The 20 most iconic films about the U.S. Civil War

Charlton Heston was very much associated with the epic, and in Major Dundee, he plays the title character, who leads a group of soldiers into Mexico in pursuit of the Apache. It was directed by noted auteur Sam Peckinpah, whose name, like that of other directors such as John Ford, would come to be indelibly associated with the Western. While the men are engaged in their own mission, the Civil War continues waging, and by the time they are finished, it has already been won by the Union. It’s a lean, muscular film that is a perfect fit for fans of Western and Civil War films.

Martin Scorsese has had an enduring interest in the psyche of America, and in Gangs of New York, he turned his attention to 19th-century New York. Much of the action concerns the various gang factions of New York City, but the Civil War is always lurking in the background, often influencing the various actions taken by the main characters. One particular plot line has to do with anti-conscription protests by a group of Irish immigrants. It’s a film that highlights how the conflict affected even those states and cities located in the main fighting of the war. 

Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel has been adapted for the screen many times over the years, but for many, the 1933 version directed by George Cukor is the gold standard. The story of the four March sisters — one of whom is played by none other than big-screen legend Katharine Hepburn — plays out against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Like the novel, it allows the viewer a nuanced look at the life of civilians while their loved ones were fighting on the front line. Just as importantly, the film also successfully captures the simplicity and charm that had made the book one of the enduring works of American fiction.

How the West Was Won is, without a doubt, a truly epic film in all senses of the word. Released in Cinerama — one of the most immersive of the windscreen technologies so popular in the 1950s and 1960s — it follows a sprawling cast of characters as they find themselves caught up in some of the most notable events of 19th-century American history, including the Civil War. The segment devoted to this conflict was directed by none other than John Ford, arguably the master of the American Western, and it deftly conveys the traumas of the battlefield as well as the struggles and losses on the homefront.

If there’s one classic Hollywood director who was best known for directing the Western, it was John Ford. In The Horse Soldiers, he turned his attention to the Civil War, and in addition to John Wayne — one of Ford’s most frequent collaborators — the film starred William Holden. The two men play a soldier and a surgeon who are sent on a mission behind Confederate lines. Though not one of the director’s more successful films, it nevertheless has a propulsive narrative, and it’s worth seeing if for no other reason than that Wayne and Holden make for a fantastic screen pairing. 

Buster Keaton was one of the most notable and talented comedic actors in silent cinema, and his remarkable skills are very much in evidence in The General. In the film, he plays Johnnie, a train engineer who falls in love with a young woman named Annabelle Lee, but their love is tested when his beloved train, The General, falls under the control of Union soldiers. Though the Civil War is an integral part of the backdrop and an essential component of the story, the real highlight of the film is Keaton’s undeniable genius at physical comedy, and it’s easy to see why it remains one of his most beloved and acclaimed films.

Throughout his career, Clint Eastwood has consistently been associated with the Western, and The Outlaw Josey Wales remains one of his paradigmatic films. Eastwood is, of course, Josey Wales himself, who, like so many other outcast heroes, becomes part of a war he tried to avoid. Eastwood delivers a superb performance with a steely, gritty demeanor that leaves an indelible impression. Moreover, the fact that he directed the film makes it an even more remarkable accomplishment. The film also demonstrates the extent to which the Western has proven a genre that has been remarkably effective at engaging with the vexing questions associated with the Civil War. 

Few prisoner-of-war camps were or are as infamous as Andersonville, which housed Union soldiers captured by the Confederacy. The aptly-titled film, which bears the name of this camp, was released on TNT in 1996 and focuses on Union soldiers who are imprisoned there. While many Civil War films prefer to focus on battles and the deeds of great men, this one shows the less glamorous side of the conflict. It usefully demonstrates what life was like for those unfortunate enough to be trapped behind its walls, particularly the disease and starvation that were a part of life. It makes for haunting but necessary viewing in the present. 

Gary Cooper was one of those actors who was particularly well-known for portraying stoic characters with strong consciences, and his skills in this regard are much in evidence in the 1956 film Friendly Persuasion. He plays the patriarch of a Quaker family, who increasingly find their pacifist and nonviolent ways tested by the outbreak of the Civil War and, in particular, the advance of a Confederate army. Though the film doesn’t shy away from heavier moral questions, it is also a surprisingly warm and funny film. Ultimately, the family and the viewer have to grapple with their own conscience when it comes to the conflict between religious faith and national allegiance. 

Even though Shenandoah is set during the Civil War, it is one of those historical war films that is clearly tapping into the ethos of the Vietnam War era. James Stewart gives a reliable performance as Charlie Anderson, a farmer who has to set out to rescue his son, who has been taken captive by Union soldiers. Unlike so many other films about the war, which focus on the great battles, Shenandoah instead focuses on the actions of civilians and those who were caught up in the tides of war despite their efforts to stay out of the conflict altogether. 

