Greatest Civil War films
by sabercro | created - 13 Jan 2011 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicOr more precisely as many films (and TV shows) as I can find (excluding documentaries) about, set or with characters shaped by the civil war. Despite the title of this list it contains not only the good films, but the bad and several downright ugly ones as well!
1-72 Films seen which are set wholly or mostly during the civil war and where it plays an important part in the story being told.
73-142 Films seen which are completely set within the civil war era. These may be partially or completely set during the civil war itself but where the war is not really an important part of the story. Other films set in the post-war period include solid references to the war or have major characters who are veterans of the war.
143-156 Films seen which have flashback scenes set during the war or important references to it, but where the film as a whole is not actually set during the civil war era.
157+ Films not yet seen or which I don't recall seeing but otherwise match one of the three categories above. My intention, if possible, is to watch all of these as well.
Within each of the first three categories, the films are loosely ordered with my favourites first. The final category is ordered by year with the most recent films first.
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1. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Passed | 238 min | Drama, Romance, War
A 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.
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood | Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil
Votes: 334,327 | Gross: $198.68M
An absolute classic. The scene with Scarlett moving through the rows of wounded soldiers at the railway marshalling yard in Atlanta whilst the camera slowly pans out to show more and more wounded men and then finally the tattered Battle Flag always brings a lump to my throat.
2. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
Robert 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.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 144,454 | Gross: $26.83M
The story of the 54th Massachusetts Coloured Infantry. The battle scenes are excellent and both Morgan Freeman and Denzil Washington, in particular, are superb.
3. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 811,362 | Gross: $6.10M
Without doubt the greatest spaghetti western ever made. Clint, Lee and Eli searching for Confederate gold with the civil war ever present in the background. Great film with an excellent musical score. Superb.
4. Gettysburg (1993)
PG | 271 min | Drama, History, War
In 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War.
Director: Ron Maxwell | Stars: Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang, Richard Jordan
Votes: 31,308 | Gross: $10.77M
The dialogue is a bit painful and much of the facial hair is awful, but the set pieces are incredible. This is the first civil war film I ever saw on the big screen and well worth it it was too.
5. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
PG | 135 min | Western
Missouri farmer Josey Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George, Bill McKinney
Votes: 79,854 | Gross: $31.80M
Excellent post-war western with Clint Eastwood,a veteran of Bloody Bill Anderson's Missouri raiders refusing to surrender and then pursued by Bill McKinney's Kansas red-legs through Indian Territory and into Texas.
6. The General (1926)
Passed | 78 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After 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.
Directors: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley
Votes: 98,152 | Gross: $1.03M
Wonderful silent movie with Buster Keaton attempting to save his girl and his train from Yankee spies.
7. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
Approved | 120 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 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.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers, Judson Pratt
Votes: 11,653 | Gross: $1.75M
I grew up watching John Wayne and cavalry films so this is one of my favourites. Haven't seen it for a while, but excellent scenes which spring to mind are the Confederate attack from the train and the 'battle' with the the cadets.
8. Ride with the Devil (I) (1999)
R | 138 min | Drama, Romance, War
During the American Civil War, two friends join the Bushwhackers, a militant group loyal to the Confederacy.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jewel, Jeremy W. Auman
Votes: 14,557 | Gross: $0.63M
Hugely underated film about the Missouri/Kansas border conflicts during the war.
9. The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Passed | 69 min | Drama, War
Truncated 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.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick, Royal Dano
Votes: 4,838
Much maligned, but I don't really know why. Audie Murphy is perfect and the battle scenes very well done.
10. Lincoln (2012)
PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
As 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.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Votes: 272,678 | Gross: $182.21M
Slightly overlong, but nevertheless fascinating story of how the 13th Amendment was passed by the House of Representatives. Daniel Day-Lewis is superb as Lincoln.
11. Cold Mountain (2003)
R | 154 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 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.
Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Eileen Atkins
Votes: 156,092 | Gross: $95.64M
Pretty good adaptation of a very good book. Jude Law deserts from the Army of Northern Virginia and tries to get back home to Cold Mountain where Nicole Kidman is waiting for him. The scenes of the Battle of the Crater at the beginning of the film are spectacular.
12. Major Dundee (1965)
PG-13 | 123 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In 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.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton, James Coburn
Votes: 8,827 | Gross: $0.01M
Set in the last six months of the civil war, prison camp commandant Charlton Heston, against orders, leads a motley unit of prison guards, Confederate prisoners, coloured troops and criminals across the border into Mexico in pursuit of an Apache raiding party. Richard Harris is very good as the Confederate captain who promises to serve only 'until the Apache is taken or dead'. Charlton Heston plays himself as usual and there's an excellent supporting cast with many well known names and faces. Overall, one of the better Galvanized Yankee films.
13. The Raid (1954)
Approved | 83 min | War, Western
A group of Confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob the banks and set fire to the small town of Saint Albans, Vermont. To get the lay of the land, their leader spends a few ... See full summary »
Director: Hugo Fregonese | Stars: Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone, Lee Marvin
Votes: 1,031
Very good account of the raid on St. Albans, Vermont by escaped confederate prisoners in late 1864. There's not a great deal of action but the film benefits from an excellent cast led by Van Heflin, Richard Boone and Anne Bancroft.
14. Gangs of New York (2002)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 473,003 | Gross: $77.81M
Very good story about gang warfare and revenge culminating in the New York draft riots of 1863.
15. Shenandoah (1965)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, War, Western
A 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.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne
Votes: 9,629
Excellent anti-war film with James Stewart trying to hold his family together whilst the war rages around his Virginia farm.
16.
