THE URGE TO EMBRACE “Gods and Generals” is so strong as to be almost overwhelming. It is a beautiful, serious movie about the Civil War that holds tight to the trail of truth. It is well acted and scrupulously made. Anyone who has recently suffered through Hollywoodized history–Pearl Harbor, “The Messenger,” “Thirteen Days”–will surely run to “Gods and Generals” if for no other reason than director Ronald Maxwell gets things right.

No small achievement, that.