"The Civil War" (1990) TV series

Seasons:

1 | unknown

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 | Ulysses Simpson Grant | Abraham Lincoln | Voice Over Letter | Battle Hymn Of The Republic

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:

Sam Waterston, who voices President Abraham Lincoln, also portrayed the 16th President in the TV movie Lincoln (1988) (TV).

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:

[Reacting to the Confederate Government's move to have African American Slaves serve as soldiers in the Army.]
Senator Howell Cobb: You cannot make soldiers of slaves, or slaves of soldiers. The day you make a soldier of them is the beginning of the end of the Revolution. And if slaves seem good soldiers, then our whole theory of slavery is wrong.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Werewolf (#10.4)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder

The best use to which television has been put

As a historian I can say that there is little so difficult or gratifing as to bring history accurately alive for others. As a military historian I will say that war is both the highest and lowest achievement and calling of humanity. All wars are filled with pathos, and it is almost by definition impossible to fully understand and contextualize them until they are of the past. It may be that the US Civil War is that around which the greatest pathos exists; perhaps the last war in which honour and purpose were equally upheld on both sides - which is not to say that all those who participated were honorable or idealistic. In this work, Ken Burns brought history to life, made the war as understandable as possible, and transmitted the pathos, the honour, the horror, the vileness, and the humanity of the thing. In so doing he redefined film documentary. The Civil War is the best use to which television has been put.