The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
Episode:
The Passersby
(1961)
TV-PG | 25 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
While headed home, a Confederate soldier meets an anguished woman at the end of the Civil War.
Director: Elliot Silverstein | Stars: James Gregory, Joanne Linville, Rex Holman, David Garcia
Votes: 2,648
Nice little Twilight Zone episode with an endless stream of weary soldiers walking down a dusty road beside a derelict mansion. But where does the road lead to?
17. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
TV-PG | 195 min | Drama, History, War
The 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.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper
Votes: 26,342 | Gross: $10.00M
D.W.Griffiths 1915 masterpiece set before, during and immediately after the Civil War. Clearly racist but still a remarkable piece of film making for the time.
18. Field of Lost Shoes (2015)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Drama, War
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Director: Sean McNamara | Stars: Michael Krebs, Jake Lawson, Sean Marquette, David Arquette
Votes: 2,111
An over sentimental, but well made fictionalized account of the VMI's involvement at the Battle of Newmarket in 1864. The story is based around a group of cadets, three of whom are killed in the thick of the fighting. I rather enjoyed this one.
19. Andersonville (1996)
167 min | Drama, History, War
The story of the most notorious Confederate prisoner of war camp in the American Civil War.
Stars: Paul Andre Gibbons, Jarrod Emick, Frederic Forrest, Ted Marcoux
Votes: 2,097
Interesting depiction of the prison life of a group of Massachusetts soldiers interned at Andersonville after being captured at Cold Harbor.
20. The Blue and the Gray (1982)
TV-PG | 381 min | Drama, History, War
America just before and during the Civil War, as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.
Stars: Stacy Keach, John Hammond, Julia Duffy, Robin Gammell
Votes: 1,867
Haven't seen this for nearly 30 years and don't remember too much about it other than that it was pretty good.
21. North and South, Book II (1986)
95 min | Drama, History, Romance
The story of two friends and their families on opposite sides of the American Civil War.
Stars: Kirstie Alley, David Carradine, Philip Casnoff, Mary Crosby
Votes: 6,209
Haven't seen this for nearly 25 years, again pretty good on the whole.
22. Drums in the Deep South (1951)
Passed | 87 min | Western
Two old friends find themselves on opposite sides during the Civil War in a desperate battle atop an impregnable mountain.
Director: William Cameron Menzies | Stars: James Craig, Barbara Payton, Guy Madison, Barton MacLane
Votes: 430
Two old friends from West Point find themselves on either side of an artillery dual fighting over a Georgia mountain which dominates Sherman's supply lines. Nicely done, with Barbara Payton playing the love interest.
23. The Last Outpost (1951)
Approved | 89 min | Drama, Western
Despite their fighting on opposite sides during the Civil War, brothers Vance and Jeb Britton have to set their differences aside in order to survive an Indian attack.
Director: Lewis R. Foster | Stars: Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, Bruce Bennett, Bill Williams
Votes: 636
Confederate Cavalry captain Ronald Reagan leads his troop against apaches besieging a town in Texas defended by his brother, a Union colonel. Bruce Bennet plays his brother and Rhonda Fleming his love interest. A rather nice little civil war western.
24. Free State of Jones (2016)
R | 139 min | Action, Biography, Drama
A disillusioned Confederate army deserter returns to Mississippi and leads a militia of fellow deserters and women in an uprising against the corrupt local Confederate government.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Keri Russell
Votes: 62,452 | Gross: $20.76M
I really wanted to enjoy Free State of Jones, but unfortunately, that is not the case. The story, apparantly based on a true incident, of farmers, deserters and runaway slaves declaring a free state in part of South-Eastern Mississippi is certainly interesting and I will admit completely new to me. However, whilst the film starts off promisingly with some impressive scenes, by the time it had finished I had the impression that I'd been watching an overlong documentary rather than a feature film which, alas, is not what I was after.
25. The Beguiled (1971)
R | 105 min | Drama, Thriller, War
While 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.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris
Votes: 19,213
More of a psychological thriller than a war film. Clint Eastwood's wounded Yankee corporal spreads jealousy and distrust amongst the staff and pupils of the Southern girls boarding school where he is recuperating from his wounds.
26. The Beguiled (2017)
R | 93 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Colin Farrell
Votes: 61,746 | Gross: $10.58M
Remake of the 1971 film of the same name with Colin Farrell in the Clint Eastwood role. It's very much a trimmed down version of the original, but unfortunately, not as good.
27. Alvarez Kelly (1966)
Approved | 116 min | Western
During the Civil War, Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly supplies the Union with cattle until Confederate Colonel Tom Rossiter's hungry men force Kelly to change his customers.
Director: Edward Dmytryk | Stars: William Holden, Richard Widmark, Janice Rule, Patrick O'Neal
Votes: 2,737
Interesting twist on a civil war film with William Holden and Richard Widmark attempting to drive a heard of cattle through Grant's lines to feed Richmond.
28. Advance to the Rear (1964)
Approved | 100 min | Comedy, War, Western
When A Union Army outfit of misfits and rejects is sent to the Western territory, Southern spies try to figure out what they're doing there.
Director: George Marshall | Stars: Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, Melvyn Douglas, Jim Backus
Votes: 910
A real rarity - a civil war comedy. A company of Union army misfits is tasked with saving a shipment of gold from Confederate partisans and a beautiful spy.
29. Band of Angels (1957)
Passed | 125 min | Drama
Amantha 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.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, Sidney Poitier, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Votes: 2,628
Yvonne de Carlo plays a southern belle sold into slavery after the death of her father when she learns that her mother was his black mistress. Clark Cable is the Louisiana plantation owner who buys her. She becomes his mistress until she learns about his dark past. Sidney Poitier is the privilaged slave who joins the Union army when New Orleans falls to Benjamin Butler.
