So what happened to the West Point graduating class as the time that the civil war broke out? This little examined facet of the war is the main theme of this movie. As you’d expect, the class splits along Northern and Southern boundaries. West Point suffered greatly as cadets and instructors left and took sides against each other, including the Commandant PJT Beauregard – who became a famous rebel General. The film was only Ok despite the fact it was co-produced by Steven Spielberg and had a number of bright up-and-coming screen starts such as Clive Owen, Lara Linney, Josh Lucas, and Sophie Ward.