THE BIRTH OF A NATION: THE CIVIL WAR (1861-1865)
The early history of the U.S. through film and TV series. Since the films about slavery and the conflict between the northern states and the southern states until the creation of the Confederacy, and the consequent and inevitable Civil War.
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- DirectorHarry A. PollardStarsMargarita FischerJames B. LoweArthur Edmund CareweSlavery tears apart a Black family in the South before the start of the Civil War.
- DirectorGéza von RadványiStarsJohn KitzmillerHerbert LomOlive MoorefieldIn the pre-Civil War South, a sadistic plantation-owner brutalizes his slaves to the point that they have no other choice but to rebel. Always obedient, peaceful, honest old slave Tom plays a central role in this tragedy.
- DirectorStan LathanStarsAvery BrooksKate BurtonBruce DernThe life of an aging black slave, Tom, and the people with whom he interacts.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWallace BeeryRobert TaylorFlorence RiceIt starts in 1844 in Maryland, where Blake Cantrell, plantation owner with slaves, is forced by debts to sell his estate and his people. Then he leaves for Cumberland, looking for a job (first time in his life), and ends up working for a stagecoach line run by Boss Starkey and owned by Susan Griffith. Before love and friendship can triumph, Cantrell will have to commit to the cause of African-Americans in search of freedom.
- StarsLeVar BurtonRobert ReedJohn AmosA dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
- CreatorErnest KinoyStarsDebbi MorganDorian HarewoodPaul KosloThe dramatization of Alex Haley's family line from post Civil War America to the writer's search for his roots.
- DirectorKevin HooksStarsLouis Gossett Jr.LeVar BurtonAvery BrooksOn Christmas Eve 1770, a young African warrior, who three years prior had been captured and sold into slavery in America, leads a desperate group of runaway slaves as they attempt to reach freedom in the North.
- StarsCicely TysonJason BernardClifford DavidA film about the life and career of the African American abolitionist and slave escape leader, Harriet Tubman.
- DirectorJürgen GoslarStarsTrevor HowardRon ElyBritt EklandAs the slave trade is dwindling in East Africa in the late 19th century, two competing slave traders start a brutal violent conflict between each other for the monopoly on the remaining profits.
- StarsAnn-MargretPatricia ClarksonTim DalyA plantation owner's son falls in love with a slave named Easter and together they have a Biracial daughter named Queen. As Queen grows up, she faces the struggle of trying to fit into the troubled world around her. She tries passing for white, but it leads to sorrow in post-Civil War America. Everywhere she goes, she faces obstacles and hardships while searching for happiness and a place to belong.
- StarsJonathan Rhys MeyersMalachi KirbyForest WhitakerAn adaptation of Alex Haley's "Roots." Chronicles the history of an African man and his descendants sold into slavery in America.
- DirectorDon McBreartyStarsFalconer AbrahamDwight BacquieJanet BaileyA number of slaves risk their lives to escape their masters with their only help coming from the famous secret slave escape network.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDjimon HounsouMatthew McConaugheyAnthony HopkinsIn 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
- DirectorJoel B. MarsdenStarsDjimon HounsouAkosua BusiaDe'aundre BondsWEST AFRICA 1869 - Slave trade is illegal. There is a revolt on a slave ship - twenty four men fight for their lives. Out-gunned, the revolt fails but a second uprising is planned.
- DirectorJames KeachStarsJane SeymourKeith CarradineAdewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeTrue story from the 19th century about an English actress who marries a US plantation owner. Appalled by slavery, she dedicates her life to oppose it and her husband and help her husband's slaves in any way possible, including escaping.
- DirectorAkosua BusiaStarsJohn AmosMichael BearPaul BenjaminA drama focused on Nat Turner and the 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia.
- DirectorIrving RapperStarsFredric MarchAlexis SmithDonald CrispThe dramatized life of immortal humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, from his days as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River until his death in 1910 shortly after Halley's Comet returned.
- DirectorWill VintonStarsJames WhitmoreMichele MarianaGary KrugTom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn join Mark Twain on his airship to meet Halley's Comet.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsJason RobardsTalia ShireR.H. ThomsonDorothy Quick, a young girl, befriends the famous writer, Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens, during the final years of his life.