30. Macho Callahan (1970)
R | 99 min | Drama, Western
Macho Callahan breaks out of a Confederate military prison, intent on revenge against the man who conscripted him into the army. Before he gets started, he kills another man in a petty dispute and is in turn pursued by the vengeful widow.
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski | Stars: David Janssen, Jean Seberg, Lee J. Cobb, James Booth
Votes: 481
A rather strange film which I suspect would never get made today. David Janssen, the apparant hero of the story is an army deserter who breaks out of a Confederate POW camp leaving dozens of Union prisoners to die, murders a crippled Confederate officer over a bottle of champagne, hangs the man who tricked him into enlisting, rapes the widow of the crippled officer and then falls in love with her, a love which is then reciprocated. Very odd indeed.
31.
The Magical World of Disney (1954–1997)
Episode:
Willie and the Yank: The Deserter
(1967)
Unrated | 60 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A lonely Confederate guard, Willie Prentiss, befriends his Union counterpart, Henry Jenkins, across the river and their friendship lasts through many incidents.
Director: Michael O'Herlihy | Stars: James MacArthur, Nick Adams, Jack Ging, Kurt Russell
Votes: 19
Reasonable Disney adaptation of the story of Private Willy Prentiss (a very young Kurt Russell) who deserts the 1st Virginia after accidently shooting a Confederate Lieutenant. Part 1.
32.
The Magical World of Disney (1954–1997)
Episode:
Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders
(1967)
Unrated | 132 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Willie, a fifteen year old soldier, accidentally shoots an officer and runs off. After several adventures he ends up as a scout for the Conderate Mosby's Raiders.
Director: Michael O'Herlihy | Stars: James MacArthur, Nick Adams, Jack Ging, Kurt Russell
Votes: 70
Continuation of Willie Prentiss's story where he is forced to enlist into Mosby's Maurauders after being picked up by one of Mosby's men and then finding that the Lieutenant he shot was Mosby himself. Part 2.
33.
The Magical World of Disney (1954–1997)
Episode:
Willie and the Yank: The Matchmaker
(1967)
Unrated | 60 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Jenkins is arrested as a spy. When he escapes, he is captured, and falls for Willie's cousin, Oralee.
Third and final part of Willie's story where he helps to save the Maurauders from a yankee ambush at the wedding of his cousin with his best friend Henry Price, a yankee corporal.
34. Two Flags West (1950)
Approved | 92 min | War, Western
Forced by circumstances,Confederate POWs and Union soldiers join forces against Indians but old animosities resurface during their fragile alliance.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Joseph Cotten, Linda Darnell, Jeff Chandler, Cornel Wilde
Votes: 1,202
POW Joseph Cotton and the remnants of his Georgia cavalry regiment sign up to fight as galvanized Yankees on the Western frontier.
At Fort Thorn he has conflicting loyalties to both the South and his new command.
Jeff Chandler, the commander of the fort, distrusts Cotton and wishes he was back east fighting the rebels.
35. Union (II) (2018)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, History, War
A woman disguises herself as her dead brother, Henry, in order to survive in the Confederate ranks during the Civil War. He marries a widow to rescue her from an arranged marriage. They keep each other's secrets and find true love.
Director: Whitney Hamilton | Stars: Marcelle LeBlanc, Cece Kelly, Virginia Newcomb, Jeremy Sande
Votes: 120 | Gross: $0.01M
A women serving in Mosby's Rangers, disguised as a man, tries to return to the women she loves after being wounded and captured by Union forces. There are a lot of flashbacks and the story is sometimes hard to follow until you realize that this is a sequel to the 2005 film My Brother's War, which I haven't seen, but having read the synopsis clears up many questions.
It's by no means the greatest Civil War film, but at the end of the day , it has a nice story. I don't really see how anyone could possibly be fooled by our heroine/hero's gender and you need to ignore several obvious historical inaccuracies, but it's well worth a watch.
36.
The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
Episode:
Still Valley
(1961)
TV-PG | 25 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
In June 1863, Confederate soldiers come across a warlock who can help bring victory to the Southern cause.
Director: James Sheldon | Stars: Gary Merrill, Vaughn Taylor, Mark Tapscott, Jack Mann
Votes: 2,174
A witch offers hope to the Confederacy towards the end of the civil war courtesy of the Twilight Zone.
37.
The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
Episode:
Back There
(1961)
TV-PG | 25 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
At a prominent club in Washington, D.C., a socialite argues about whether it would be possible to change history by traveling back in time. When he leaves the club he finds himself in 1865, on the night that President Lincoln will be shot.
Director: David Orrick McDearmon | Stars: Russell Johnson, Paul Hartman, Bartlett Robinson, John Lasell
Votes: 2,836
A socialite travels back in time to the night Lincoln is assassinated. But can he change the past?
38. Journey to Shiloh (1968)
Approved | 101 min | Drama, War, Western
At the beginning of the Civil War, seven friends embark on a cross-country journey in order to join the Confederate army.
Director: William Hale | Stars: James Caan, Michael Sarrazin, Brenda Scott, Don Stroud
Votes: 1,075
A group of seven texans leave their homes in West Texas to enlist in Hood's Texas Brigade in Virginia. They never make it that far but instead join Braxton Bragg's division as it heads for Shiloh. This is a pretty good civil war film, perhaps best remembered for its catchy theme tune and a cast including a very young James Caan and Harrison Ford.
39. The Keeping Room (2014)
R | 95 min | Drama, Western
Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three women must fight to defend their home and themselves from two rogue soldiers who have broken off from the fast-approaching Union Army.
