IMDb RATING
7.5/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
America just before and during the Civil War, as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.America just before and during the Civil War, as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.America just before and during the Civil War, as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.
- Nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
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Did you know
- TriviaSome filming took place at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Arkansas. The film crew built a false side onto a historic building there, then blew it off for a special effect, assuring the State park officials that no harm would come to the building. The explosion was larger than promised, damaging the historic house's structure.
- GoofsWhen John Brown is hanged for the uprising at Harper's Ferry, the apple trees are in full blossom. John Brown was hanged on 2 December 1859.
- Quotes
Abraham Lincoln: It's well known that the more a man speaks, the less he's understood.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Saturday Night Live: Drew Barrymore/Squeeze (1982)
- SoundtracksRock of Ages
Lyrics by Augustus Montague Toplady (as Augustus M. Toplady)
Music by Thomas Hastings
Featured review
A good if somewhat uneven miniseries
This miniseries shows the war primarily through the eyes of a Virginian who wants to witness history but cannot commit to either side of the conflict. His new-found profession of journalism allows him to participate as a neutral observer. He is surrounded by relatives and friends on both sides, and the miniseries shows events through their eyes as well.
The human side of the war is stressed, and it excellently portrays the toll the conflict took on families.
Many of the subplots are taken from Civil War historian Bruce Catton's final work, "Reflections On The Civil War." However, none of the people in the book, including the real John Geyser, appear in the miniseries. Rather, observations made in the book are woven around the main storyline as supplementary material.
Most of the military aspects of the miniseries are laughable and bear little resemblance to reality. Due to the miniseries being done on a miniseries budget we see none of the grand scale evident in "Gettysburg" or "Glory."
Stacy Keach gives a terrific performance as Jonas Steele, the Federal special operations agent. We see from his performance a little of the decentralized, more personalized ways in which intelligence gathering and other non-standard military operations were conducted in the nineteenth century.
The miniseries ran for over six hours on CBS in 1982, but well over an hour was cut for the two-cassette video release. Get the whole treatment if you can.
The human side of the war is stressed, and it excellently portrays the toll the conflict took on families.
Many of the subplots are taken from Civil War historian Bruce Catton's final work, "Reflections On The Civil War." However, none of the people in the book, including the real John Geyser, appear in the miniseries. Rather, observations made in the book are woven around the main storyline as supplementary material.
Most of the military aspects of the miniseries are laughable and bear little resemblance to reality. Due to the miniseries being done on a miniseries budget we see none of the grand scale evident in "Gettysburg" or "Glory."
Stacy Keach gives a terrific performance as Jonas Steele, the Federal special operations agent. We see from his performance a little of the decentralized, more personalized ways in which intelligence gathering and other non-standard military operations were conducted in the nineteenth century.
The miniseries ran for over six hours on CBS in 1982, but well over an hour was cut for the two-cassette video release. Get the whole treatment if you can.
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- antelope-3
- Nov 15, 2000
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