The American Civil War is a significant part of the country’s history. It was the bloodiest war in American history and pitted brother against brother. A large number of movies have either been made about the war or were set in the time of the war. Below is a list of the top five movies set in the time of the American Civil War.
5: Shenandoah. Jimmy Stewart stars as a widower who is trying to raise his five sons, one daughter and one daughter in law. He owns a large farm and all his family wants to do is be left alone. Unfortunately, the Civil War is raging around them and slowly, the family gets sucked deeper and deeper into the horrors of the war.
4: The Red Badge of Courage. Audie Murphy stars as a Yankee soldier during the Civil War. He takes command of the soldiers and performs heroically. This movie is the film adaptation of Steven Crane’s classic novel of the same name.
3: Glory. Matthew Broderick stars as Colonel Shaw, a white commander of an all black regiment. He trains the soldiers and gets them ready to fight. However, the commanders do not trust the regiment to perform well in battle. They are only assigned menial tasks until Shaw requests a battle assignment. During several engagements, the regiment performs heroically. Look for excellent performances by Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington as soldiers in the regiment.
2: Gone with the Wind. 8 Oscars were awarded to this 1939 movie. It tells the story of a spoiled Southern girl immediately preceding the Civil War. As the war breaks out, and eventually rages all around her, she loses all that she loves, including her husband and her beloved plantation.
1: Gettysburg. This film is an excellent adaptation of the actual events leading up to and including the pivotal battle of Gettysburg. This 1993 film accurately portrays order of the battle, including Picket’s charge and Little Big Top. Great lengths were taken to maintain historical accuracy. Additionally, thousands of volunteer Civil War enactors participated in the making of the film. The enactors participated as extras in the battle scenes. This is quite simply the best Civil War movie ever made.
Additional movies that could be added to a top Civil War movie list include “Outlaw Josey Wales”, “Dances with Wolves” and “Gods and Generals” and “Gettysburg, Three Days of Courage”.