Director: Daniel Barber | Stars: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington, Muna Otaru
Votes: 7,591 | Gross: $0.03M
With all of the men away in the war, three women, two sisters and a slave, try to defend themselves from a pair of Sherman's Bummers. It's an unusual film, but nicely done and well worth a watch.
40. Savage State (2019)
121 min | Drama, Western
When the American Civil War breaks out, a family of french settlers must abandon their Missouri home to flee and go back to Paris. They're escorted by a former mercenary whose troubled past soon catches up with him.
Director: David Perrault | Stars: Alice Isaaz, Kevin Janssens, Déborah François, Bruno Todeschini
Votes: 741
A family of neutral French Settlers flee their Missouri home ahead of invading Union forces. L'état sauvage is an interesting but rather strange feminist western.
41. The House with Closed Shutters (1910)
Not Rated | 17 min | Short, Drama, War
A Confederate soldier shames his mother and sister by going AWOL during battle. His sister takes his place, with tragic results, leaving him to live out his life in shame, hiding to protect his family name.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Henry B. Walthall, Dorothy West, Grace Henderson, Charles West
Votes: 581
Early D.W. Griffith short about a young man who enlists in the confederate army, only to run back home when encountered by union cavalry. His sister, ashamed at her brothers actions, takes his place in the army whilst he hides at home behind closed shutters.
42. The Rebel Without Claws (1961)
Approved | 6 min | Animation, Short, War
In the American Civil War, Tweety is determined to get a message to General Lee, but Sylvester has been deployed to stop him.
Director: Friz Freleng | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 237
The civil war starring Looney Tunes Sylvester and Tweety Pie. Union army cat Sylvester attempts to stop confederate messenger bird Tweety Pie from delivering a vital message to General Lee.
43. Gods and Generals (2003)
PG-13 | 219 min | Biography, Drama, History
The 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.
Director: Ron Maxwell | Stars: Stephen Lang, Robert Duvall, Jeff Daniels, Donzaleigh Abernathy
Votes: 17,209 | Gross: $12.87M
Prequel to Gettsyburg. Overly ambitious history of Stonewall Jackson from the outbreak of the Civil war until his death after Chancellorsville in 1863. Battle scenes are nowhere near as good as Gettysburg, Even at three and a half hours long it appears to be rushed and disjointed. Would have been better as a much longer mini-series or a shorter film covering a smaller period of time. Also with the exception of Jackson himself pretty much every other character was underdeveloped. In particular there were far too many Confederate Generals seen in a single scene only with barely a line of dialogue between them. This one is, alas, not recommended.
44. Springfield Rifle (1952)
Approved | 93 min | Thriller, War, Western
Major 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.
Director: André De Toth | Stars: Gary Cooper, Phyllis Thaxter, David Brian, Paul Kelly
Votes: 2,280
Reasonable B-Movie with Gary Cooper on a counter-espionage mission trying to track down a Union traitor.
45. Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)
Passed | 99 min | Drama, Romance, Western
During 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.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest
Votes: 3,140 | Gross: $1.45M
A small group of Confederate soldiers led by John Forsyth break out of a prisoner of war camp somewhere in the West. The escapees are tracked down by Union captain William Holden and then need to join forces to beat off an attack by hostile indians.
46. Dark Command (1940)
Approved | 94 min | Drama, Romance, War
In 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.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter Pidgeon, Roy Rogers
Votes: 3,037
Variation of the Kansas/Missouri border war with John Wayne defending Lawrence, Kansas and his girl from Walter Pidgeon's Will 'Cantrilll'.
47. Ironclads (1991 TV Movie)
Unrated | 94 min | War
A naval battle between two large ships: the "Monitor" and the "Merrimack".
Director: Delbert Mann | Stars: Virginia Madsen, Alex Hyde-White, Reed Diamond, Philip Casnoff
Votes: 311
TV movie about the Battle of Hampton Roads between the Monitor and the Merrimac. Can't remember a great deal about it but seem to recall that it was ok.
48.
The Magical World of Disney (1954–1997)
Episode:
Johnny Shiloh: Part 1
(1963)
Unrated | 60 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Based on real life "boy solider" Johnny Clem, a young boy joins the Union Army against the wishes of his father and fellow soldiers.
Director: James Neilson | Stars: Brian Keith, Kevin Corcoran, Darryl Hickman, Skip Homeier
Votes: 146
Reasonable Disney adaptation of the story of John Lincoln Clem, the Drummer Boy of Shiloh. Part 1.
49.
The Magical World of Disney (1954–1997)
Episode:
Johnny Shiloh: Part 2
(1963)
Unrated | 60 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Based on real life "boy solider" Johnny Clem, a young boy is promoted to sergeant and encounters trouble while on a mission.
Director: James Neilson | Stars: Brian Keith, Kevin Corcoran, Darryl Hickman, Skip Homeier
Votes: 60
Reasonable Disney adaptation of the story of John Lincoln Clem, the Drummer Boy of Shiloh. Part 2
50. A Time Out of War (1954)
22 min | Short, Drama, War
A dramatic incident from the American Civil War when two Union soldiers and one Confederate soldier, facing each other at a battle front, agree on an hour's truce.
Director: Denis Sanders | Stars: Barry Atwater, Robert Sherry, Corey Allen
Votes: 229
Union and Rebel pickets hold a truce across a riverbank.
51. Western Union (1941)
Passed | 95 min | History, Western
When Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Robert Young, Randolph Scott, Dean Jagger, Virginia Gilmore
Votes: 3,279
Set in 1861 as the telegraph is laid across the West, Randolph Scott is torn between his job with Western Union and not betraying his brother, suposedly a confederate raider intent on destroying the telegraph and making himself rich at the same time.
