"The Civil War" (1990) TV series

User Rating:

9.6/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

23 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History | War

Tagline:

It divided a country. It created a nation.

Plot:

A comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.

Plot Keywords:

American Civil War | Reenactment | Sequel | Slavery | Abolition

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Sam Waterston	...	President Abraham Lincoln (9 episodes, 1990)
Jason Robards	...	Ulysses S. Grant (9 episodes, 1990)
Morgan Freeman	...	Frederick Douglass (9 episodes, 1990)
Garrison Keillor	...	Walt Whitman (9 episodes, 1990)
Arthur Miller	...	William Tecumseh Sherman (9 episodes, 1990)
George Plimpton	...	George Templeton Strong (9 episodes, 1990)
Horton Foote	...	Jefferson Davis (9 episodes, 1990)
George Black	...	Robert E. Lee (9 episodes, 1990)
Philip Bosco	...	Horace Greeley (9 episodes, 1990)
Derek Jacobi	...	Various (9 episodes, 1990)
Jeremy Irons	...	Various (9 episodes, 1990)
David McCullough	...	Narrator (9 episodes, 1990)
Christopher Murney	...	Elijah Hunt Rhodes (9 episodes, 1990)

Also Known As:

"The American Civil War" (UK)

Runtime:

USA:680 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

American Documentaries Inc.

Trivia:

Took six years to make - two years longer than the war itself.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In describing the assassination of President Lincoln, the narrator states the president was 54 years old when he died. He was, in fact, 56 years old. This mistake, however, has been corrected on the DVD.

Quotes:

Frederick Douglass: Verily, the work does not end with the abolition of slavery, but only begins.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "South Park: The Red Badge of Gayness (#3.14)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder

A groundbreaking film, for our defining moment

When The Civil War first aired in 1990, it became a phenomenon. I

was a little kid, but I remember "Ashokan Farewell" and the

intriguing black and white images and voiceovers from the screen,

and people talking about it all over the place. To be sure, the

intimacy of the film eventually made me a Civil War buff, as it has

for tens of thousands across the country.

The fact is, Ken Burns created a monumental piece of television

that chronicled, if not in a general fashion, by far the most defining

moment in our history and an incredibly groundbreaking way.

The film is simple, yet is so profound in it's simplicity and style,

using just pictures and accounts and music and some bursts of

color from modern cinematography. For the first time, we heard the

accounts of real soldiers and people, and instead of taking sides,

it gave a sense of humanity to both sides in a war that is riddled

with political and social posturing, but was ultimately all slaughter.