Series cast summary: | |||
Sam Waterston | ... |
President Abraham Lincoln
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Julie Harris | ... |
Mary Chestnut
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Jason Robards | ... |
Ulysses S. Grant
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Morgan Freeman | ... |
Frederick Douglass
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Paul Roebling | ... |
Joshua L. Chamberlain
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Garrison Keillor | ... |
Walt Whitman
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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George Black | ... |
Robert E. Lee
(9 episodes, 1990)
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David McCullough | ... |
Himself - Narrator
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Arthur Miller | ... |
William Tecumseh Sherman
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Christopher Murney | ... |
Pvt. Elijah Hunt Rhodes
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Charles McDowell | ... |
Pvt. Sam Watkins
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Horton Foote | ... |
Jefferson Davis
(9 episodes, 1990)
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George Plimpton | ... |
George Templeton Strong
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Philip Bosco | ... |
Horace Greeley
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Terry Courier | ... |
George McClellan
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Jody Powell | ... |
Stonewall Jackson
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Studs Terkel | ... |
Benjamin F. Butler
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Jeremy Irons | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Derek Jacobi | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Kurt Vonnegut Jr. | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Gene Jones | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Jerome Dempsey | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Laurence Fishburne | ... |
Various
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Betsy Apple | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Carol Craven | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Marissa Copeland | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Halo Wines | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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David Marks | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Pamela Reed | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Ronnie Gilbert | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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M. Emmet Walsh | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Hoyt Axton | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
|
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John Hartford | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
|
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Walt MacPherson | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
|
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Colleen Dewhurst | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
|
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LaTanya Richardson Jackson | ... |
Various
/ ...
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Bradford Washburn | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Jesse Carr | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Wendy Tilghman | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Joe Mattys | ... |
Various
(9 episodes, 1990)
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Shelby Foote | ... |
Himself - Writer
/ ...
(8 episodes, 1990)
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Ed Bearss | ... |
Himself - Historian
(6 episodes, 1990)
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Barbara Fields | ... |
Herself - Historian
(5 episodes, 1990)
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James Symington | ... |
Himself - Former Congressman
(4 episodes, 1990)
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Stephen B. Oates | ... |
Himself - Historian
/ ...
(4 episodes, 1990)
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This highly acclaimed mini series traces the course of the U.S. Civil War from the abolitionist movement through all the major battles to the death of President Lincoln and the beginnings of Reconstruction. The story is mostly told in the words of the participants themselves, through their diaries, letters, and Visuals are usually still photographs and illustrations of the time, and the soundtrack is likewise made up of war-era tunes played on period instruments. Several modern-day historians offer periodic comment and insight on the war's causes and events. Written by Eric Sorensen <Eric_Sorensen@fc.mcps.k12.md.us>
I watched THE CIVIL WAR when it first aired in 1990 and have seen it several times since, and it never seems to lose its impact. While it wasn't Burns' first film, it typified his style perfectly and was really the peak of his form. I enjoy how he uses accounts of both the great and the common participants, and how he doesn't offer an oversimplified account of either side or their motives. I doubt it'll ever be topped.