52. The Battle (1911)
Not Rated | 17 min | Short, Action, Drama
Union soldiers march off to battle amid cheering crowds. After the battle turns against the Union Army, one soldier runs away, hiding in his girlfriend's house. Ashamed of his cowardice, he... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Charles West, Blanche Sweet, Charles Hill Mailes, Spottiswoode Aitken
Votes: 375
Early D.W. Griffith short about a young lieutenant who overcomes his initial fears to save the union army in his first battle. Pretty good little film with some impressive battle scenes.
53. Mysterious Island (1961)
Not Rated | 101 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
During the Civil War a group of Union soldiers, a Confederate and a civilian escape the stockade using a hot-air balloon and end up on a strange Pacific island.
Director: Cy Endfield | Stars: Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Gary Merrill
Votes: 8,544
Okay adaptation of Jules Verne's classic story. In the closing days of the civil war, three union soldiers and a war reporter break out of Libby prison in Richmond and escape in a confederate observation balloon taking with them a captured rebel sergeant. After losing control of the balloon, strong westerly winds blow them across the American continent and eventually deposits them on a mysterious island somewhere in the Pacific ocean.
54. In the Border States (1910)
Not Rated | 17 min | Short, Drama, War
During the Civil War, a father living in a border state leaves to join the Union Army. After he leaves, Confederate troops forage on his property, where a soldier encounters one of his ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Charles West, Charles Arling, Owen Moore, William J. Butler
Votes: 565
Early D.W. Griffith short about a young girl who saves a confederate soldier and her own father, a corporal in the union army. Very low budget, but a nice little film nevertheless.
55. The Siege at Red River (1954)
Approved | 86 min | Western
Cavalry Captain Farraday attempts to prevent the delivery of Gatling Guns into the hands of hostile Indians.
Director: Rudolph Maté | Stars: Van Johnson, Joanne Dru, Richard Boone, Milburn Stone
Votes: 586
Formulaic western set during the last few months of the war. Confederate spies steal a gattling gun and try to smuggle it through Union lines. Joanne Dru provides the love interest without her yellow ribbon.
56. The Last Frontier (1955)
Approved | 98 min | Drama, Romance, Western
A trapper and his two partners work as scouts for a remote army fort where they witness an incompetent colonel's decision to throw his small unprepared garrison against Red Cloud's sizable Sioux force.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: Victor Mature, Guy Madison, Robert Preston, James Whitmore
Votes: 1,805
Entertaining 'B' movie set in the far west during the Civil War. Victor Mature plays a backwoods tracker who becomes a scout for a remote army fort. Robert Preston is an incompetent colonel who takes over command of the fort after losing his own fort to the Sioux, having previously been sent west after losing a brigade at Shiloh. Anne Bancroft plays the colonel's wife and Victor Mature's love interest.
57. Westbound (1958)
Passed | 72 min | Western
In 1864 Capt. John Hayes goes to Colorado to take over the stagecoach line and keep the flow of Western gold flowing and help the North win the Civil War.
Director: Budd Boetticher | Stars: Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, Karen Steele, Michael Dante
Votes: 1,503
B-Movie western with Randolph Scott protecting a stagecoach line carrying Union gold shipments from southern sympathizers.
58. The Guns of Fort Petticoat (1957)
Approved | 82 min | Action, Romance, War
Union Army deserter, Lt. Hewitt, trains a rag tag band of all-female homesteaders to defend themselves against a Comanche tribe on the warpath.
Director: George Marshall | Stars: Audie Murphy, Kathryn Grant, Hope Emerson, Jeff Donnell
Votes: 1,622
Audie Murphy serving in a union cavalry regiment at the end of the civil war deserts his post to return to his native Texas to warn a group of female homesteaders whose husbands are away fighting in the confederate army that a band of renegade indians is on the warpath. Initially mistrusted and considered a traitor by all he eventually wins the ladies over, trains them to fight the indians and saves the day. An entertaining if fairly average B western.
59. Renegade Girl (1946)
Approved | 65 min | Western
Ann Shelby, whose family is allied with the notorious William Quantrill, turns outlaw to revenge herself on a renegade Indian who killed her brother.
Director: William Berke | Stars: Ann Savage, Alan Curtis, Edward Brophy, Russell Wade
Votes: 213
Pleasant enough western with Ann Savage playing a pro-southern Missouri girl who despite being pursued by Union cavalry for passing information onto Quantrill's raiders, then falls in love with a Yankee captain.
60. Hearts in Bondage (1936)
Approved | 72 min | Drama, History, Romance
Best 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.
Director: Lew Ayres | Stars: James Dunn, Mae Clarke, David Manners, Charlotte Henry
Votes: 235
Story of the Monitor and the Merrimac told through the eyes of childhood friends, one serving on each side of the conflict.
61. The Outriders (1950)
Not Rated | 93 min | Western
In 1865, three escaped Confederate POWs are coerced into joining an offshoot of Quantrill's raiders who are planning to rob a Union gold shipment concealed in a civilian wagon train going from Santa Fe to St. Louis.
Director: Roy Rowland | Stars: Joel McCrea, Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan, Claude Jarman Jr.
Votes: 765
Average western. Three escapees from a Union prisoner of war camp in Missouri attempt to lead a civilian wagon tree containing hidden Union gold into a Confederate ambush. Joel McCrea plays the rebel with a conscience who falls in love with the rather nice Arlene Dahl .
62. Bad Company (1972)
PG | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A God-fearing Ohio boy dodging the Civil War draft arrives in St. Joseph, MO where he joins up with a hardscrabble group of like runaways heading west
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis, David Huddleston
Votes: 4,603
Set in the last few months of 1863 and shortly after his brother is killed at Chickamauga, an Ohio boy from a good family attempts to avoid being conscripted into the Union army. At Jefferson City, Missouri he runs into "Bad Company" in the shape of a young Jeff Bridges and together with a motley band of companions, including some more draft dodgers, they head west. The story is okay but a little slow.
