Best Civil War movies

[Hardcane69]

Any actor who could manage an acceptable American Southern accent.

I myself thought leonardo DiCaprio did a pretty good job in Django .

 

[gunhilltrain]

True, though in school it's only mentioned as the backdrop to the Anglo-French war (not a civil war, clue's in the name!) and mostly as further evidence of John being a wrong'un, after we'd been indoctrinated by Disney's Robin Hood.

It's remarkable how many Brits cite that fox as their first crush...

Anglo-French war: how many times have those two fought? Yet they seem to be BFFs since about the Crimean War (militarily, at least), unless I missed something. But we've BFFs with the Germans and Japanese now, although we're itching to drop The Big One on China

Why do people get so worked up over these things when they should know that everyone is going to change sides as soon as the shooting stops?

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Anglo-French war: how many times have those two fought? Yet they seem to be BFFs since about the Crimean War (militarily, at least), unless I missed something. But we've BFFs with the Germans and Japanese now, although we're itching to drop The Big One on China

Why do people get so worked up over these things when they should know that everyone is going to change sides as soon as the shooting stops?

We don't mind the French since Napoleon got comprehensively defeated, followed by the Entente Cordiale 1904, which of course led to WW1...

On the subject of changing sides, I recently had to read the whistle-stop history of Vietnam since 1945 (it's an option on English history syllabuses now for 14-16yos), which was an intense half-hour, especially explaining it to a kid who kept going "but why did the Americans object to communism?", which was taken as an axiom...

 

[gunhilltrain]

We don't mind the French since Napoleon got comprehensively defeated, followed by the Entente Cordiale 1904, which of course led to WW1...

On the subject of changing sides, I recently had to read the whistle-stop history of Vietnam since 1945 (it's an option on English history syllabuses now for 14-16yos), which was an intense half-hour, especially explaining it to a kid who kept going "but why did the Americans object to communism?", which was taken as an axiom...

Well, they did "win" World War I, with the help of the British, who suffered horrible causalities, and especially the Royal Navy, who had an effective blockade against the Germans. The Americans didn't really arrive in force until what, the spring or summer of 1918? We certainly weren't in any rush.

The French took horrible losses too in that war. The reason, I think, for French defeats was not cowardice on the part of the troops but the incompetence of the high command. But the British, despite their claims of prowess, have had a long string of land-based botches going back to the American Revolution.

Vietnam: Some other time.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It's all Bismarck's fault. He made the war look easy and worthwhile (captivating Nietzsche in the process). Without Bismarck, the First World War would not have taken place, and consequently, Bolshevism and Fascism would not have emerged.

Except the Bolsheviks and Menshiviks split from the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903, and the Bolsheviks then became their own party in 1912, taking power in 1917. The first world war was the opportunity, not the cause of Russian Marxist parties. Similarly, Mussolini started the Italian fascists in 1915.

Granted, the first world war more directly led to Nazism, with the myth of the stab in the back.

 

[CyranoJ]

So anyway, aside from Lincoln, the very best movie ever made about the American Civil War is Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It's all Bismarck's fault. He made the war look easy and worthwhile (captivating Nietzsche in the process). Without Bismarck, the First World War would not have taken place, and consequently, Bolshevism and Fascism would not have emerged.

I guess I'm weighing in on this. Many wars are considered "easy and worthwhile" by one or more participants. Then they are shocked when they find out that they were wrong. Sometimes one side will be quickly knocked out. The U.S. had that good luck in the Spanish-American War and the First Gulf War (admittedly, weak opponents). Or Israel's Six-Day War. If the war gains momentum, however, then everybody thinks they've invested too much blood and money to easily give up or negotiate a settlement.

I'll have to think about Bismarck.

 

[gunhilltrain]

A person arrives at a forum on a sex site, hoping to engage in discussions about desired areola diameter and penile curvature. What is this person doing in the Civil War thread?

You obviously don't mean a specific person on here? I have some doubts about starting this thread in the first place; I only justified it because it mentions an article that came out two days after the Geek Pride event. (Two of the movies on the list are mentioned in some detail within my story - Glory and Cold Mountain.) A coincidence of course, and the justification may be a bit tenuous but I think it qualifies for AH. I certainly am not going on the General or Politics Boards.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Ride with the Devil is one of the best.

Okay, you revived this thread.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134154/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_Ride%20with%20the%20Devil

Missouri was a "border state," a "slave" state that remained in the Union. Things got pretty contentious in such places (Maryland sent regiments to both sides). Kansas had some difficult times too. I believe it was admitted to the Union as a "free " state, but not everyone there agreed with that.

(I hope I got those details right.)

 

[Bramblethorn]

Missouri was a "border state," a "slave" state that remained in the Union. Things got pretty contentious in such places (Maryland sent regiments to both sides). Kansas had some difficult times too. I believe it was admitted to the Union as a "free " state, but not everyone there agreed with that.

To put it mildly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas

 

[SimonDoom]

So anyway, aside from Lincoln, the very best movie ever made about the American Civil War is Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil.

I don't know anything about this movie. Thanks for the mention. I'll give it a look.