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DVD The Blue and the Gray (The Complete Miniseries)
Before Ken Burns, Glory, and Gettysburg, the Civil War proved an effective backdrop for this 1982 miniseries--available complete and uncut on this three-disc set--about two families divided by the War Between the States. John Hammond stars as John Geyser, a Southerner caught "betwixt and between" when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper published by his uncle. Like a Civil War-era Forrest Gump, he finds himself "where history's in the making," from the Battle of Bull Run to the scene of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Stacy Keach costars as an Army scout who takes the "fresh off the farm" Geyser under his wing. Julia Duffy is the schoolmarm who loves Keach. The ham-handed dialogue is a guilty pleasure ("What's wrong with this land that produces such a bitter fruit?" asks the embittered Geyser). The meticulously mounted battle scenes, though, are a Civil War reenactor's dream. --Donald Liebenson
Review(s): DVD The Blue and the Gray (The Complete Miniseries)
Good entertainment not without historical value
This is a pretty good miniseries that essentially deals with one family that is divided in its allegiances during the Civil War. This is a sentimental and personal miniseries in which historical events of the Civil War are a backdrop for what amounts to a family drama. This having been said, the history is there too. Gregory Peck does his usual stellar job as Abraham Lincoln and really becomes the man. Stacy Keach and the rest of the cast also turn in decent performances.
Another reviewer described this miniseries as a "guilty pleasure" and I would say that that about sums it up. This is not a dead serious Civil War saga along the lines of "North and South." However, it is eminently watchable, and I have watched it several times, always with enjoyment. That is the test of whether a DVD is a good entertainment value.
Civil War
I grew up in Virginia so it was easy to get interested in the Civil War. The Blue and the Gray may not follow the exact sequences of the actual war but it is a great story of family and country.
Very, Very Blue
Sorry, I'm more of an action viewer. It broke my heart to hear the Gettysburg address and not see any of the battle. The series teases you by placing the setting in Gettysburg, yet no emphasis was place on one of the most historic battles in American history. Stick to Ted Turner's "Gettysburg" if you like action.
Related DVD's The Blue and the Gray (The Complete Miniseries)
As a history major, I pruned and picked away at North and South looking for historical inaccuracies, and found little if any. This was a great series, with enough humor, drama, and juicy affairs to keep everyone interested. When it first aired, I was only interested in the Orrie - Madaline drama, as it was the stuff trashy books are based on. Of course, put any trashy drama in the middle of a bigger conflict (in this case, The Civil War) and you have a recipe for a great story that wrote itself.
The crux of the story is the relationship between Orrie and George, two who meet as young men at West Pointe to become lifelong friends and enemies as they will serve on the Northern and Southern sides of the Civil War. The mini series does a fantastic job combing the historical... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Richard T. Heffron - Kevin Connor - Larry Peerce DVD Release Date: Released the 05 October 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Three days in the summer of 1863, at a place called Gettysburg. Although it received a theatrical release, this four-hour depiction of the bloody Civil War battle was shot as a made-for-television film. But no taint of cheapness or shortcuts should stick to this magnificent picture (well, except maybe for those phony-looking mustaches). Based on Michael Shaara's book The Killer Angels, this film takes a refreshingly slow, thorough approach to the intricacies of battle. In ordinary circumstances, those intricacies might seem of importance only to fans of military strategy or Civil War enthusiasts, yet in Gettysburg they come across as the very stuff of life, death, and unexpected heroism. If the film has a problem, it's that it climaxes too early: the first long segment,... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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"Andersonville" is an intense drama about a Civil War prison camp for captured Union soldiers. The camp is a huge stockade, built for 5,000 prisoners of war, but is filled to overcrowding with 8,000 Union POW's, and more arriving daily. The conditions are horrible beyond words, virtually no food, no sanitation, clothing in rags and tatters, no shelter from the rain, gangs rampaging through the camp, rampant disease, a hundred men dying a day - a literal hell on earth. Puported to be historical fact, the story centers on a brigade from Massachusetts and their struggle to survive, and what a horrendous struggle it is. Other reviewers have stated that the story is not entirely truthful. Due to the shortage of critical supplies in the south, I do not doubt that the deporable conditions... More Info about this DVD Director(s): John Frankenheimer DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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An engrossing, 1983 television miniseries based on a bestselling work of historical fiction by Herman Wouk, The Winds of War is an admirable production reminiscent of the era of Hollywood's epic features. At the center of the globe-trotting story is the Henry family, whose laconic but straight-shooting patriarch is United States Navy Commander Victor "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum), sent to Hitler's Berlin in the spring of 1939 as a naval attaché to the then-neutral American embassy. A keen observer, Pug deduces that Germany is not preparing for war on two fronts (western Europe on one side, Russia on the other) despite what the Nazis want the world to believe, meaning that Hitler must be working out a secret peace deal with Stalin. Pug's prescience makes him a favorite... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Robert Mitchum DVD Release Date: Released the 25 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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