is it me or do c w movies side more with the confederacy

[charge_of_glory]

I've only seen one so I don't really know, but Glory is a good yankee movie. It actually makes the North look good lol. It seems like a lot of civil war things side with the Confederacy. I was in Gettysburg recently and I was very surprised. Being a Northern town and the site of a huge Union victory, I couldn't believe that it was very Confederate. I guess people look at the North as being the mean "parent", forcing the rebels to behave and all, so they side with the South. It's quite a shame too I think.

[Lawrence63]

Yeah, it seems to me that most Civil War movies are biased to one side. Especially Gods and Generals. The book was fairly balanced, but for some reason the movie was unfairly biased towards the Confederates. The only time you see a union commander is either in the few scenes with Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Whoo hoo!!) or two very small scenes with Winfield Scott Hancock. TV Guide described it as "The life and times of Stonewall Jackson". The book equally and fairly depicted leaders on both sides, yet while watching it I felt I was seeing a big North-bashing on the big screen. Now, Gettysburg was more fairly balanced, but it would have been cooler if Michael Shaara had put Meade in for a bigger part of the book. In the movie, we only see him for a minute, while we see Lee through the entire movie. But, what are you gonna do?

[gettysburg man]

there's this one c w movie that's not documentary and it's about the 54th massachusetts regiment. that movie mainly talks about the 54th massachusetts. so that movie is a nuetral

[daltonlegaleagle]

Let's see, as a Civil War buff and a movie junkie:

1. The Horse Soldiers, starring John Wayne-definitely pro-Federal
2. Glory-bio on the 54th Mass. Colored Regiment-pro Federal as it should have been
3. Gods and Generals-neutral but emphasized Stonewall Jackson and covered 3 battles that the South won, 1st Manasas, Fredericksburg, & Chancellorsville
4. Gettysburg-neutral but emphasized the Lee vs. Longstreet debate which was central to the Confederate dilemma in their offensive; movie also did a good job of trying to provide some context and explanation behind reasons why Southerners and Northerners fought. Who could forget the captured Rebel from Tennessee who was fighting for his "rats!," or of Chamberlain's dialogue with the Irish Sergeant who talked about the divine spark in man as a reason to treat all humans equally, or of the Irishman's response that justice and preservation of the ideals of the Constitution which gave protection to everyone to try to prove that he is a better man. The outcome was a Federal victory, of course. We must wait to see if the 3rd part of the trilogy is neutral or not.
5. Gone with the Wind-pro-southern, but not necessarily pro-Confederacy. The classic love story set in a time where a way of life was turned upside down and destroyed.
6. The Outlaw Josey Whales-another fictional movie which vaguely provides some reasons for why some Missourians on the frontier chose to fight and depicts much of what is ugly about war while dastardizing the leading bad guy, a Yankee, of course!
7. Cold Mountain-a very poor man's Gone With the Wind-hard to say if pro-anything other than Nicole Kidman.
8. The Red Badge of Courage-pro-Union; a bit hokie but with Audie Murhpy, you can't go wrong!
9. Shenandoah-as neutral as Jimmy Stewart is clean!
10. North and South-TV mini-series, neutral with some good points, but too corny, simplistic and stereotypical for my liking.
11. Andersonville-TNT-Ted Turner Production-neutral as it depicts the horrors of that place, but a pro-Union story overall as it should have been told. (just like Gone With the Wind should have been and was told pro-Southern. Lucille Ball actually tried out for the role of Scarlett. Could you imagine that?)
12. Ride with the Devil-another Josey Whales-type movie about the border wars between Kansas Jayhawkers and Missouri Bushwhackers. Neutral depiction where both sides brutally murdered, but presented from the eyes of a couple of Southern Bushwhackers and their reasons for joining.


More American Civil War Movies

• The Blue And The Gray (1982, CBS Mini-Series)
• An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge (1962)
• How The West Was Won (1962)
• USS Hunley (1999)
• The Good The Bad And The Ugly
• Wicked Spring (2002)
• Major Dundee (1965)
• The General (1927)
• The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
• Shadow Riders (1982)
• Gettysburg Three Days Of Destiny (2003)
• Drums In The Deep South (1951)

And, of course, who could forget the classic Ken Burns Documentary: The Civil War, a PBS Documentary in 1990.

Bob

[Colonel Edward DeGreen]

I have seen quite a few CW movies, most pro-South, or even based in the South, yet the ones that aren't usually have terrible flaws that make me proud to be a re-enactor and disgusted with being a Yank... North and South-good neutral series; Glory-the only excelent North movie; The Good/Bad/Ugly-good movie but stinkola accuracy...