Why Are There So Many WWII Movies And So Few Civil War Movies?

JeffBrooks

2nd Lieutenant
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Location
Hutto, TX
When it comes to Civil War films, I can think of most of them off the top of my head: Glory, Gettysburg, Gods and Generals, Ride With The Devil, Cold Mountain. Field of Lost Shoes is an indie film in limited release (not showing anywhere near me, sadly). And then you have a few films like Wicked Spring that are essentially made by Civil War buffs themselves. Point being, there are relatively few Civil War movies.

On the other hand, there are hundreds upon hundreds of movies set during World War II, including great epics like Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day and Patton. In addition, we have two major HBO mini-series (Band of Brothers and The Pacific).

Why is this? There are just as many Americans deeply interested in the Civil War as there as Americans deeply interested in World War II, if not more. It also seems to me that it would be easier and cheaper to produce movies set during the Civil War, due to the large numbers of reenactors and there being no need for tanks, airplanes, ect. So why do we see so many World War II movies and so few Civil War movies?
 
World war II is something we Americans are on the same side on, the mere mention of the Civil War and blood goes to boiling, so maybe it is from that stand point there are more movies on WW2, being it is a war we were all united on.
Also a great deal of actors, future actors/directors took part in WW2 and this maybe a reason also.

Respectfully,

William
 
I don't think there are now nearly as many being made - it's gotten too expensive to replicate or even create using CGI effects WWII weapons and equipment that were once so common. Even films you mention like Patton and Cinerama's Battle of the Bulge suffered from having to rely on approximations provided by using the Spanish army to represent WWII German and American troops. Besides, though we're now losing them at an alarming rate, the continued existence of veterans among us is a powerful and immediate reminder of WWII to many people.
 
My flippant answer would be that in WWII movies Americans get to be the "good guys" with the Germans/Japanese easily and uncontroversially portrayed as one-dimension bad guys.

I think the large number of veterans made a WWII movie a pretty sure bet for a movie studio, not to mention the large number of TV shows that used WWII as a theme (ie, McHales Navy, Combat, Rat Patrol 12 Oclock High, etc etc). WWII also produced a large volume of combat footage which you see recycled in many later dramatizations.

I'm sure if Hollywood was making movies in the 1870's there would have been a large number of Civil War themed ones made.

I remember as a kid my dad taking me to see movies like The Longest Day, The Battle of the Bulge, Patton etc etc etc.
 
When it comes to Civil War films, I can think of most of them off the top of my head: Glory, Gettysburg, Gods and Generals, Ride With The Devil, Cold Mountain. Field of Lost Shoes is an indie film in limited release (not showing anywhere near me, sadly). And then you have a few films like Wicked Spring that are essentially made by Civil War buffs themselves. Point being, there are relatively few Civil War movies.

On the other hand, there are hundreds upon hundreds of movies set during World War II, including great epics like Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day and Patton. In addition, we have two major HBO mini-series (Band of Brothers and The Pacific).

Why is this? There are just as many Americans deeply interested in the Civil War as there as Americans deeply interested in World War II, if not more. It also seems to me that it would be easier and cheaper to produce movies set during the Civil War, due to the large numbers of reenactors and there being no need for tanks, airplanes, ect. So why do we see so many World War II movies and so few Civil War movies?

Civil War movies, or movies that include the Civil War, in addition to what you listed:

Johnny Shiloh
The Hunley
Andersonville
Gone With The Wind
The Horse Soldiers
North and South
The Blue and the Gray
Copperhead
Birth of a Nation
The General
Lincoln
The Conspirator
Ironclads
The Great Locomotive Chase
Pharoah's Army
Ride With the Devil
Cold Mountain
Gore Vidal's Lincoln (With Sam Waterston)
Lincoln (With Hal Holbrook)
The Rose and the Jackal
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Undefeated
Major Dundee
Alvarez Kelly
Friendly Persuasion
Gangs of New York
Shenandoah
The Beguiled
The Andersonville Trial
Operator 13
How the West Was Won
The Colt
Dark Command
The Conspirator
Last Stand at Saber River
The Arizona Kid
Escape from Fort Bravo
Rio Lobo
Copper Canyon
Drums of the Deep South
The Redhead and the Cowboy
Abraham Lincoln (Walter Huston)
The Red Badge of Courage (Audie Murphy)
The Red Badge of Courage (Richard Thomas)
So Red the Rose
The Last Outpost
Hearts in Bondage
Journey to Shiloh
Quantrill's Raiders
Little Women
Love Me Tender
Only the Brave
Rebel City
Custer of the West
They Died With Their Boots On


Remember that World War II was going on in the heyday of the big studios and directors like Howard Hawks and Frank Capra, who served making movies for the Army. Hollywood stars like Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable served in World War II, and after the war they naturally made movies about the war. John Wayne, while he didn't serve, felt guilty about not serving. He made movies during the war and afterward about WW2. It's only natural that so many movies would be made about WW2 because it was immediate to peoples' lives, we won, and it was a "good war."
 
