Capt. Lee Briggs: "They say, when you hear sounds of devils, all else is quiet. My general question to that is: how do you know that what you are hearing is the work of such devious beings? I would venture to say that most devilish noises occur when large numbers of men decide to force the hand of mortality upon one another. And I'd say further, that on such occasions there is not just one sound, but many. It is a quiet orchestra of death. It is also possible that the man who wrote that saying might've just had some broke ears . . . I had been moved from one wiped out regiment to the next, witnessing countless moral follies. I met General McClain in the last summer of the war. Peculiar man . . . "
General McClain: "Captain Lee Brigss."
Captain Lee Briggs: "Sir?"
General McClain: "Man of nine lives. You have any idea how many divisions have us pinned here?"
Captain Lee Briggs: "No sir."
General McClain: "Let's just say, enough to make fate unfavorable . . . . Now, well, I've got a job for you, Briggs. It has come to my attention that an object of the grandest design has been discovered east of the Colorado basin. Given the undeniable truth that we here are on a collision course with destiny . . . neither I nor my men will be able to give witness to this object. Someone ought to see it . . . . I reckon it should be you. Sole survivor of the 22nd Connecticut . . . ."
General McClain: "Even one man alive is homage to the rest. Keep a record of your journey, Briggs . . . . . "
Captain Lee Briggs: "To be given a pass, to watch all others go, is perhaps the most troubling thing to one's being . . . "
One of the best opening scenes I've ever seen. The rest of the movie is a little drawn out, but the first scene rocks!
