Best Civil War Dramas
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- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- CreatorJohn LeekleyStarsStacy KeachJohn HammondJulia DuffyAmerica just before and during the Civil War, as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.
- StarsPhilip CasnoffKyle ChandlerCathy Lee CrosbyThe Civil War has just ended, but things in the country aren't much better, especially in the south.
- DirectorCharles HaidStarsLamont BentleyTom BowerTimothy BusfieldThe all-black US Cavalry Troop H pursues Apache warrior Victorio while dealing with racial bigotry and myths about their designated enemies.
- DirectorRon MaxwellStarsTom BerengerMartin SheenStephen LangIn 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsTobey MaguireSkeet UlrichJewelDuring the American Civil War, two friends join the Bushwhackers, a militant group loyal to the Confederacy.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- StarsDamian LewisJason O'MaraWilliam ZabkaThe emotional lives of America's Civil War generals, their wives and families - from West Point to Appomattox - against a backdrop of a war.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottVirginia MayoKaren SteeleIn 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.
- DirectorCharles Marquis WarrenStarsSterling HaydenJoan LeslieWard BondA man is framed and sent to toughest prison in the territory.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsGlenn FordWilliam HoldenEllen DrewAt the end of the Civil War, two friends return home to Colorado and one of them has changed and is violent and erratic.
- DirectorJulian AdamsA. Blaine MillerStarsJulian AdamsGwendolyn EdwardsEric HollowayRobert Adams was a valorous southern Captain who used his heart of fire to rally his men to fight. He fell in love with Eveline, a smart, kind and strong willed school teacher from the north. As they met, the Civil War was upon them.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsAudie MurphyKathryn GrantHope EmersonUnion Army deserter, Lt. Hewitt, trains a rag tag band of all-female homesteaders to defend themselves against a Comanche tribe on the warpath.
- DirectorDale JacksonStarsRyan WatsonKevyn SettleKid RichmondDaniel Neal and his Older brother josh grew up together on a farm in Northern Virginia. Daniel the hard working salt of the earth type and Josh the smart bookish one. After their father dies Josh leaves the family when he's 17 to go north and get an education. The family never hears from him again, until one day many years later on a battlefield in northern Virginia, during one of the biggest battles between the North and The South the two brother meet again only each is fighting for the other side.
- DirectorKevin R. HershbergerStarsCyril AugustinRobert BlumensteinPaul BoccadoroTells the story of the Confederacy's last great invasion of the north, in July 1864, and the subsequent attack on Washington, D.C. that almost brought the northern war effort to its knees. Follows the campaign from Richmond to Petersburg, then to battles at Lynchburg and General Jubal Early's fight down the Shenandoah Valley - defeating two Union Armies in the process. The Confederates crossing the Potomac River into Maryland, and the ransoming of Frederick and Hagerstown; The pivotal Battle of Monocacy (July 9, 1864), and the desperate defense by Union General Lew Wallace. Finally, the Confederates reaching the gates of Washington, and missing their chance to capture the Union Capitol by minutes. Tells the story of the battle and the campaign through the eyes of the men who fought and died on the farms of Western Maryland.
- DirectorYelena LanskayaStarsRyan MerrimanSteve BacicWilliam MacDonaldDuring the heat of battle in the midst of the Civil War, a beguilingly innocent colt is born to Union Jim Rabb's beloved mare. Refusing the orders to shoot it, lest it prove a hindrance, Rabb keeps the colt as a consolation in these desperate times-a symbol of hope that leads the men of the First Cavalry on a journey of self-discovery and newfound brotherhood.
- DirectorWhitney HamiltonStarsDana BennisonRebecca DamonGerry GreenOn the day of her engagement, Grace Kieler finds her family and fiancé divided on political matters. With her future husband off to join the Union army and her brother vowing loyalty to the Confederates, she is torn. She promises her father that she will protect and care for her brother. Upon her father's death Grace decides to cut her hair, don her brother's clothes, and take his name to join the ranks of the Rebel army. She must find him and keep him from getting killed. Along the way, she meets Virginia Klaising, a widow and mother grieving the death of her only son. Virginia begins to fall for this Rebel 'boy' as they travel the backwoods avoiding both armies trying to get back home. By the same turn, Henry (Grace) finds himself comforted by this unfortunate woman. Together they are able to mend the wounds that tear the underpinnings of the heart. As love blooms and the secret becomes harder to conceal, the two realize that they have something precious---an unspoken candor that reveals the soul. When Henry is shot and brought back from most certain death, the secret is revealed and yet the bond grows stronger. After living through such brutal loss and watching the carnality of war unfold before them, they realize they only have each other. And yet it is more than enough. It is the balm that soothes---the quiet whisper that comforts. Each becomes a beacon in a time of great darkness, though their journey is short-lived as each must reach a destination without the other.
- DirectorBrian James EgenStarsBradley M. EgenJody ChansuolmeAaron Jackson"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a psychological thriller that takes many emotional turns and finally catches the audience off guard as it ends with an unsettling, macabre twist.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsChristopher ReeveMadolyn Smith OsborneGranville Van DusenUnion detective Allan Pinkerton falls in love with an aristocrat caught spying for the Confederacy.
- StarsPhilip CasnoffKyle ChandlerCathy Lee CrosbyThe Civil War has just ended, but things in the country aren't much better, especially in the south.
