A highly acclaimed 1989 war epic starring Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman will no longer be part ofNetflix’s library starting next month. The film follows an all-black regiment led by a white officer, as they face racism and incredible odds during the American Civil War.
Glory leaves Netflix in June
Netflix will drop Glory from its streaming library on Monday, June 1 (via What’s on Netflix).
Edward Zwick directed the film with a screenplay by Kevin Jarre. It stars Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Andre Braugher, Cliff DeYoung, Alan North, and John Finn, among others.
Glory takes place during the American Civil War. Its story follows a white officer named Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who takes command of the 54th Massachusetts, one of the first official all-black regiments in the Union Army. He trains and leads the men despite the harsh racism from their peers, unequal pay, and brutal conditions. The film gradually builds toward the regiment’s heroic actions at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner
Although dramatized, Glory is based on real events. It draws heavily on two books – Lincoln Kirstein’s Lay This Laurel and Peter Burchard’s One Gallant Rush. It also uses personal letters from Colonel Robert Gould Shaw as a major source.
Tri-Star Pictures handled Glory’s distribution and released it on December 15, 1989. Reportedly, the film cost $18 million to make. At the box office, it went on to generate more than $26.8 million from global markets, making it a commercial success.
Critically, the film garnered a positive reception from the majority. On review-aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes, it has a critics’ approval rating of 95%. The user score is slightly lower at 93%. Meanwhile, IMDb reports a user score of 7.8 based on over 150k users. Furthermore, Glory also received five nominations at the 1990 Oscars. It won three awards, including one for Washington, which was his first-ever win.
Netflix subscribers have until the end of this month to stream Glory on the platform.
