The Blue and the Gray (The Complete Miniseries) |  | Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Actors: Stacy Keach, John Hammond, Lloyd Bridges, Rory Calhoun, Colleen Dewhurst
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy New: $6.95
as of 11/25/2009 06:23 CST details
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Rating:  71 reviews
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 3
Running Time: 381 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.1 x 1.1
MPN: COLD06544D
ISBN: 0767868293
UPC: 004339606544
EAN: 9780767868297
Theatrical Release Date: November 14, 1982
Release Date: November 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Before Ken Burns, Glory, and Gettysburg, the Civil War proved an effective backdrop for this 1982 miniseries--available complete and uncut on this three-disc set--about two families divided by the War Between the States. John Hammond stars as John Geyser, a Southerner caught "betwixt and between" when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper published by his uncle. Like a Civil War-era Forrest Gump, he finds himself "where history's in the making," from the Battle of Bull Run to the scene of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Stacy Keach costars as an Army scout who takes the "fresh off the farm" Geyser under his wing. Julia Duffy is the schoolmarm who loves Keach. The ham-handed dialogue is a guilty pleasure ("What's wrong with this land that produces such a bitter fruit?" asks the embittered Geyser). The meticulously mounted battle scenes, though, are a Civil War reenactor's dream. --Donald Liebenson
Product Description
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 11/06/2001 Run time: 380 minutes Rating: Nr
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
 Overall - OK August 23, 2009
HitchcockFan (NJ, USA)
I bought a used copy of the "Recut" version, having never seen the original miniseries. I presumed the recut version would be an improvement on the original, as I remember some of the miniseries made back then tended to be much longer than they needed to be.
Even though I did get a sense of scenes missing, I thought the production was OK overall. However, I didn't find it as compelling as I was hoping. I think part of the problem was the lead, played by John Hammond, who throughout came across as too "soft" to be convincing as someone who witnesses both the horrors of war and the death of family members. Hammond's limitations as an actor make it seem as if his character's persona remains unchanged. As a result when he arms himself at the end to defend his home, the result is more comical than dramatic. Having his father playing by Lloyd Bridges (who would later go on to co-star in "Airplane!") didn't help in that regard.
There are also a number of little details throughout that sort of throw the film off from time to time. Someone earlier mentioned the nightmare/vision that Stacy Keach (who's especially good) has of Lincoln's death. There are other distractions. Here is just one example of many: Lincoln's Gettysberg Address, with Gregory Peck as Lincoln, is given without Lincoln even remotely projecting his voice. It's as if he's having a normal conversational with a group of people standing around him in a living room rather than being of in front of a huge outdoor crowd. When the crowd erupts into applause at the end, I wondered what they were clapping for since almost no one would have heard him. It's a pivotal moment in history as well as in the film, and it should have been filmed in a more powerful and persuasive way. (Too often, television back then had a way of flattening out the highs and lows of dramatic situations.)
Nonetheless, the movie manages to be more effective than not, even in this recut version. Most of the cast is pretty good, including when they're reduced to saying corny lines of dialogue.
One comical goof on the DVD box: Diane Baker is identified as Colleen Dewhurst.
 The Blue & the Gray (The Complete Miniseries) July 1, 2009
Dubricus (Inglewood, CA USA)
I liked this miniseries a lot when it aired back in the 1980s. Because the 2 main characters are an artist who recorded the war for newspapers & a Union officer who was a "ranger," they were able to function as the Forest Gumps of the Civil War... the "everyman" who was everywhere. I'd taped it back then, but my tapes finally died, so I thought enough of it that I splurged.
Quick Shipment, But DVD Froze While Watching June 5, 2009
S. Townley (Weatherford, OK)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this video to show in my classroom and knew it was used but did not expect it to completely freeze up several times and it always seemed to happen at the most intense times. I was pleased with the company other than this. Very quick shipment!!!
 I would not have thought it possible to make such great historical events so uninteresting March 22, 2009
Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States(cashbacher@yahoo.com))
Given the historical significance of the American Civil War and the incredible drama, it is hard to believe that it could be made boring. However, that is what the producers of this TV miniseries managed to do. The acting is often sub par and the dialog weak, it ends shortly after Abraham Lincoln is assassinated. To me, the lowest point was near the end shortly after Lee surrendered to Grant. The Union soldiers are sitting around their campfires and talking about the lives that were lost in getting to that point. Suddenly, they grab torches and begin marching around singing a song. These are people who survived over four years of brutal war, they are not going to be marching around singing, any singing they would do would no doubt be drunken revelry. A challenge for the lowest point is when the Stacy Keach character has a prophetic dream that Abraham Lincoln is in danger for his life. With so much history of the American nation being created, a tangential movement into the supernatural falls flat.
 Great Education Resource March 22, 2009
K. Laumann
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this movie to show to my middle school students while learning about the Civil War. Since it is so long I was worried that they would lose interest after the first few class periods of watching it, but for most of them that was not the case. They were engaged with the characters and wanted to see what happened to them. I also enjoyed the movie, and did not mind watching it five times each day.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
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