Civil War Movie Recommendations?

[wdwstateofmind]

Just finished Gettysburg and Gods and Generals. Both were fantastic and have me in a war movie watching mood.

Can anyone recommend some more modern (80s and on) Civil War Era movies I may enjoy? Both Cold Mountain (not enough action) and Glory (I'm from the north and in reality it can be argued the Civil War wasn't even entirely about slavery; while it was relevant, it was ultimately used as a ploy for northern support) can be skipped. I've viewed them both and don't care for their lack of historical accuracy and/or actors (I just can't take Jude Law in the Romanian Mountains as being a confederate soldier in the Smokeys).

 

[mcurtiss]

"Andersonville" was very good, IMO. also, the "North and South" TV miniseries (1980s) was decent watching.

 

[wdwstateofmind]

"Andersonville" was very good, IMO. also, the "North and South" TV miniseries (1980s) was decent watching.

I actually downloaded Andersonville and have yet to watch it...I will look into North and South, I think I remember it from when I was growing up, I believe Swayze is in it?

 

[PUSH]

I hear Lincoln is a great movie, but I've never seen it. It's not out on Netflix or Redbox yet, either, but it should be in a local movie rental place.

 

[wdwstateofmind]

I hear Lincoln is a great movie, but I've never seen it. It's not out on Netflix or Redbox yet, either, but it should be in a local movie rental place.

I've already saw it...I dunno if I can call it a Civil War movie per say other than the time period is involved and Lincoln was the president during the war (I like more fighting)...it's a lot of political narrative (intense monologue, not for me) and I really didn't picture Lincoln as you read about him in historical literature (he was not the abolitionist we were taught he was growing up)...

 

[Nemo14]

Ken Burns' PBS special about the Civil war is outstanding. I believe they will be airing it again soon.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Glory, starring a young Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes and Morgan Freeman. I really like this movie, but it makes me sad at the same time.

EDIT: Just saw that you didn't want to watch the film. Nevermind.

 

[englanddg]

One to stay away from is Gettysburg. It is terrible! It is based on a fantastic book by Michael Shaara called "The Killer Angels".

If you are into Civil War history at all, I highly recommend that book.

Shenandoh is a classic film that is also very good. Starring Jimmy Stewart.

Red Badge of Courage is another great movie / great book.

 

[artvandelay]

Ken Burns' PBS special about the Civil war is outstanding. I believe they will be airing it again soon.

And the whole series is on Netflix instant.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I know its not in your time frame, but this being a Disney site I thinks it's obligatory to mention The Great Locomotive Chase starring Fess Parker.

 

[luv]

I know they made a movie based on "The Killer Angels" but I didn't see it and don't remember the title. It was a good book, though.

I still hate putting book titles in quotes. It just looks wrong...because I'm old and we used to underline them back when dinosaurs were teaching us.

ETA: I looked it up. The movie was "Gettysburg" and you already saw it.

"The Longest Day" is a good war movie and even stars at least one person who was there. "Saving Private Ryan" is good, too...but you've probably seen that. And those are D-day movies, not Civil War ones.

Sadly, the first one that leapt to mind was "Gone With the Wind", but that was more about poor Scarlett than the war itself. Still, worth a watch. I cannot believe how many people never read that book or at least watched the movie.

I saw a LOT of war movies in my youth, lol.

 

[wdwstateofmind]

One to stay away from is Gettysburg. It is terrible! It is based on a fantastic book by Michael Shaara called "The Killer Angels".

If you are into Civil War history at all, I highly recommend that book.

Shenandoh is a classic film that is also very good. Starring Jimmy Stewart.

Red Badge of Courage is another great movie / great book.

If you expect a movie based on a book to follow the book then maybe you should stick to Stephen King movies...while I've heard Gettysburg and Gods and Generals changes the books up, their historical accuracy, filming on location, and the need to not actually rush things like a three day battle make Gettysburg and what not tremendous movies...

 

[englanddg]

If you expect a movie based on a book to follow the book then maybe you should stick to Stephen King movies...while I've heard Gettysburg and Gods and Generals changes the books up, their historical accuracy, filming on location, and the need to not actually rush things like a three day battle make Gettysburg and what not tremendous movies...

And, the stilted acting, poor portrayals and casting, poor costuming (clean uniforms, really? Watch it again, only a few are sullied)...and, the movies are both rife with historical inaccuracies, as is Shaara's book.

For example, Buford never held off any troops at the battle for Thoroughfare Gap.

The battle scenes, true to Turner's original vision of them being TV mini-series, do little to shed light on the actual gore of the conflict (though that is a minor point), but it does leave the movies feeling more like Civil War reenactors on the big screen, rather than a portrayal of the horrors of Civil War era land and sea battles.

The movie tends to drag with useless dialogue, and the battle scenes (while Pickett's Charge scene was fantastic), overall glosses over deeper and frankly arguably more strategic aspects of the battle (Culp's hill and Devil's Den both spring to mind as important, and frankly more dramatic than the more famous Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge which the movie chooses to focus on).

Don't even get me started on Martin Sheen as R.E. Lee.

Should they be watched? Sure. Are they fantastic Civil War movies? No. No they are not. You can't get involved in the history, and you don't feel attached in any way to the characters. So, the whole movie just leaves you feeling empty.