63. A Matter of Conscience (1967 TV Movie)
26 min | Drama, History
Directors: Ewa Petelska, Czeslaw Petelski | Stars: Andrzej Lapicki, Wieslaw Golas, Zdzislaw Maklakiewicz, Sylwester Przedwojewski
Votes: 13
Polish short in which a confederate spy is captured whilst attempting to pass a union detachment at a remote mountain pass. The union company captain recognizes him as a rebel cavalryman captured earlier in the war. The captain then reluctantly does his duty and sentences the spy to be shot by firing squad despite finding out that at their previous meeting this man could have killed him after he'd fallen asleep whilst guarding his prisoner. I think that's what happened, but to be fair, I watched this in Polish without sub-titles and didn't understand a word of the dialogue.
64. A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1972)
PG | 92 min | Drama, Western
Branded a coward for surrendering his New Mexico fort to the Confederates without firing a shot, a Union colonel attempts to redeem himself by leading a band of condemned prisoners on a suicide mission to recapture it.
Director: Tonino Valerii | Stars: James Coburn, Bud Spencer, Telly Savalas, Reinhard Kolldehoff
Votes: 2,198
Disgraced Union Colonel James Coburn leads a band of condemned men to capture a Confederate Fort in New Mexico territory. A Civil war version of the Dirty Dozen, with none of the charm.
65. The Last Outlaw (1993 TV Movie)
R | 93 min | Action, Drama, Western
Left for dead by his bank robbing gang, a marauder joins a posse to seek revenge.
Director: Geoff Murphy | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Dermot Mulroney, Ted Levine, John C. McGinley
Votes: 3,088
An outlaw band mostly consisting of Confederate veterans are tracked by a possé led by their former leader.
66. South of St. Louis (1949)
Passed | 88 min | Western
The 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.
Director: Ray Enright | Stars: Joel McCrea, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone
Votes: 580
Average B-movie about three partners whose friendship is put to the test after their ranch is burned by a guerilla band loyal to the Union.
67. Quantrill's Raiders (1958)
Approved | 68 min | Western
A Civil War guerilla gang plans an attack on a Kansas arsenal.
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Steve Cochran, Diane Brewster, Leo Gordon, Gale Robbins
Votes: 305
Mediocre retelling of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence. Rather bizarrely this film rewrites history completely with the raid being a total failure resulting in the death of Quantrill himself.
68. Scalps (1987)
102 min | Western, Action, Drama
The commander of a Texan fort in the Civil War refuses to surrender to the Northerners, and tries to buy the local Indian tribe chief's daughter. The sage man refuses, and the Southerners ... See full summary »
Director: Bruno Mattei | Stars: Vassili Karis, Mapi Galán, Alberto Farnese, Charly Bravo
Votes: 438
Mediocre spaghetti western with the colonel of a confederate fort in the far west lusting after a local indian chiefs daughter.
69. Yellowneck (1955)
Passed | 83 min | Adventure, Drama, War
5 Confederate soldiers desert, make their way through the Everglades and try to make it to Cuba.
Director: R. John Hugh | Stars: Lin McCarthy, Stephen Courtleigh, Berry Kroeger, Harold Gordon
Votes: 258
Seriously bad story about five confederate deserters attempting to cross the everglades to reach a British blocade runner.
70. Grey Knight (1993)
R | 82 min | Horror, War
Slave 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 ... See full summary »
Director: George Hickenlooper | Stars: Corbin Bernsen, Adrian Pasdar, Ray Wise, Cynda Williams
Votes: 824
Mediocre horror where union and confederate troops fight against a voodood/zombified confederate regiment. I think that's what it was about anyway, I confess to falling asleep during a large part of it and have no burning desire to watch it again.
71. American Confederate (2019)
97 min | Western
"American Confederate" follows a group of Confederate cavalry, and a group of Union (Federal) cavalry, from late 1862 until the end of the Civil War in 1865.
Director: Christopher Forbes | Stars: William Adams, Jezibell Anat, Kimberly Campbell, Jerry Chesser
Votes: 141
A ninety minute long film, supposedly following the story of both a Confederate and a Union cavalry officer during the last two and a half years of the civil war.
In reality we have a jumbled hotchpotch, following several characters : the Confederate officer, a Confederate nurse, a Union Quaker Quartermaster Colonel, another Union Colonel and the Union cavalry officer. Often with no coherence from one scene to another. Mixed in with everything else is stock reenactor footage.
The idea of this film is reasonably ambitious, but it's lacking an actual story.
72. Kill Them All and Come Back Alone (1968)
R | 100 min | Action, Western
A mercenary and his five-man team of oddball cutthroats are tasked by a treacherous Confederate spy with infiltrating a Union Army fortress and stealing $1 million in gold.
Director: Enzo G. Castellari | Stars: Chuck Connors, Frank Wolff, Franco Citti, Leo Anchóriz
Votes: 1,045
Chuck Connors leads a band of mercenaries to steal some Union gold. Dreadful spaghetti western with very few, if any, redeeming points.
73. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Passed | 104 min | Western
Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson
Votes: 19,327
My favourite film in John Ford's cavalry trilogy. Set in 1876 shortly after Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn. Contains numerous references to the war with Nathan Brittle's C troop including veterans of both the Union and Confederate cavalry.
74. Rio Grande (1950)
Passed | 105 min | Drama, Romance, Western
A cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son who's a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson, Claude Jarman Jr.
