The Blue and the Gray (Recut)

This is not for historians, this is for the people who have a little knowledge and interest in the Civil War - and likely that is all they want.

For someone looking for a more emotional view of the Civil War, with more 'people and feelings' than true history, then this is a very nice read. It is the fictionalised account of the Geyers and the Hales, cousins - one family of the South, the other from the North, that find themselves divided and fighting each other during the War Between the States in the US. The Geyers were farmers, of the land, though were not slave owners, and the story focuses around their eldest son, John, an artist who went into the war as an artist correspondent, torn by his love for both families and seeing both sides of the argument. He hates the institution of Slavery, a hatred amplified by the hanging of his black friend, a freed man for hiding fugitive slaves. The Hales were city-folk. Not only were they divided on their views, but by their styles of life. You see all the various scenes of how families were divided, how the glory of war could turn sour for the many boys simply looking for adventure.

There was a real John Geyser, and he did draw a lot of pictures as his time as a soldier. But he was not a war correspondent, and not that professional of an artists. Still is immature drawing carry a power to convey the horrors of war.

So take the 'history' with a grain of salt and enjoy the 'emotions' of the great conflict that ripped families and friends apart.

Stacey Keech is simply marvellous as Jonas Steel, and I defy anyone not to be moved by his and Julia Duffy's Mary performance as Mary, the woman Jonas loves and loves. Duffy, best known for Designing Women and Bob Newheart, show a charming, heart-wrenching portrayal of sweet Mary. Peck is super as Lincoln, in a roll he really wanted to play.

So pop the popcorn and sit back and enjoy the sweeping 'Gone With the Wind' Hollywood version of the Civil War. There is fine acting and a lot of nice 'historical' touches since Bruce Catton was consultant to the film.

The DVD is the full length version. Many video copies are a shortened version, so you you will be thrilled the see it in its intended form.

The passing of years can definitely modify prior assumptions. While I found parts of "The Blue and the Gray" intriguing, far too often the film descended into the deepest depths of sentimentality of the sappiest sort. The star of the picture is John Geyser (John Hammond), a young man with a knack for drawing who lives on his parents' farm in Virginia. He's got a bunch of brothers, a sister preparing to marry a successful businessman from Vicksburg, and several slaves. He yearns to head north, to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where his Uncle Jacob runs a newspaper. John figures his relative will hire him on the spot once he shows the man his drawings. Geyser gets the job when his uncle assigns him to cover the John Brown trial and the abolitionist's subsequent execution. At the proceedings, John meets Jonas Steele (Stacy Keach), a shady character with ties to the Pinkerton Agency and to the White House. A fast friendship forms between the two, with an even faster bond emerging between Steele and John's cousin Mary Hale (Julia Duffy). John heads back to his Virginia farm just in time to witness a bunch of bounty hunters commit a heinous crime against Jonathan Henry (Paul Winfield) for harboring a fugitive slave. At one point, young Geyser even meets the newly elected Abraham Lincoln (Gregory Peck).

By the time the war breaks out, John Geyser's artwork covering the Brown trial lands him a job at Harper's as a war correspondent. It's just as well since John refuses to fight for the Union or the Confederacy, a position that alienates him from his pro-southern family. His anti-war views do not stop him from facing danger as he rescues the daughter of Senator Reynolds (Robert Vaughn), a girl named Kathy (Kathleen Beller), at the Battle of Bull Run. Predictably, John and Kathy become an item. So do Jonas Steele and Mary Hale when they tie the knot after Jonas joins the Union Army. We also learn Steele possesses an annoying psychic power that allows him to foresee disastrous events. Meanwhile, as Vicksburg falls to the North, John's sister loses her husband and nearly loses her child in the siege of that city. As the war grinds on and on with no end in sight, members of both branches of the family, Hale and Geyser, fall on the battlefield from bullet, disease, or both.

This rather slipshod summary will have to suffice for a series that runs nearly six hours. The filmmakers did a good job covering many of the important issues of the day. John's internal conflict over whether he should fight or not, and for what side, is one many Americans faced during that conflict. Battle sequences inevitably rely on budgetary restrictions, so the only lengthy combat sequence is the Battle of Bull Run. It seems the filmmakers wished to focus on things not widely known about the Civil War, such as the use of hot air balloons for aerial surveillance, a repeating carbine, and the horrible conditions of prisoner of war camps. The movie keeps violence to a minimum, as per television standards, but a viewer does get the sense that the Civil War was no walk in the park for both soldiers and civilians. What do not work as well are the inaccuracy of the uniforms, the occasional digressions into comedy and romance, and the tendency of characters to teleport themselves across the country. I realize the whole idea of the movie is to show the war through the eyes of one man, but it gets ridiculous after a time when you see John Geyser popping up everywhere from Vicksburg to Bull Run.

The cast roster is enormous. In addition to the actors listed above, you will see Sterling Hayden, Lloyd Bridges, Colleen Dewhurst, Rip Torn, Rory Calhoun, Warren Oates, and Geraldine Page filling roles both major and minor. Mr. Bentley from "The Jeffersons" even shows up for a minute or two! I think I can safely recommend this film to movie buffs. It's not perfect, not even close, but it would give a viewer a general idea of the issues that led to the war. You can't really hope to adequately inform through the medium of television, but what you can hope to do is get someone interested in reading more about a topic. "The Blue and the Gray" will do that, with a little luck.

Having said this, I should also point out that there are some reasonable reenactments of battles, particularly First Bull Run. You can also get a fairly good idea of the way families were torn apart by the war and the dilemma that conflicted loyalties caused many people. I guess my favorite character is Malachi Hale, who joins the Union Army sure that he will be a great hero, then has to deal with his terror when he comes under fire. He eventually makes friends with a similarly frightened Confederate and ends up with a battlefield promotion! I don't know of many other scenes in war movies that point out the absurdity of the whole thing so successfully.