. However, the love story was a complete cliché. Libby and Sam claimed they were in love but they barely knew each other and she didn't seem very upset when he died. Although, the ending was surprising which is a plus. It was surprising to see which boys died and which ones did not. The title was sadly fitting. All the boys lost their shoes in the mud. Then there was the heartbreaking scene at the end where Sir Rat and Judge cried over the shoes and the cruelties of war. This movie depicted the negative aspects of war and how it affected the soldiers that bravely fought it.