"The Civil War" (1990) TV series

User Rating:

9.6/10   

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)

Series Directed by
Ken Burns		(9 episodes, 1990)

Series Writing credits
Ken Burns		(9 episodes, 1990)

Series Produced by
Ken Burns	....	executive producer (9 episodes, 1990)

Series Cinematography by
Ken Burns		(9 episodes, 1990)

Series Film Editing by
Paul Barnes		(9 episodes, 1990)
Tricia Reidy		(9 episodes, 1990)
Bruce Shaw		(9 episodes, 1990)

Series Music Department
Ken Burns	....	musical director (9 episodes, 1990)

Production Companies

• American Documentaries Inc.
• Florentine Films
• Kenneth Lauren Burns
• Time-Life Video
• WETA

Distributors

• Direct Cinema Limited (1990) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Video
• PBS Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• PBS Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Polyband (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1990) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Turner Home Entertainment

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:

Abraham Lincoln: As a nation, we began by declaring that "All men are created equal." We now practically read it, "All men are created equal, except Negroes." Soon, it will read "All men are created equal, except Negroes, and Foreigners and Catholics." When it comes to this, I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty. To Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Majestic (2001)

Soundtrack:

Marching Through Georgia

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.