- CreatorJohn LeekleyStarsStacy KeachJohn HammondJulia DuffyAmerica just before and during the Civil War, as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.
- StarsTimothy BottomsJane SeymourBruce BoxleitnerScreen adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel which begins in the years after the American Civil War and, through the story of the Trask family, brings to light a struggle and conflict inherent in the human condition.
- DirectorSean McNamaraStarsMichael KrebsJake LawsonSean MarquetteA 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.
- DirectorSerge RodnunskyStarsChristina RicciJason GedrickGabrielle PopaNorth Carolina 1863, the Civil War is raging. In this inspired story of tragedy and love we follow the lives of Melody, a precocious seven-year old, and her young mother Sarabeth as they struggle on their farm to survive the war.
- DirectorLarry G. SpanglerStarsFred WilliamsonD'Urville MartinDenise NicholasAfter the end of the Civil War, Charley fights against a group of Southern soldiers seeking to reignite the Confederacy.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsVirginia MadsenAlex Hyde-WhiteReed DiamondA naval battle between two large ships: the "Monitor" and the "Merrimack".
- DirectorDonald FarmerStarsMaria OrtizMiles O'KeeffeRena Watts
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsCharlton HestonAnne BaxterGilbert RolandWhen Confederate officer Colt Saunders returns to his Texas ranch after the war he finds his lands wanted by carpetbaggers and by corrupt provisional government commissioners Harrison and Cable.
- DirectorPaul WintersStarsPaul WintersRicco RossMark S. BrienAfter the American Civil War, freed slave Nate Washington and his childhood friend, Confederate Colonel Ben Loftin head west. On the Western Plains, they encounter a band of Chippewa Indians who will forever change their lives.
- CreatorNick AdamsAndrew J. FenadyStarsNick AdamsChuck HamiltonSid TroyAfter the end of the Civil War, a former Confederate Army private roams the Wild West, and, as a rogue drifter, gets involved in helping out various settlers threatened by various bad guys.
- DirectorTimur BekmambetovStarsBenjamin WalkerRufus SewellDominic CooperAbraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsDaniel MarkelTracy GriffithZach GalliganA failed pilot about a rich Virginia plantation owner and his family caught up in the American Civil War. He has a slave for a mistress, his older son is to marry a working class Irish girl and his younger son promotes the Confederacy.
- 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.
- StarsHal HolbrookSada ThompsonMichael CristoferThe life of Abraham Lincoln is told in episodic parts.
- StarsSam WaterstonMary Tyler MooreRichard MulliganAfter arriving in Washington in 1861 after his election, Abraham Lincoln struggles with personal and political problems during his Presidency.
- DirectorDaniel BarberStarsBrit MarlingHailee SteinfeldSam WorthingtonLeft 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.
- DirectorSergio CorbucciStarsJoseph CottenNorma BengellJulián MateosA Southern Colonel, his three sons and a card shark embark on an odyssey through the Southwest carrying a coffin full of stolen money with which the Colonel plans to revive the Confederacy.
- DirectorPeter EdwardsStarsJürgen ProchnowMartin SheenCorbin BernsenAfter the War of Secession, Southern farmers who are not in line with defeat foment rebellions against the central government.
- DirectorStan LathanStarsShavar RossCCH PounderThalmus RasulalaSet in the 1860's South, Booker is the impassioned story of the boy who struggled through slavery to found the Tuskegee Institute. Through the eyes of nine-year-old Booker T. Washington, viewers witness the end of the Civil War, the cruelties that endured after slavery was abolished, and the hard work that led Booker to education and true freedom. Booker is a one-hour drama based on the childhood of Booker T. Washington and his quest for education in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War. Booker was shown nationally on PBS by the series, WONDERWORKS and subsequently on the Disney Channel, the BBC, and throughout the world. Booker continues to be broadcast and used in thousands of schools in America and abroad. The film was chosen as among the top 10 best home video release for children by Parenting Magazine and best script for a children's drama by the Writer's Guild of America.
- 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.
- DirectorMichele LupoStarsGiuliano GemmaWilliam BergerMiguel BoséAfter the Civil War, Michael "California" Random, is released from prison and goes to Missouri with his partner William. He is killed by bandits. California decides to return the belongings to his family and help them against outlaws.
- DirectorMartin GoldmanStarsFred WilliamsonD'Urville MartinDon Pedro ColleyA slave kills a white man in self-defense and heads West towards freedom, pursued by a professional slave hunter.
- DirectorLarry G. SpanglerStarsFred WilliamsonD'Urville MartinDenise NicholasAfter the end of the Civil War, Charley fights against a group of Southern soldiers seeking to reignite the Confederacy.
- DirectorClyde WareStarsMartin SheenDavey DavisonRod McCaryDuring the Civil War, a conscientious objector is forced to flee to the woods of West Virginia to avoid being sent into combat where he would be forced to kill, which he is adamantly against. He sets up shelter in a cave and is warily accepted by his new "neighbors"--the animals who live in the vicinity.
- DirectorJohn 'Bud' CardosStarsRobert DoQuiIsaac FieldsBarbara HaleA recruit joins an all-black cavalry regiment led by a white man in the post-Civil War West.
- DirectorCalvin SkaggsStarsTom AldredgeDylan BakerTony CarlinFirst few weeks of Lincoln's presidency where crucial for the direction the country would take. He had to bridge the gap between the victorious North and the jaded South and William H. Seward, his Secretary of State, played a crucial role.