- DirectorCharles Martin SmithStarsRobin DunneJames GarnerAdam ArkinA teenaged Mark Twain travels to the American West during the "Gold Rush" days in search of fortune and his destiny.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsWalter HustonUna MerkelWilliam L. ThorneAn episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsWarner BaxterGloria StuartClaude GillingwaterThe story of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned after innocently treating President Lincoln's assassin in 1865.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaAlice BradyMarjorie WeaverA fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsRaymond MasseyGene LockhartRuth GordonHumble Abraham Lincoln gains the respect of his Illinois neighbors, growing in stature and respect until he is elected President in 1860 and departs for Washington.
- DirectorPhilip DunneStarsRichard BurtonMaggie McNamaraJohn DerekA tragic and sentimental story that depicts the early career of the 19th century American actor, Edwin Booth with some mention of the events leading to the assassination of President Lincoln by Edwin's brother, John Wilkes Booth. In the film, Edwin's days in the spotlight dwindle shortly after his brother is caught and killed for assassinating Lincoln.
- StarsHal HolbrookSada ThompsonMichael CristoferThe life of Abraham Lincoln is told in episodic parts.
- DirectorGeorge SchaeferStarsRobby BensonMichael CristoferPatrick DuffyAfter the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, his widow Mary Todd Lincoln's life becomes more difficult at every turn.
- StarsSam WaterstonMary Tyler MooreRichard MulliganAfter arriving in Washington in 1861 after his election, Abraham Lincoln struggles with personal and political problems during his Presidency.
- DirectorPeter W. KunhardtJames A. EdgarStarsJason RobardsJames Earl JonesGlenn CloseFamous actors and actresses read testimonies from people close to Lincoln about him and his actions during the Civil War.
- DirectorJohn GrayStarsRob MorrowLance HenriksenDonna MurphyApril 14, 1865. As four year of Civil War draw to a close, our country again faces unforgettable tragedy: the assassination of the President. Starring Lance Henriksen as the Great Emancipator and Rob Morrow as assassin John Wilkes Booth, this riveting recreation of The Day Lincoln Was Shot (from Jim Bishop's landmark book) is a thrilling and detailed chronicle of the plot, murder and manhunt that changed America forever. To avenge what he called the Confederacy's "noble cause," Booth conspires with his motley followers, rages and boasts, and aspires to a place in history as a Great Man. The weary Lincoln, longing for a just peace, meets with his Cabinet, steals precious time with his family and dreams - literally - of the death of a President. Minute by minute, killer and victim edge closer to the burst of gunfire at Ford's Theatre that stopped Lincoln's heart - and shattered the country's soul.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsRobin WrightJames McAvoyTom WilkinsonMary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDaniel Day-LewisSally FieldDavid StrathairnAs the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.
- DirectorAdrian MoatStarsTom HanksRegen WilsonBilly CampbellBased on The New York Times best-selling novel, Killing Lincoln is the suspenseful, eye-opening story of the events surrounding the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
- DirectorSalvador LitvakStarsTom AmandesLea CocoPenelope Ann MillerThe story of Mr. Lincoln and his self-appointed bodyguard, U.S. Marshal Ward Hill Lamon - a banjo-playing Southerner who foiled repeated attempts on the President's life, and kept him functioning during the darkest hours of the Civil War.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishMae MarshHenry B. WalthallThe Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.
- DirectorClyde BruckmanBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMarion MackGlen CavenderAfter being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.
- DirectorLew AyresStarsJames DunnMae ClarkeDavid MannersBest friends Kenneth Reynolds and Raymond Jordan are U.S. Navy officers, and Kenneth is engaged to Raymond's sister. But the eruption of the Civil War divides them.
