GLORY was a really great movie, IMO... I watch it ever so often, love it every time. There was a movie I've seen before, The Blue & the Gray, I think is the title, and it was good, but of course that was several years ago, my memory may be cloudy. Gone With The Wind has to be my most favorite CW movie, although it is inaccurate, I love the fashion...hey! it's my job!
Joined: Feb 29, 2004 Posts: 12 Location: Clarksville, TN
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2005 1:15 am Post subject: Favorite Movies related to the Civil War
Hello,
Once upon a time I was the video reviewer for Blue & Gray magazine and remain very proud to have been a part of that fine publication!
My favorite CW movies are (in no particular order):
The Great Locomotive Chase (highly accurate and one of the war's greatest tales - actually filmed in N. Georgia using period locomotives)
Ride With The Devil - just terrific and shows what a great story can be without zillions for a budget
Pharaoh's Army - same as above - the war in Kentucky and how occupying Yankees dealt with pro-South civilians
Glory - while there's some gaffes, still very good
Shenandoah - just good
Friendly Persuasion - set in Indiana with Quakers dealing with John Hunt Morgan
The Horse Soldiers - just plain fun
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - the finest of the spaghetti Westerns set in the war (some people have guns - others dig)
Red Badge of Courage - Audie Murphy version - just a great story!
I will probably think of some others after I sign off.
As for Gettysburg and Gods & Generals - some points:
Ron Maxwell is NOT a good director. With the bar for war films set so high now with Saving Private Ryan, Band Of Brothers and Enemy At The Gates, his two films pale badly by comparison. The combat scenes in Cold Mountain are very very good - maybe the best in film for the era.
That said, both have moments and the latter is growing on me even if no one talks to each other in the film - the all PREACH to each other! The combat scenes are better here than in Gettysburg except for the Little Round Top/St. Chamberlain scenes, which are top-notch. If they get to do the third book get someone else to do it (assuming that someone else is out there that will wish to lose a ton of cash on another Civil War film)..
Of course, as a Confederate flags historian, I nit-pick the crap out of both films - almost all CS flags in Gettysburg are WRONG for the period (and Lee's army did not have any Second Nationals for the campaign due to a bunting shortage) and the 24th Georgia in Gods & Generals was NOT an all-Irish regiment - only one company was and since their flags doesn't exist today no one knows what they really looked like! I undertand the Irish versus Irish thing he wanted to show there. The Union flags are much better.
But - the best 19th Century war films still remain - Waterloo and Zulu.
"Pharaoh's Army" is a real sleeper (I hardly ever meet anyone else who's seen it) and I finally found it a few months ago on DVD. I love it and watched it twice since.
As for WWII films, have you ever seen "Saints and Soldiers"? Probably one of the very best I've ever seen. It was made on something like a million bucks with no-names and it should win an Oscar. Fantastic acting, suspense, and cinematography. They should get THAT guy to make "Last Full Measure"!!!
You're right about G&G. I wish the actors would talk to each other instead of preaching. Duvall says NOTHING but Lee cliches - the whole goddamn film. I've watched it a couple times, and I fast-forward through Stonewall's bullshitting with his wife. What a snooze.
Turner should make Maxwell give him back the millions Ted lost on the thing.
Get it if you can, Greg. It's terrific, won tons of awards, and everyone who's seen it raves about it. How a movie should be made IMO.
I found my DVD at WalMart (Rick Allen's favorite store) and it's available online.
J.D.
From Amazon:
Quote:
Tagline: There is a time for heroes
Plot Outline: Five American soldiers fighting in Europe during World War II struggle to return to Allied territory after being separted from U.S. forces during the historic Malmedy Massacre.
Plot Synopsis: After surviving a massacre in Malmedy, a location behind the German army in Europe, four American soldiers with only one weapon rescue the British pilot Oberon Winley (Kirby Heyborn) in a tree and they move together, trying to reach the allied forces and save a great number of allied soldiers from a German attack with the information got by Winley in his flight. While marching, each soldier discloses inner secrets to the rest of the group.
Joined: Feb 10, 2004 Posts: 2654 Location: I am here aint I?
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 10:50 pm Post subject:
HI all,
Lets see .
The Horse Soldiers, though I understand there are issues even with that movie.
Gettysburg- A come on my favorite place other then home, the beach and Camp Iroquoina, And even though I see the problems, its till attracts folsk to our favorite passion!
Glory. You all have said enough. A great movie. And every time I here some one start complaining about ah hem race issues I want to grab them and tell them to watch this movie if they want heros.
Though it is not a CW film directly, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" with its direct referneces to the CW in several places, even Myles Keough. Or even right near the end when Sgt Tiree catches up with Col Brittles. Brittles: Will you look at these endorsements, Phil Sheridan, William Tecumsuh Sherman and U.S. Grant The President of the United States, now there is three aces for you!
Tiree; Well I wish it were four! Brittles huh? Tiree: Robert E. Lee.. Brittles hmmm not bad would have been great!
Gets me every time!
GWTW, is my wifes favorite though I sit in silence because of all the historicl inaccuracies.
G & G. I have seen it only once. I still remeber our own Basecat walking out of the theater with me and say "What the H*ll was that!".. I agree with one exception. From reading Robertsons book on him and other materails as well, Langs portrayal is right on the money. It brings at least Stonewall to life again.
THere are several others that come to mine.
My favorite WWII movies? Saving Private Ryan is one. The Band of Brothers series made for HBO has to be one of the finest series done about ANY combat unit in the US military history.
The Guadacanal Diary, With severl well know actors, including a very young Anthony Quinn. In Harms Way is another one. But my all time WWII movis is "The Sands of Iwo Jima".....