Votes: 17,668
Excellent post war western set in 1879. John Wayne's Colonel Kirby Yorke commands a cavalry regiment on the Mexican frontier. When a group of new recruits arrive he is surprised to find his son amongst them. It is the first time he has seen him since his marriage collapsed after he was ordered to burn his wife's mansion during Sheridan's Shenandoah campaign in 1864. Shortly afterwards his wife Kathleen, played by the gorgeous Maureen O'Hara, arrives.
75. The Searchers (1956)
Passed | 119 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
An American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond
Votes: 96,314
Excellent post war western with John Wayne's Confederate veteran returning home to find Commanches have raided his brothers farm and captured his niece, played by a young Natalie Wood. Big John, aided by Jeffrey Hunter, then spends years searching for her.
76. How the West Was Won (1962)
G | 164 min | Adventure, War, Western
A 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.
Directors: John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe | Stars: James Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda
Votes: 23,329 | Gross: $46.50M
Another excellent western spanning many years before, during and after the Civil War. George Peppard saves General Grant's life at the battle of Shiloh.
77. Deadwood (2004–2006)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, History
A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Brad Dourif
Votes: 117,665
Excellent story of Deadwood camp in Dakota territory, starting in 1878. Several of the characters mention their war service. Doc Cochran is traumatized by his experiences as a regimental surgeon. The Reverend Smith first heard god whilst serving in an infantry regiment and some of George Hearst's men served in the 69th New York.
78. Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, Western
About the legendary lawman Bass Reeves, one of the greatest frontier heroes and one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi River.
Stars: David Oyelowo, Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck
Votes: 11,210
Pretty good series tracing the story of Bass Reeves who started off life as a slave and eventually becomes a US Marshall. Most of the story is post war, but it starts at the battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas in 1862 where Bass is forced to fight alongside his master, a confederate major.
Barry Pepper plays a psychotic major in charge of a regiment of Indian irregulars. Post war, as a Texas Ranger he runs into Bass again.
79. Roots (1977)
TV-14 | 74 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
Stars: LeVar Burton, Robert Reed, John Amos, Louis Gossett Jr.
Votes: 18,882
Excellent series tracing the life of Kunta Kinte from his capture into slavery. Haven't seen this in a very long time but I'm pretty sure there must be a civil war sequence in there somewhere.
80. The Undefeated (1969)
Passed | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After 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.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Antonio Aguilar, Roman Gabriel
Votes: 7,563
Nice little post war western with Rock Hudson's unrepentant Confederates joining with John Wayne's Union veterans in Mexico.
81. Fort Apache (1948)
Passed | 128 min | Drama, Western
At Fort Apache, an honorable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple, Pedro Armendáriz
Votes: 19,696
My least favourite of John Ford's cavalry trilogy, but still a very good film. Civil War General Henry Fonda, now reverted back to Lt-Colonel leads his regiment in a campaign against the Apaches.
82. Hostiles (2017)
R | 134 min | Drama, Western
In 1892, a legendary Army Captain reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory.
Director: Scott Cooper | Stars: Scott Shepherd, Rosamund Pike, Ava Cooper, Stella Cooper
Votes: 95,713 | Gross: $29.82M
Very good post war western. Set in 1892 and on the eve of his retirement, Cavalry Captain Christian Bale reluctantly leads a small detachment of men accompanying a dying Commanche chief back to his former tribal grounds. The movie is essentially a road (or should that be prairie) trip with both Bale and Chief Wes Studi gaining a grudging respect for their former enemies. The one fleeting Civil war reference is when the grizzled and worn out Sergeant Major admits to a young lieutenant that he killed his first man at 14 years of age whilst fighting for the Grays.
83. Rio Lobo (1970)
G | 114 min | Drama, War, Western
After 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.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: John Wayne, Jorge Rivero, Jennifer O'Neill, Jack Elam
Votes: 13,667 | Gross: $9.27M
Starts with an impressive Confederate raid on a Union train carrying gold. With the war over John Wayne's Union colonel joins forces with the Confederate captain to track down a Union traitor.
84. The Last Samurai (2003)
R | 154 min | Action, Drama
Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton
Votes: 471,197 | Gross: $111.11M
Tom Cruise plays a traumatized Union veteran who goes to Japan to help train their army in modern tactics.
85. The Conspirator (2010)
PG-13 | 122 min | Crime, Drama, History
Mary 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.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline
Votes: 30,006 | Gross: $11.54M
Excellent courtroom drama about the trial of Mary Surratt, allegedly one of the Lincoln conspirators.
86. Winchester '73 (1950)
Passed | 92 min | Action, Drama, Western
A cowboy's obsession with a stolen rifle leads to a bullet-ridden odyssey through the American West.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally
Votes: 21,984
The story of a rifle. Won by Jimmy Stewart in a shooting contest in Dodge City, stolen from him by the man who murdered his father, then passing through several different hands until going full circle back to Stewart. On the way he helps a cavalry detachment fight off an indian attack. We learn that the cavalry sergeant is a veteran of the 9th Pennsylvania cavalry and fought at both Bull Run and Gettysburg. Stewart and his friend were also at Bull Run, but in a confederate regiment. Excellent film with a very good cast including Rock Hudson, a young Tony Curtis and Shelly Winters playing the love interest.
87. The Good Lord Bird (2020)
TV-MA | 48 min | Drama, War, Western
Ethan Hawke stars as abolitionist John Brown in this series based on the novel. "Onion" is a fictional enslaved boy who becomes a member of Brown's family of abolitionist soldiers and finds himself in the 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry.
Stars: Ethan Hawke, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Beau Knapp, Nick Eversman
Votes: 7,398
Interesting biopic of John Brown told from the viewpoint of a young slave liberated by Brown in Kansas, taking us through his raid on Harpers Ferry and finally, the aftermath of the raid including Brown's execution.