- DirectorRowland V. LeeAlexander HallStarsEdward ArnoldCary GrantFrances FarmerNotorious robber baron financier Jim Fisk, who makes and loses fortunes, tries to corner the gold market as well as the heart of a beautiful actress.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHenry FondaGeorge BrentIn 1850s Louisiana, a free-spirited Southern belle loses her fiancé due to her stubborn vanity and pride, and vows to win him back.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
- StarsJoanne WhalleyTimothy DaltonAnnabeth GishIn this long-awaited sequel to Gone With the Wind, Scarlett's flight from the scrutiny of Atlanta society takes her on a journey to Savannah, Charleston, England, and Ireland, where she discovers her family's roots.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsDon AmecheAndrea LeedsAl JolsonMore fictional than factual biography of Stephen Foster. Songwriter from Pittsburgh falls in love with the South, marries a Southern gal (Leeds), then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsClaire TrevorJohn WayneWalter PidgeonIn Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnMiriam HopkinsRandolph ScottUnion officer Kerry Bradford escapes from Confederate Prison and is sent to Virginia City, Nevada, where he finds out that the former commander of his prison, Vance Irby, is planning to send $5 million in gold to save the Confederacy.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandRaymond MasseyIn 1854, Jeb Stuart, George Custer and other graduates from West Point are posted to Kansas to help pacify the territory before railroad construction to Santa Fe can resume.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandArthur KennedyA highly fictionalized account of the life of George Armstrong Custer from his arrival at West Point in 1857 to his death at the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsVan HeflinSusan HaywardBoris KarloffIn 1860s Mississippi, the Dabneys, founders of the Dabney plantation in Levington, experience tragedy and turmoil when they refuse to join either side of the American Civil War.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsJoel McCreaAlexis SmithZachary ScottThe friendship of three Texas ranchers whose ranch is destroyed by Cottrell, of the Union army, and his band of outlaw raiders. The working title was "Distant Drums", and south of St. Louis was a term used to describe Civil War deserters.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsAudie MurphyBill MauldinDouglas DickTruncated adaptation of Stephen Crane's novel about a Civil War Union soldier who stuggles to find the courage to fight in the heat of battle.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsJames CraigBarbara PaytonGuy MadisonTwo old friends find themselves on opposite sides during the Civil War in a desperate battle atop an impregnable mountain.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsGary CooperPhyllis ThaxterDavid BrianMajor Lex Kearney becomes the North's first counterespionage agent as he tries to discover who's behind the theft of Union cavalry horses in Colorado during the Civil War.
- DirectorCharles Marquis WarrenStarsSterling HaydenJoan LeslieWard BondA man is framed and sent to toughest prison in the territory.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsWilliam HoldenEleanor ParkerJohn ForsytheDuring the Civil War, a group of Confederates escapes from the Union POW camp at Fort Bravo but has to contend with the desert, the Mescalero Apaches and the pursuing Union troops.
- DirectorCharles Marquis WarrenStarsRaymond MasseyDebra PagetJeffrey HunterRise, fall and execution of John Brown, fanatic abolitionist.
- DirectorFrancis D. LyonStarsFess ParkerJeffrey HunterJeff YorkDuring the Civil War Union spy Andrews and his men volunteer to steal a Confederate train and drive it to Union territory while destroying the Confederate railway system along the way.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsMontgomery CliftElizabeth TaylorEva Marie SaintA student falls in love with a Southern belle, but their relationship is complicated by her troubled past and the onset of the Civil War.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsClark GableYvonne De CarloSidney PoitierAmantha Starr grows up as a privileged Southern belle in the ante-bellum South, but after her father dies broke, her world is destroyed when she discovers that her mother was Black.
- DirectorHall BartlettJules BrickenStarsJeff ChandlerJoanne DruJulie LondonA participant in Sherman's March becomes governor of a Southern city directly affected by the destruction - and they have yet to learn of his involvement.
- DirectorEdward BerndsStarsSteve CochranDiane BrewsterLeo GordonA Civil War guerilla gang plans an attack on a Kansas arsenal.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneWilliam HoldenConstance TowersIn 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.
- DirectorMelvin FrankStarsJeff ChandlerFess ParkerNicole MaureyBefore the U.S. Civil War rebel leader Luke Darcy sees himself as leader of a new independent Republic of Kansas but the military governor sends an ex-raider to capture Darcy.
