The 14 Best Civil War Movies, Ranked

The American Civil War of 1861-1865 is such an extensive topic due to just how vast the United States is. It is unsurprising that it has proved a fertile ground for filmmakers, and that the movies which tackle the period are largely disparate, with little in common. Some writers and directors have chosen to focus on famous figures of the war, like General Custer, or on pivotal battles like Gettysburg. Some focus on the home front and the women left behind, from Scarlett O'Hara to the women of a Virginia girls' school in "The Beguiled." Some Civil War films look more like westerns, especially when focusing on Bleeding Kansas and the guerilla warfare of Missouri.

If you look at Civil War movies through the decades, not only do the styles of hair change but also the styles of filmmaking. They include everything from silent comedies to film noir to Elvis Presley musicals all the way through to modern twists on the southern gothic. These Civil War movies also reflect the times they were made in, whether that's during WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, or post-9/11. Join us on a tour through the best of nearly a hundred years of Civil War movies, ranked.

One of the most entertaining aspects of watching Civil War movies across the decades is the variety of haircuts and facial hair involved. If you're going to put Elvis Presley in a Civil War movie, you're going to get Elvis hair. "Love Me Tender" was Elvis' first film role and the only one where he didn't get top billing. While this film has a lot going on ⁠— a love triangle, pausing for Elvis' swinging hips musical numbers ⁠— it actually covers one of the most fascinating periods of the war.

The war didn't just stop on the day when Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. It took time for the news to spread, especially in Texas and the West. The film begins on the day after the surrender and covers this limbo period, which for the Reno brothers (led by Richard Egan's Vance) is only a few days. Under Confederate orders, they rob a train of its Union payroll. When they discover their unit has been disbanded, they decide to keep the loot. It takes around 18 minutes for Elvis to show up, becoming more of a central figure in the second half of the movie. Surprisingly, Presley's character is unlikeable and aligns with the villains of the piece. The fate of his character is also pretty shocking, and would rarely happen in his subsequent career. An interesting movie that covers the messy end of the war.

The silent era had not been short on Civil War melodramas as it was relatively recent history, with the most famous example being 1915's "The Birth of a Nation." When Buster Keaton came to make "The General," he allegedly said that the audience wouldn't accept the Yankees as heroes and the Southerners as villains. The story follows engineer Johnnie (Keaton), who is in love with Annabelle (Marion Mack). When war breaks out, Annabelle's father and brother immediately sign themselves up for the Confederate cause. Johnnie is rejected due to his important job, and Annabelle is outraged that he's not going to fight. He spends the rest of the movie trying to prove himself brave and worthy of her.

This leads to a series of classic Keaton set-pieces in which he performs death-defying stunts after Johnnie's beloved train (the General of the title) is commandeered by Union soldiers. Surprisingly, the events are based on the Great Locomotive Chase, a real event that took place in 1862. One of the most audacious stunts involves Johnnie trying to pull up two railroad ties (heavy wooden planks) lodged in the track, while the runaway train approaches behind him. "The General" works better as a comedic Keaton vehicle than as a Civil War movie. It has not come under as much scrutiny as "Gone With the Wind" or "Birth of a Nation," but there is still an uncomfortable undercurrent to it when watched almost 100 years later.

John Huston's Civil War movie is unfortunately a butchered version of what should have been a two-hour masterpiece. It's frustrating that the 70-minute version that exists is so good because it could have been even better. The production of "The Red Badge of Courage" was covered by Lillian Ross in The New Yorker then later in "Picture," one of the best books on filmmaking. Huston's depiction of the Civil War is absolutely unique, never looking or feeling like this before or since. Harold Rossen's stunning black-and-white cinematography captures the war as if it's a film noir, complete with light shafts and unusual camera angles. 

Highly decorated World War II hero Audie Murphy plays The Youth at the center of the story, and other characters are identified as archetypes such as The Tall Soldier, The Cheery Soldier, and The Tattered Man. Huston brings his own WWII experience to bear and cleverly subverts Murphy's heroism (of which the contemporary audience would have been aware) by addressing themes of desertion and cowardice in war. Made during the Korean War, this film has a lot in common with war movies and Westerns made during the Vietnam era of the '70s. It is a somber and melancholy piece about the futile waste of life, with tattered flags rendered meaningless and blowing in the wind. It's a film that provokes us to mourn the loss of life and the loss of Huston's vision for what the film should have been.