88. North and South, Book I (1985)
TV-PG | 94 min | Drama, History, Romance
Two friends, one northern and one southern, struggle to maintain their friendship as events build towards the American Civil War.
Stars: Kirstie Alley, Georg Stanford Brown, David Carradine, Philip Casnoff
Votes: 11,901
Pre civil war story about George Hazard, a Northerner, and Orry Main, a Southerner, who become friends after meeting at West Point.
89. Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III (1994)
91 min | Drama, History, Romance
The Civil War has just ended, but things in the country aren't much better, especially in the south.
Stars: Philip Casnoff, Kyle Chandler, Cathy Lee Crosby, Lesley-Anne Down
Votes: 2,875
Post civil war continuation of the story of the Hazard and Main families.
90. Sommersby (1993)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A farmer returns home from the Civil War, but his wife begins to suspect that the man is an impostor.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Lanny Flaherty, Wendell Wellman
Votes: 23,204 | Gross: $50.08M
Another film set after the war when Richard Gere's Confederate veteran Jack Sommersby returns home.
91. True Grit (1969)
G | 128 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian Territory.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Jeremy Slate
Votes: 51,441 | Gross: $31.13M
Set after the civil war but both John Wayne and Glen Campbell play Confederate veterans. I do enjoy the scene where they insult each other about their respective war records. I've even been to Lone Jack where Rooster lost his eye during a 'little scrap outside Kansas City'. There's a very small but nice little museum there.
92. Seraphim Falls (2006)
R | 115 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
After the end of the American Civil War, a former Confederate colonel hunts down a former Yankee officer with whom he has a grudge.
Director: David Von Ancken | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston, Michael Wincott
Votes: 34,523 | Gross: $0.42M
Interesting post-war western in which Pierce Brosnan an ex union captain is pursued through the wilderness by Liam Neeson's ex confederate colonel. But which of the two is the victim?
93. They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
Approved | 140 min | War, Western
A 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.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Arthur Kennedy, Charley Grapewin
Votes: 6,912
Errol Flynn at his swashbuckling best in a post war biopic of George Armstrong Custer and the battle of the Little Big Horn.
94. Shane (1953)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Western
A weary gunfighter in 1880s Wyoming begins to envision a quieter life after befriending a homestead family with a young son who idolizes him, but a smoldering range war forces him to act.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde
Votes: 44,148 | Gross: $20.00M
Not too sure about this but I believe that Shane and some of the Homesteaders are Confederate veterans whilst Jack Palance and the Ranchers men were Yankees.
95. The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)
Approved | 96 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned after innocently treating President Lincoln's assassin in 1865.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Warner Baxter, Gloria Stuart, Claude Gillingwater, Arthur Byron
Votes: 2,574
Well made history of Dr Samuel Mudd's trial for conspiracy in President Lincoln's murder, and his subsequent imprisonment at Fort Jefferson, Florida.
96. The Hateful Eight (2015)
R | 168 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins
Votes: 659,962 | Gross: $54.12M
Civil war references aplenty in Tarantino's latest western with Bruce Dern playing Confederate General Sandy Smithers, Samuel L. Jackson playing ex Union Major Marquis Warren and Walton Goggins as a former Confederate Captain from the guerilla unit, Mannix's Marauders, which was led by his father.
97. Bandolero! (1968)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Western
Mace Bishop (James Stewart) masquerades as a hangman in order to save his outlaw brother, Dee (Dean Martin), from the gallows, runs to Mexico chased by Sheriff July Johnson's (George Kennedy's) posse and fights against Mexican bandits.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch, George Kennedy
Votes: 5,729
In 1867 brothers Dean Martin and James Stewart kidnap Rachel Welch and rob a bank for which they are pursued through Texas into Mexico by Sheriff George Kennedy. During the war Martin rode with Quantrill & Kennedy with Forrest whilst Stewart was one of Sherman's Bummers.
98. The Tall Men (1955)
Approved | 122 min | Western
Two brothers discharged from the Confederate Army join a businessman for a cattle drive from Texas to Montana where they run into raiding Jayhawkers, angry Sioux, rough terrain and bad weather.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan, Cameron Mitchell
Votes: 3,226 | Gross: $12.00M
A pair of brothers who formally served with Quantrill rob a businessman but then team up with him to drive a herd of cattle from Texas to Montana. Pretty good western with a decent cast; Clark Gable and the High Chaparral's Cameron Mitchell play the brothers, Robert Ryan the businessman and Jane Russell provides the love interest.
99. Rio Conchos (1964)
Not Rated | 107 min | Western
A former Confederate officer and a Mexican try to prevent a former Confederate colonel from selling stolen rifles to renegade Apaches in Mexico.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Richard Boone, Stuart Whitman, Anthony Franciosa, Wende Wagner
Votes: 2,325
Two years after the end of the Civil War a former rebel major reluctantly agrees to join forces with a yankee captain and a black sergeant to destroy a shipment of stolen repeating rifles before they are sold by a renegade rebel colonel to the Apaches. A pretty good western.
100. The Proud Rebel (1958)
Approved | 103 min | Drama, Western
A Confederate veteran living in the Yankee North struggles with his son's shock-induced muteness and the Northerners' hatred.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Alan Ladd, Olivia de Havilland, Dean Jagger, David Ladd
Votes: 2,290
Former rebel, Alan Ladd, takes his real life son David north looking for a cure to the boys muteness, the result of a shock when their Georgia home was bombarded and his mother killed.
In the north, he finds plenty of prejudice, particularly from sheep farmer Dean Jagger and his sons, but he also finds love from Olivia de Havilland.
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