Ang Lee has repeatedly shown remarkable versatility as a director, and some of his finest offerings have been in the Western genre. In Ride with the Devil,  he directs an all-star cast, including Tobey Maguire, Jeffrey Wright, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, in a tale about a group of pro-Conderedate warriors. In typical Lee fashion, it manages to probe the complexities of the Civil War and the way it divided families. It’s a film that is as philosophically rich as it is evocatively beautiful, demonstrating once again why Ang Lee is seen as one of the most talented directors of his generation.

Based on the Stephen Crane novel, The Red Badge of Courage was directed by legendary director (and actor) John Huston and starred World War II hero Audie Murphy in the role of Henry Fleming, a Union soldier who deserts his regiment but finds himself overwhelmed by shame, ultimately returns. Though a bit uneven at times — and short, at only 69 minutes, which was quite a lot shorter than Huston’s original vision — the film is still a fairly faithful adaptation of Crane’s noteworthy piece of American fiction. Moreover, the presence of real-life war hero Murphy in the role adds a layer of authenticity to its exploration of a young man’s crisis of conscience in wartime.

Kevin Costner is the star of Dances with Wolves, in which he portrays Lieutenant John J. Dunbar, a veteran of the Union Army who is dispatched to the frontier. There, his fate intertwines increasingly with the neighboring Sioux, who are initially bemused by him but slowly welcome him into their lives. The film is very much an old-fashioned epic, and though it takes some notable liberties with history, it is still a nostalgic and melancholy rumination on the changing nature of the American frontier and of the displacement of Indigenous peoples in the aftermath of the Civil War.

It is a historical fact that the South lost the Civil War, but this hasn’t kept several filmmakers from imagining what it might have been like had it gone otherwise. The bitingly satirical CSA: Confederate States of America,  shot in the style of Ken Burns’ monumental documentary The Civil War, purports to show what the US looked like in the aftermath of a Confederate victory. While the film might be a bit rough around the edges, there’s no doubt that its premise is an engaging and frightening one, particularly since so many elements of the satire reflect the racism that still afflicts so much of American society today.

Based on the novel of the same name by Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain focuses on Jude Law's William "W. P." Inman, a soldier of the Confederacy who deserts the army and tries to make his way back to his love, Ada (played by Nicole Kidman). The film is an embarrassment of riches with its cast, including Renée Zellweger. It's one of those films that perfectly captures the poignant nature of war and how it separates families, and it expertly blends together the historical and melodramatic elements of its story, grounding it all in the strong performances of its leads.

Despite what some might claim, there is no doubt among most historians that slavery was the root cause of the Civil War, but despite this, relatively few films have addressed the lives and experiences of the enslaved, which is what makes Emancipation such a riveting, if difficult to watch, cinematic experience. Will Smith delivers one of the best performances of his career as Peter, a runaway slave, and the film doesn’t spare any details in demonstrating the horrors of one of America’s founding institutions. It’s the kind of film that grabs hold of the viewer from the beginning and refuses to let go until the very end.

Though Gone with the Wind’s Confederate sympathies have not aged well at all, it’s impossible to deny that the film remains one of the most influential depictions of the American Civil War to have hit the big screen. Vivien Leigh gave one of (if not the) best performances of her career as the vain but surprisingly strong Scarlett O’Hara, whose life and loves intersect with the outbreak of the Civil War and its disruption of the South. She proves to be much stronger than she ever believed, and while the War is clearly the historical backdrop, the story's real heart is her tumultuous romance with Clark Gable’s rakish Rhett Butler. 

Director Steven Spielberg and actor Daniel Day-Lewis merge their talents to create a compelling portrait of Abraham Lincoln in the film that bears his name. There’s a haunting depth to Day-Lewis’ performance, as if Lincoln is aware that he is living on borrowed time. The film sheds fascinating light on one of the most important and consequential US presidents, allowing the viewer to see him not just as a man or an icon but as a politician who understood the nuances and complexities of power. In addition, the film is filled with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent, including Sally Field (who plays Mary Todd Lincoln).

Starring Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington, Glory focuses on the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, which was one of the first all-African-American regiments. Broderick and Washington give remarkably textured and powerful performances, and they grow closer as the film progresses. It culminates in the charging of Fort Wagner, in which Shaw and Silus and many of the other members of the regiment are killed, their bodies tossed unceremoniously into a mass grave. It’s a haunting war film, but it’s an essential one, particularly as it sheds much-needed light on the role of African-American soldiers during the Civil War.

Based on the novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, Gettysburg,  as its title implies, focuses on one of the most important and decisive battles of the American Civil War. It’s a sprawling epic of a film, depicting the conflict with remarkable detail. It also boasts a tremendously talented cast, one of the most remarkable of whom is Jeff Daniels, who portrays Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. Other stand-outs include Martin Sheen, Sam Elliott, and Tom Berenger. Though its length might be intimidating to some, it is precisely its temporal duration that grants the film its sweep, and one emerges from the film with a renewed and richer understanding of this brutal conflict.