Films about the Civil War in the United States occupy a prominent place in world cinema. It was the films of this theme that largely determined the development of such a popular genre as western. Until now, many films are considered classics and are of interest not only to the modern viewer, but also to directors who often imitate this style.
a brief description of
Films about the American Civil War are usually shot in the Western or Spaghetti Western genres. The following features are characteristic of these films: the plot takes place in the Wild West, that is, in the western states, as well as in Canada or Mexico, the main theme is the development of desert or already inhabited spaces (in the latter case, the struggle of American settlers with the Indians is shown) , the confrontation of an innovative and backward lifestyle. The main character is a person with his own peculiar code of honor, which does not obey the current legislation. Cinema of this kind is full of action, shootings, chases, robberies, etc. Films about the American Civil War are extremely popular due to the famously twisted plot, ambiguous characters, and complicated tricks.
The main difference between the two indicated genres is that westerns, as a rule, are more or less oriented towards the historical realities of the era, while spaghetti westerns present the viewer with some conditional reality, which very vaguely resembles the situation in the country in the nineteenth century.
"Gone With the Wind"
This film, released in 1939, is still perhaps the most famous film dedicated to the Civil War. The movie is interesting in that it carried out the idea that in this tragic confrontation there are neither right nor guilty. Losers southerners are featured in this story with compassion and compassion. In this film adaptation of the novel by M. Mitchell, the atmosphere of American life of the second half of the nineteenth century, the lifestyle and life of landowners, ordinary workers, and military are perfectly recreated. Pictures of military operations convey the spirit of the era and the dire consequences of this terrible tragedy.
"Good bad evil"
The spaghetti westerns genre includes the famous film, shot in 1966. This movie tells the story of three men who, in the midst of the Civil War, are busy looking for hidden gold. One is a shooter, the other is a retired soldier, the third is a hijacker who trades with dangerous adventures along with his partner. A feature of this film is that it does not focus on specific historical events of the Civil War in the United States, which serves only as a backdrop for the main action. However, there is a scene in the film that shows the military operation of the northern army. Having shot the movie “Good, Bad, Evil,” Leone laid the foundation for a new genre in cinema - the spaghetti western, which was subsequently imitated by such famous directors as K. Tarantino, S. King, N. Mikhalkov. The picture was remembered not only by the fundamental novelty of the theme and filming, but also by the magnificent play of the actors, as well as the wonderful soundtrack of E. Morricone.
"Dancing with the Wolves"
The film, which was released in 1990, is dedicated to the very complex problem of the relationship between American settlers and Indians. The main character, an American lieutenant, goes to serve in a remote fort, where the conditions of nature are very harsh, and the local population seems very inhospitable. However, after some time, the lieutenant became close to the Indians and, despite the difference in culture and language, made friends with them, and then even became a member of the tribe. The movie "Dancing with the Wolves" is dedicated to the traditional theme of the confrontation between whites and Indians. The picture shows how the colonists attack the lands of the tribe, capturing foreign territories by force.
Other paintings
There are many films in world cinema that are dedicated to these tragic events, largely due to the fact that these four years of confrontation between the North and the South along with the War of Independence were the most dramatic in US history. The film "How the West was Conquered" tells the story of several generations of American colonists. Through the fate of the main characters, the director masterfully showed the events of several decades. Cinema consists of several stories, each of which is dedicated to a certain stage in the life of the family. A wide panorama and geography of action allow the viewer to feel the spirit of the era and get an idea of what happened in different parts of the country over the course of several years.
The film “Five Western Rifles” tells how several Confederates were captured and sentenced to death, but they were offered a pardon in exchange for one dangerous task: to track down a double agent who stole a decent amount of money from the authorities. If the operation is successful, the heroes will be able to start a new life. The film "Major Dundee" tells about how the protagonist led a detachment of captured Confederates, Union soldiers, local residents to chase the Indians in Mexico. This storyline is based on real facts when captured Southerners often went over to the North and fought against slave states.
Modern tapes
Films about the Civil War in the United States are being shot today. One of the most famous is the painting "Gangs of New York", which quite reliably conveys the atmosphere of those terrible years. Cinema combines elements of an action movie, a gangster style, a political detective.
The film shows the difficult realities of the North during the war: poverty, the influx of immigrants, corruption, riots, as well as some real episodes from the life of New York at that time, such as river piracy, wars between city gangs.
Another contemporary painting on the theme of the Civil War is Steven Spielberg's Lincoln film, which shows the history of America in the 1860s through the president’s biography. The director paid special attention to the description of the state struggle and the adoption of the famous constitutional amendment on the abolition of slavery.