The Kansas-Missouri border region has been fertile ground for Civil War movies, where bands of guerilla fighters known as Jayhawkers AKA Redlegs (ostensibly on the Union side) and Bushwhackers (on the Confederate side) would battle it out in bloody skirmishes rather than in organized, regimental fashion. "The Outlaw Josey Wales" opens with the wife and son of Wales (Clint Eastwood) being murdered by Redleg militants, prompting him to join a band of Missouri bushwhackers. It is one of many revisionist Westerns that depicts the confederate side as brave rebels standing up against the evil Union. It's based on the book that was supposedly written by a Cherokee man called Forrest Carter but was actually written by a white supremacist called Asa Carter.

Eastwood delivers an impressive performance as Wales, as well as being in the director's chair. A Cherokee man (Chief Dan George) and a Navajo woman (Geraldine Keams) become significant in the second half. Sondra Locke also makes an impact in her first of many collaborations with Eastwood. Sam Bottoms is also cheekily charming as Josey's young blonde companion Jamie, and there's a memorable scene where he pretends to sing deliriously in order to give his friend a helping hand. Bruce Surtees' cinematography gives the film that distinctly hazy quality and the dialogue is full of memorable bon mots. "The Outlaw Josey Wales" holds up against Eastwood's other Westerns, and is another interesting exploration of one of the most complicated areas of the Civil War.

While James Stewart had a distinguished military career during WWII and beyond, he didn't actually appear in many war movies. He did star in the anti-Nazi movie "The Mortal Storm" in 1940. In "Shenandoah" Stewart plays Charlie, the patriarch of a large family who runs a farm in Virginia during the Civil War. He is unusual in a few important ways: he only attends church because his wife asked him to continue the practice after her death, and despite the fact that he has six strapping sons, he has not encouraged any of them to join the war. He very much views it as "none of his business," until his own family is under threat.

The youngest child of the family is simply known as Boy (played by Phillip Alford from 1962's "To Kill A Mockingbird"). One day he is taken prisoner by a Union patrol, who believe he's a rebel soldier due to the cap he wears. This provokes Charlie and his children (including his daughter) to get involved by setting out in pursuit of Boy. There follows much tragic and needless waste of life, made all the more heart-wrenching by Stewart's performance. The release of "Shenandoah" roughly coincided with the US fully entering the Vietnam War, and while it's not exactly an anti-war film, it's not gung-ho about fighting and dying either. A surprisingly nuanced approach to complex themes from a mid-60s Western.

One of the lesser-known aspects of the Civil War is the existence of regiments made up of Black soldiers on the Union side, and one of the reasons they're not so well-known is that Civil War movies have historically tended to have overwhelmingly white casts. That is until "Glory" focused on one of the first of these regiments, led by Colonel Shaw (Matthew Broderick). The cast is rounded out by Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, and an Oscar-winning turn from Denzel Washington.

One of the strongest through-lines of "Glory" surrounds Andre Braugher (now best-known for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine") who plays Thomas Searles, a childhood friend of Shaw's. The two must adapt to their new relationship, with Shaw in charge of the regiment. This is not easy for the bookish Searles, though he is determined to become a true soldier. Broderick's casting certainly paints Shaw as a much more mild-mannered leader than we typically see, and one who is frequently unsure of himself. "Glory" is elevated by the cinematography of Freddie Francis, known for his stunning black-and-white work in "The Innocents" (1961) and "The Elephant Man" (1980). The scenes where large numbers of soldiers are gathered together have a certain intimacy, with Francis' camera picking out individual faces to remind us that they aren't just a generic mass, making the ending far more tragic. "Glory" is one of the most important Civil War movies, shining a light on a part of history that has been overlooked.

At 4.5 hours, it feels unfair to compare one "movie" to others that are much shorter, because they can cover events in far more depth. "Gettysburg" is a faithful recreation of the pivotal three-day battle that took place in Pennsylvania in 1863. It gives equal time to the Union and Confederate sides, focusing on leaders of divisions who were involved in key moments of the battle. For example, Robert E. Lee (played here by Martin Sheen) himself was personally involved in Gettysburg, while Ulysses S. Grant was busy in Mississippi at the time.

Jeff Daniels is a standout amid a vast cast as Union Colonel Chamberlain. His relationship with his Irish confidante Buster (one of the few invented characters) is a highlight of the movie. Sam Elliott — whose enormous mustache was always destined to be in a Civil War movie — also plays a Union soldier named General Buford, who unfortunately is only in the first day of battle. On the Confederate side, Tom Berenger impresses as General Longstreet. One of the best aspects of "Gettysburg" is the interactions that we see between the Yankees and the Rebs: when some are taken prisoner by the others, they chat quite amenably. There is a moving scene where Richard Jordan's Confederate General Armistead talks about his best friend, Union General Hancock. The battle scenes involving thousands of reenactors are of course spectacular, but you wouldn't be invested if you didn't have the performances to draw you in.