The PG/PG13 violence...
I wonder if, had the violence been portrayed more accurately (and hence been given an R rating) the film would have had a greater impact on the public, and not just on Civil War buffs/historians and a few fans.
Every time I see a cannon ball "explode" and see the soldiers gently flying through the air and landing in one piece, no sign of blood or limbs missing, I cringe. Every time I see someone get shot and exaggerate their wound (again with little/no blood and often not even a puncture wound!) again I cringe.
Having said all that, I absolutely realize with certainty that film could have been the most violent film ever made, even more violent than Braveheart, even more violent than Saving Private Ryan. Yes, I get it. Maxwell very wisely decided (perhaps due to budget, perhaps due to Ted Turner) that the level of violence needed to be soft.
Still, I can't help but feel all that effort and time spent making this film was wasted. I watch this film sometimes because it is easy to forget. It just doesn't have the emotional impact that say, Glory has. I haven't seen Glory for years and years but that film is so intense that it stayed with me forever. It is also regarded as the greatest Civil War film ever made (aside from perhaps Gone With the Wind, but that is more a period piece set during the Civil War).
I don't know, it just seems the film manages to portray the battle of Gettysburg as "not all THAT bad" due to people being gently thrown through the air and landing in one piece on the grass, when every single historian knows with absolute clarity that a cannon ball (especially canister fire) would tear limbs off of people and even blow them in half.