- DirectorJohn FordHenry HathawayGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartJohn WayneGregory PeckA family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJames StewartDoug McClureGlenn CorbettA Virginia farmer who has vowed to remain neutral during the Civil War is spurred into action when his youngest son is taken by Union soldiers.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsCharlton HestonRichard HarrisJim HuttonIn 1864, due to frequent Apache raids from Mexico into the U.S., a Union officer decides to illegally cross the border and destroy the Apache, using a mixed army of Union troops, Confederate POWs, civilian mercenaries, and scouts.
- DirectorWilliam HaleStarsJames CaanMichael SarrazinBrenda ScottAt the beginning of the Civil War, seven friends embark on a cross-country journey in order to join the Confederate army.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsClint EastwoodGeraldine PageElizabeth HartmanWhile recuperating in a Confederate girls' boarding school, a Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women's hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJohn WayneRock HudsonAntonio AguilarAfter the Civil War, ex-Confederate soldiers heading for a new life in Mexico run into ex-Union cavalrymen selling horses to the Mexican government but they must join forces to fight off Mexican bandits and revolutionaries.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneJorge RiveroJennifer O'NeillAfter the Civil War, Cord McNally searches for the two traitors whose treachery caused the defeat of McNally's unit and the loss of a close friend.
- DirectorClyde WareStarsJack PalanceSteve ForrestRichard HatchA retelling of the famous feud between two mountain families, the Hatfields and the McCoys, in rural Kentucky in the late 1800s.
- StarsKevin CostnerBill PaxtonMatt BarrDramatization of the bitter blood feud between the two families on the West Virginia/Kentucky border in the years after the Civil War.
- TV MovieDirectorMichael MayerStarsVirginia MadsenSophia BushJames RemarThe traditional Hatfields versus McCoys family fued with an in depth look at the inner workings of each family. Focusing on the patriarchy and rigid dislike from long term and out dated opinions passed down on each side, the eventual conclusion is that love cannot be stopped by fathers, family ridgedness nor expectations.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodSondra LockeChief Dan GeorgeMissouri farmer Josey Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
- CreatorJohn WilderStarsRaymond BurrBarbara CarreraRichard ChamberlainThe economic and cultural growth of Colorado spanning two centuries from the mid 1700s to the late 1970s.
- DirectorPaul WendkosStarsDennis WeaverSusan SullivanRichard DysartCountry doctor Samuel Mudd is unfairly punished by the U.S. Government after he unwisely shelters a wounded John Wilkes Booth during the night after Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
- CreatorJohn LeekleyStarsStacy KeachJohn HammondJulia DuffyAmerica just before and during the Civil War, as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.
- DirectorPhilippe de BrocaEtienne PérierStarsMargot KidderIan CharlesonAndréa FerréolVirginia Tregan returns to her home in the U. S. Deep South from a sojourn in Paris only to discover that her family plantation and its holdings have been lost. She determines to recoup her family's fortune.
- CreatorDouglas HeyesStarsKirstie AlleyGeorg Stanford BrownDavid CarradineTwo friends, one northern and one southern, struggle to maintain their friendship as events build towards the American Civil War.
- CreatorDouglas HeyesStarsKirstie AlleyDavid CarradinePhilip CasnoffThe story of two friends and their families on opposite sides of the American Civil War.
- StarsPhilip CasnoffKyle ChandlerCathy Lee CrosbyThe Civil War has just ended, but things in the country aren't much better, especially in the south.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsMatthew BroderickDenzel WashingtonCary ElwesRobert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsVirginia MadsenAlex Hyde-WhiteReed DiamondA naval battle between two large ships: the "Monitor" and the "Merrimack".
- DirectorJack BenderStarsJason RobardsLukas HaasCampbell ScottThis is a period piece about how Lincoln came to write the Gettysburg Address. It's fictionalized to show the points of view of both North & South, and unlike most Civil War films, it doesn't take sides. While the opinions of the day are espoused, ultimately it is an homage to America, and all it purported to stabd for then, as well as now.
- DirectorRon MaxwellStarsTom BerengerMartin SheenStephen LangIn 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War.
- DirectorGeorge HickenlooperStarsCorbin BernsenAdrian PasdarRay WiseSlave traders bring back an evil voodoo entity that is accidentally freed by the Confederate army during the Civil War. The entity possesses the bodies of the dead soldiers to create an army of its own bent on conquest, using the corpses of both the North and South.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsChristien AnholtAndre BraugherDan FuttermanThree West Point 1861 generation cadets and friends go on opposite sides after the breakout of The Civil War, with tragic consequences. A subplot involves Lucius, a Shelby Peyton's slave, who kills a slave trader and goes on the run.
