GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

HotToastyRag Every American needs to watch North and South. In case you couldn't tell from the title, North and South is a Civil War story. Two young men bond during their time at Westpoint and vow to be lifelong friends, but when the War Between the States breaks out, there's a problem: George Hazard is from Pennsylvania, and Orry Main is from South Carolina. Hence the title.North and South is a true epic, and one of the only Civil War creations that isn't compared to Gone with the Wind. There's love, death, violence, and friendship. And it's educational, too! I first watched this 9-hour miniseries during my eighth grade history class during the Civil War module. And I had a very thorough teacher (my mother) who didn't want to scrimp on the details. This is a truly fantastic miniseries, one that joins the ranks of Roots and Centennial as essential American miniseries. The production values are wonderful, and the multiple story lines within the epic are suspenseful and heart wrenching. While James Reed, Patrick Swayze, Leslie-Anne Down, Kirstie Alley, Wendy Kilbourne, and Philip Casnoff make up the main cast, the rest of Hollywood came out in droves to be a part of the program. James Stewart, Gene Kelly, Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, David Carradine, Hal Holbrook, Jean Simmons, and Jonathan Frakes are just a few of the familiar faces you'll see during the six episodes.Thirty years later, North and South stands the test of time incredibly well. You need to watch this incredible piece of American history.

Misty Tynan I had to watch a civil war themed movie for class, and I am glad I chose this one. The movie was really good, and appeared very realistic. It was a good representation of how the tensions between North and South were running high before the war. George and Orry were from different backgrounds, but got along and agreed because they knew everyone had different views and respected that. But not all characters felt the same way, and it caused a few problems in the movie. Also, Madeline and Orry were in love, but the father of Madeline separated them so that Madeline would marry the man he had chosen for her. He wanted what was best for him and his plantation. This selfishness caused more problems in the movie, since Madeline and Orry were still in love, even though Madeline was now married. His selfishness was similar to that of many Southerners, which helped lead to the civil war.

phd_travel For those who saw it in the 80s it is worth watching again now it's on DVD and Encore. Yes there are some faults but it's still very very entertaining.The good points: Orry Main - Patrick Swayze delivers a convincing impassioned performance that shows he was really a great actor. He really carried the show. His friendship with George Hazzard is touching and quite inspiring. The sometimes too obvious storyline does bring one through all the major events leading up to and through the Civil War. The on location filming in South Carolina is quite beautiful. The dramatic confrontations and exciting moments even if contrived in origin are pretty exciting.The faults: Yes there are some really cringe inducing bad guys and gals who are so one dimensionally evil for no apparent reason that they are laughable. There is the totally insane Elkanah Bent played with an over accented Philip Casnoff. Then we have the fanatical and annoying abolitionist Virgilia Hazzard played by a pretty demented looking Kirstie Alley. Don't forget the inexplicably evil Ashton Main played by Teri Garber doing a comical Scarlett O'Hara imitation. She must have prepared for the role by watching Gone With the Wind over and over again. Lesley Anne Down plays Madeline Fabray La Motte but her ample figure and East End London hair do make her demure protestations seem fake. The saintliness of Constance Hazzard is nauseating.Despite all the faults and sometimes painfully obvious dialog, it's still a fantastically fun watch and I think the best way to deal with the bad parts is to laugh at them like comic relief. So it's actually a grand sweeping historical drama with an inadvertent comic theme built in. They don't make them like this anymore.

hjmsia49 It felt like this series was longer than the Civil War. We got the DVD mainly to observe the progress of Georgina of Upstairs/Downstairs (Lesley-Anne Down). She didn't disappoint and proved to be the best thing about the series. The major problem lies in the fact that the plot strains credulity to such an extreme as to become laughable. The two leads Patrick Swayze and James Read are competent given the impossible tasks they are required to perform and the sappy dialogue they are too often burdened with. Who can accept the following plot lines: A South Carolinian and Pennsylvanian become buddies at West Point while confronting a demonic and sadistic upper-classman named Bent, played with irritating histrionics by Philip Casnoff. After they manage to get the monster dismissed from the academy, our two Lieutenants go to the Mexican War where their nemeses is now their Captain? This series features the greatest number of chance meetings of major characters, often in the midst of battle, than any series in television history. Orry Main (Swayze) is severely wounded in Mexico while George Hazard (Read) survives unscathed, a feat they would repeat in the Civil War where both are called to serve as generals on opposite sides? How these two lieutenants rate such promotions is never explained? Then we see the two generals riding alone at night confronting each other and withholding fire when recognizing each other in the dark and sitting down to chat about the war? Orry later frees George from a Richmond prison, puts him in a canoe alone in his Yankee uniform to paddle back to union lines where he miraculously arrives in time for Christmas Eve at home? Two Main and two Hazard family members meet in the turmoil of the bloody battle of Petersburg and all manage to survive while hundreds die all around them. At the end of the war they all arrive safely at Mount RoyalPlantation to apparently live happily ever after. Too bad it didn't end there. Unfortunately, Book 3 titled "Heaven and Hell" provided little heaven in a murderously hellish script. When I saw a DVD photo of George and Orry's wife Madaline (Down)in a affectionate embrace, I thought does George cheat on Constance, does Madaline cheat on Orry? The author preserves their honor by bringing the arch villain Bent back from the dead so he can sadistically murder Orry and George's wife in the first episode of book 3. For Orry to survive all his horrific battles and die at the hands of a lesser man will not endear many viewers. One should be suspicious of the final book when so many of the original players, including Swayze (you don't see his face in his final scene), failed to reprise their original roles. To have Bend kidnap Charles Main's (Kyle Chandler)son and then walk into a barn where the boy's father is sleeping is another in a long list of unlikely encounters. It goes downhill from there and George and Madeline should not feel comfortable in their final embrace since evil sister-in-law Ashton (Terry Garber), who made Scarlett O'Hara look like a Sunday school teacher, is still lurking in the wings. Too bad the author didn't hang her alongside Bent as she surely deserved the same fate as poor over-zealous abolishonist Virgilia (Kristie Alley). I suggest you enjoy the first two books and skip the third. It's a passable Civil War history if you ignore the totally implausible adventures of the leads. It was nice seeing old pros James Stewart and Robert Mitchum in cameos. Sadly, they both died on the same day after the series was made. Worth watching if only for the performances of Simmons, Down, Alley and Garber who act rings around the men. I felt that this Wolper production was not up to the standard of his previous "The Thorn Birds."