Civil War movies, or movies that include the Civil War, in addition to what you listed:

Johnny Shiloh
The Hunley
Andersonville
Gone With The Wind
The Horse Soldiers
North and South
The Blue and the Gray
Copperhead
Birth of a Nation
The General
Lincoln
The Conspirator
Ironclads
The Great Locomotive Chase
Pharoah's Army
Ride With the Devil
Cold Mountain
Gore Vidal's Lincoln (With Sam Waterston)
Lincoln (With Hal Holbrook)
The Rose and the Jackal
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Undefeated
Major Dundee
Alvarez Kelly
Friendly Persuasion
Gangs of New York
Shenandoah
The Beguiled
The Andersonville Trial
Operator 13
How the West Was Won
The Colt
Dark Command
The Conspirator
Last Stand at Saber River
The Arizona Kid
Escape from Fort Bravo
Rio Lobo
Copper Canyon
Drums of the Deep South
The Redhead and the Cowboy
Abraham Lincoln (Walter Huston)
The Red Badge of Courage (Audie Murphy)
The Red Badge of Courage (Richard Thomas)
So Red the Rose
The Last Outpost
Hearts in Bondage
Journey to Shiloh
Quantrill's Raiders
Little Women
Love Me Tender
Only the Brave
Rebel City
Custer of the West
They Died With Their Boots On


Remember that World War II was going on in the heyday of the big studios and directors like Howard Hawks and Frank Capra, who served making movies for the Army. Hollywood stars like Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable served in World War II, and after the war they naturally made movies about the war. John Wayne, while he didn't serve, felt guilty about not serving. He made movies during the war and afterward about WW2. It's only natural that so many movies would be made about WW2 because it was immediate to peoples' lives, we won, and it was a "good war."

And I would add the directors who served in various ways--John Ford, who got to be IN the Battle of Midway, Frank Capra....guys you never heard of like Robert Mitchum and Lee Marvin who served....it's a wonder there weren't more. And if you note the dates on many of the films, they're propaganda, plain and simple. They Were Expendable is a prime example. :smile:
 
Civil War movies, or movies that include the Civil War, in addition to what you listed:

Johnny Shiloh
The Hunley
Andersonville
Gone With The Wind
The Horse Soldiers
North and South
The Blue and the Gray
Copperhead
Birth of a Nation
The General
Lincoln
The Conspirator
Ironclads
The Great Locomotive Chase
Pharoah's Army
Ride With the Devil
Cold Mountain
Gore Vidal's Lincoln (With Sam Waterston)
Lincoln (With Hal Holbrook)
The Rose and the Jackal
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Undefeated
Major Dundee
Alvarez Kelly
Friendly Persuasion
Gangs of New York
Shenandoah
The Beguiled
The Andersonville Trial
Operator 13
How the West Was Won
The Colt
Dark Command
The Conspirator
Last Stand at Saber River
The Arizona Kid
Escape from Fort Bravo
Rio Lobo
Copper Canyon
Drums of the Deep South
The Redhead and the Cowboy
Abraham Lincoln (Walter Huston)
The Red Badge of Courage (Audie Murphy)
The Red Badge of Courage (Richard Thomas)
So Red the Rose
The Last Outpost
Hearts in Bondage
Journey to Shiloh
Quantrill's Raiders
Little Women
Love Me Tender
Only the Brave
Rebel City
Custer of the West
They Died With Their Boots On


Remember that World War II was going on in the heyday of the big studios and directors like Howard Hawks and Frank Capra, who served making movies for the Army. Hollywood stars like Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable served in World War II, and after the war they naturally made movies about the war. John Wayne, while he didn't serve, felt guilty about not serving. He made movies during the war and afterward about WW2. It's only natural that so many movies would be made about WW2 because it was immediate to peoples' lives, we won, and it was a "good war."

I can't believe you left out Glory!

Expired Image Removed
 
Well if you think of it there aren't too many movies out there on the Napoleonic Wars, WWI, Korea, or Vietnam compared to WWII either.
 
Anyone see this one? Me neither.
ALvsZs.jpg
 
The Last Confederate should also be included, albeit German made In der Tradition von Gettysburg und Gods & Generals !
It is one of my favourite ACW films !
 
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