- StarsDiane LaneDonald SutherlandAmber BrookeThe movie, adapted from Allan Gurganus' 1989 book of the same name, chronicles the life of Lucy Marsden, a ninety-nine-year-old North Carolina woman who, at the age of fourteen, married a fifty-year-old Confederate veteran of the Civil War and bore nine children (reduced to six for television). Diane Lane stars as Lucy from her teenage years into middle age, and Anne Bancroft plays Lucy approaching her one hundredth birthday, telling her story in flashback.
- DirectorRobby HensonStarsChris CooperPatricia ClarksonKris KristoffersonDuring the American Civil War, a Union Army captain leads his rag-tag cavalry troop up a misty creek to a remote farm to appropriate enemy (Confederate) livestock. The farm is worked by Sarah Anders, whose husband is away fighting for the Confederate Army. Far from the great armies and battlefields, a very private civil war erupts. The Captain and Sarah are pulled apart by the war's undertow into choices they can not fully control or understand. Each character in this drama must decide whether loyalty will be paid in blood. This story has a relevance to current partisan conflicts. Armies are not filled with murdering psychopaths. Good people can be driven to do bad things. The story chronicles the pathology of war, how escalating events can trigger unasked-for tragedy. Based on a true story about a southern child who shot and killed a union soldier during the Civil War.
- StarsPaul Andre GibbonsJarrod EmickFrederic ForrestThe story of the most notorious Confederate prisoner of war camp in the American Civil War.
- DirectorDick LowryStarsTom SelleckSuzy AmisRachel DuncanAfter the Civil War, a returning Confederate veteran must reclaim his Arizona land and homestead from the Yankee carpetbaggers who illegally occupy it.
- StarsDana DelanyAnnabeth GishAngelina JolieCovering nearly fifty years of mid-19th-century turmoil, from the tumultuous Texas Revolution to the early women's suffrage movement, "True Women" is a gripping tale of endurance, love, and above all, gritty female determination.
- DirectorJohn GrayStarsArmand AssanteDonald SutherlandAlex JenningsDuring the siege of Charleston of 1864, Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley becomes the first submersible to sink an enemy warship in wartime.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsTobey MaguireSkeet UlrichJewelDuring the American Civil War, two friends join the Bushwhackers, a militant group loyal to the Confederacy.
- DirectorDonald G. JacksonStarsScott ShawJulie StrainKevin EastmanDamned taxi driver Daredevil Dan Donovan picks up chatty passengers and drives them around Hollywood as part of a deal to deliver souls to hell in exchange for his freedom.
- DirectorKevin R. HershbergerStarsBrian MerrickDJ PerryTerry JerniganThe story unfolds over a single horrifying night - six soldiers lost in the wicked, burning woods during the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864. When the morning sun rises, it exposes an incredible new danger.
- DirectorRon MaxwellStarsStephen LangRobert DuvallJeff DanielsThe rise and fall of confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, as he meets with military success against the Union from 1861 to 1863, when he is accidentally killed by his own soldiers.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsJude LawNicole KidmanRenée ZellwegerIn the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart.
- DirectorRobert ChildStarsSteve SchlosserBob BoslerBenjamin BidlackGettysburg Three days of Destiny is the compelling story of the commanders, decisions and pivotal moments of the battle that turned the tide of the American Civil War
- DirectorKevin WillmottStarsGreg KirschRenee PatrickMolly GrahamThrough the eyes of a British "documentary", this film takes a satirically humorous, and sometimes frightening, look at the history of an America where the South won the Civil War.
- DirectorDon MaxwellBrian James EgenStarsCampbell ScottVivian SchillingNathan DarrowThree of the most popular and controversial Civil War stories by legendary writer Ambrose Bierce are presented in this acclaimed feature collection.
- DirectorDavid PadruschStarsLydia AlvitaJennifer AntkowiakOrion BarnesA inside look about life during the harsh period of Reconstruction after the American Civil War in rural southern states.