Jim
_________________ "The Flag, THE FLAG, Oh THE FLAG! G.K. Warrens last words on his death bed, August 8,1882
There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell. W.T. Sherman
I'll go with the one Mark mentioned -- "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Based on a story by CW veteran Ambrose Bierce, it originally ran, IIRC, as an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Zouave
It was actually one of three Bierce stories filmed by those film makers.
Serling showed Owl Creek as an episode of TZ. It was the only episode w?o one of his momologues.
My favorite Civil War Movie hasn't been mentioned yet. Wicked Spring. I found it on the bargain table at my local grocery store, used dvd. I had no idea what I bought but for 5 dollars it was worth it. I really liked the story .
Pharaoh Army is another favorite. Along with Ride with the Devil
Growing up I loved Horse Soldiers. I saw it not long ago and spent most of the time picking it apart.
Glory is wonderful,
Great Locomotive Chase has been a favorite since I saw it on Disneyland in the 50's . Still love it today I also love The General. Not historically correct but It is BUSTER KEATON!!!!
I also love Johnny Shiloh with Moochie. part of my childhood again
There is one movie that is totaly inaccurate , the women have 60's hair do, I swear they must have zippers in their dresses.
The uniforms on the men are wrong.
But I love this movie. It was made in 1968. Very much an antiwar movie and when you look at it for that it is well done Also helps that the young men are Michael Sarazin, James Caan, Michael Burns, Jan Michael Vincent , Don Stroud, Paul Peterson and in a very small part Harrison Ford .
The movie . . . Journey to Shiloh.
Joined: Jan 22, 2006 Posts: 394 Location: Chicagoland
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:56 am Post subject:
Not sure if any mentioned "Grey Ghost" yet (sorry didn't go back and read the whole post, call me lazy). It was part of the Wonderful World of Disney back in the day. A mini-series that focused on Mosby, it was one of things that triggered my interest in the CW.
Haven't found it yet on DVD. Hopefully someday Disney will release it...along with the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Really loved that one.
Joined: Mar 04, 2004 Posts: 4926 Location: Suburb of Philadelphia
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:58 am Post subject:
Heard a Lot about Wicked Spring. I believe my Good Major owns a copy and one of these days I will borrow it from him! _________________ I Remain
Your Ob't Servant
Allan
Time sets all things right. Error lives but a day. Truth is eternal.
A Great Civilization is not Conquered from Without until It has Destroyed Itself from Within
I own a copy of Wicked Spring. Interesting movie and I thought it had a nice 'feel' for the period. But IMHO it was too slow moving. To that point, I've only watched it once.
~Laura _________________ "The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
Just found this thread on this fabulous website and a memory stirred. When I was even less informed than at present, a prodigious feat considering the current state of my knowledge, there was a short lived TV series The Americans. I can not recall the history aspect of any but one of the episodes. I do, however remember being moved by the human story. A divided family had one son in blue and one in gray. I doubt that the uniforms, weapons, or chronology were correct; that would be asking a bit much of an early '60's TV show. What was memorable was the torment of a family.
The one episode that sticks in my mind was about Ball's Bluff. The only reason for that was due to the double entendre in my juvenile state.
Joined: Jul 05, 2008 Posts: 65 Location: Springfield, IL
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject: Favorite Civil War Movie/TV
My favorite Civil War movie, without a doubt, is "Gettysburg." But a sentimental favorite is "Gone With The Wind" because it was my first introduction to the Civil War. And, Ken Burns' series is a favorite as well.
I really liked "Glory" but felt it was rather "programmatic" in its presentation, and, with all due respect, I don't care for the fact that this is the one Civil War movie that is routinely shown on tv. While it's a powerful movie, so is "Gettysburg" and other movies.
I must say I was generally so disappointed in "Gods and Generals", but there are parts of it that I really enjoy, like the battle scenes and cinamatography. My favorite shot of the entire movie is the depiction of First Manassas and seeing JEB and his cavalry sweeping the field. You get a sense of what it would have been like to see some of the "greats" in action. :>) While Stonewall is one of my favorite Civil War figures, I think a movie which would have depicted him more realistically would have had no hope of mass appeal, i.e. profit. Again, I felt the screenplay was "programmatic" designed to appeal to a general audience of the 21st century, and if you're in the movie "business", I do understand you need to attempt to make a profit. And, I do have to remind myself that Shaara's works were novels. Stephen Lang will always be "Pickett" to me, and even thought he is a wonderful actor, maybe it was hard for me to make the transition of Lang/Pickett to Lang/Jackson. Lang's Pickett embodied my conceptualizion of the general. The scene where Longstreet is explaining the upcoming charge to Trimble, Pettigrew, and Pickett, I've always loved the fact that Stephen Lang, as Pickett, absent-mindedly holds a field flower. To me that small gesture says so much, embodying everything I've ever read about Pickett's personality.
"The Red Badge of Courage" with Audie Murphy is also one of my favorites.
And even though I'm a "chick" I didn't like "Cold Mountain" either...Jude Law or no Jude Law. LOL
I'm reminded of a history professor I had in college who stated he refused to watch a history film because he knew there was no way he could enjoy it because he was constantly critiquing. At the time I couldn't understand his reasoning, but now I do...:>) But I try to enjoy the movie for what it is, and overlook pesky things like accuracy. :>) _________________ "Trust in God and Fear Nothing."
I'd also recommend "Wicked Spring." It is an excellent movie. It has kind of an arthouse feel and is simple but powerful in its presentation. IMHO, I think it's one of the best. :>) _________________ "Trust in God and Fear Nothing."
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