Shaara's book, while about as historically accurate as a J.A. Michener novel (it is historical *fiction*), at least carried an engaging plot with characters who ranged from the everyman, to the repentant, to larger than life portrayals. It left you breathless as you turn each page waiting to see what comes next, even though you may already know the climax, or even the details of the story being told.

The movies...failed in this.

If you differ in opinion, I relish that. But, that is why I feel the way I do about them.

 

[wdwstateofmind]

And, the stilted acting, poor portrayals and casting, poor costuming (clean uniforms, really? Watch it again, only a few are sullied)...and, the movies are both rife with historical inaccuracies, as is Shaara's book.

For example, Buford never held off any troops at the battle for Thoroughfare Gap.

The battle scenes, true to Turner's original vision of them being TV mini-series, do little to shed light on the actual gore of the conflict (though that is a minor point), but it does leave the movies feeling more like Civil War reenactors on the big screen, rather than a portrayal of the horrors of Civil War era land and sea battles.

The movie tends to drag with useless dialogue, and the battle scenes (while Pickett's Charge scene was fantastic), overall glosses over deeper and frankly arguably more strategic aspects of the battle (Culp's hill and Devil's Den both spring to mind as important, and frankly more dramatic than the more famous Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge which the movie chooses to focus on).

Don't even get me started on Martin Sheen as R.E. Lee.

Should they be watched? Sure. Are they fantastic Civil War movies? No. No they are not. You can't get involved in the history, and you don't feel attached in any way to the characters. So, the whole movie just leaves you feeling empty.

Shaara's book, while about as historically accurate as a J.A. Michener novel (it is historical *fiction*), at least carried an engaging plot with characters who ranged from the everyman, to the repentant, to larger than life portrayals. It left you breathless as you turn each page waiting to see what comes next, even though you may already know the climax, or even the details of the story being told.

The movies...failed in this.

If you differ in opinion, I relish that. But, that is why I feel the way I do about them.

I get it, no matter what I say you are going to have a problem with it...

 

[prberk]

I've already saw it...I dunno if I can call it a Civil War movie per say other than the time period is involved and Lincoln was the president during the war (I like more fighting)...it's a lot of political narrative (intense monologue, not for me) and I really didn't picture Lincoln as you read about him in historical literature (he was not the abolitionist we were taught he was growing up)...

Sounds like you are trying to find movies that make the Civil War into something you romanticize and want your way (action - modern - ADD-ready, perhaps).

Lincoln was clearly a Civil War movie, as it dealt squarely with the war, just from a political and thought-provoking way and not just from the fighting way. I really liked Lincoln, and I thought it did a good job of presenting the complexity of decision-making duing war, as each decision affects people in the current situation as well as the future generations.

I also like Gone With the Wind for a lot of reasons. Of course it is big and grand, and (oh, this is terrible -- OLD); but I also think it is informative on how many Southerners and some Northerners actually felt (hence the name -- about the "lost cause"). The burning of Atlanta scene, with wounded, tired soldiers coming home, was as dramatic as any today. And it has character development. One thing that I think about in watching that movie is that, made in 1939, many of the actors were only ONE or TWO generations away from the war itself; and may have been decendants of slaves or people who fought in the war. This is especially interesting to me for the folks playing slaves or house servants, or soldiers. They might have pulled some of their performance from real stories.

Anyhow, just some thoughts.

 

[Hrudey3032]

The Blue and the Grey is one of my personal favs. Make sure to get the uncut version as some dvd versions have cut a lot out of it. Tons of mainstream actors in it from the 80's.

 

[prberk]

I still hate putting book titles in quotes. It just looks wrong...because I'm old and we used to underline them back when dinosaurs were teaching us.

ETA: I looked it up. The movie was "Gettysburg" and you already saw it.

Now I was taught that underlining book titles was done for typing term papers primarily because typwriters could not do italics, and that otherwise (such as in publishing) book titles (and also movie titles) were to be italicized, which we can clearly do here.

Songs and chapter titles, however, were to be in quotes.

I think that this is still the rule. People are just lazy, I think, and sometimes myself included; although I am with you on trying to get it right. So, I am going to edit my post above to put the movie titles in italics!

 

[Nemo14]

Now I was taught that underlining book titles was done for typing term papers primarily because typwriters could not do italics, and that otherwise (such as in publishing) book titles (and also movie titles) were to be italicized, which we can clearly do here.

Songs and chapter titles, however, were to be in quotes.

You young whippersnapper, Paul! Back in my day, we underlined because half of us didn't even have a typewriter that could do all those fancy things!

*retreats back to the tarpits*

 

[prberk]

You young whippersnapper, Paul! Back in my day, we underlined because half of us didn't even have a typewriter that could do all those fancy things!

*retreats back to the tarpits*

I remember when I got to use the IBM Selectric at school... and it had a correcting ribbon!! I was in heaven! I could make mistakes and not have to worry so much about how it looked when I used that white caustic eraser (on the pencil-head, remember that -- with a brush on the end, to brush away the eraser particles?)!

Paul

 

[Nemo14]

The remember when I got to use the IBM Selectric at school... and it had a correcting ribbon!! I was in heaven! I could make mistakes and not have to worry so much about how it looked when I used that white caustic eraser (on the pencil-head, remember that -- with a brush on the end, to brush away the eraser particles?)!

Paul

and remember erasable paper - I was sooooo impressed I nearly spilled my white-out!