"North and South" (1985) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

3 November 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War | Western

Plot:

Two friends, one northern and one southern, struggle to maintain their friendship as events build towards the American Civil War.

Plot Keywords:

Friendship | Civil War | Plantation | American Civil War | Slavery

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Kirstie Alley	...	Virgilia Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Grady (6 episodes, 1985)
David Carradine	...	Justin LaMotte (6 episodes, 1985)
Philip Casnoff	...	Elkanah Bent (6 episodes, 1985)
Lesley-Anne Down	...	Madeline Fabray LaMotte (6 episodes, 1985)
Genie Francis	...	Brett Main Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
Terri Garber	...	Ashton Main Huntoon (6 episodes, 1985)
Wendy Kilbourne	...	Constance Flynn Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
Jim Metzler	...	James Huntoon (6 episodes, 1985)
James Read	...	George Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
Lewis Smith	...	Charles Main (6 episodes, 1985)
John Stockwell	...	Billy Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
Patrick Swayze	...	Orry Main (6 episodes, 1985)
Olivia Cole	...	Maum Sally (6 episodes, 1985)
Morgan Fairchild	...	Burdetta Halloran (6 episodes, 1985)
Robert Guillaume	...	Frederick Douglass (6 episodes, 1985)
Hal Holbrook	...	Abraham Lincoln (6 episodes, 1985)
Gene Kelly	...	Sen. Charles Edwards (6 episodes, 1985)
Robert Mitchum	...	Patrick Flynn (6 episodes, 1985)
Jean Simmons	...	Clarissa Main (6 episodes, 1985)
David Ogden Stiers	...	Congressman Sam Greene (6 episodes, 1985)
Inga Swenson	...	Maude Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Madam Conti (6 episodes, 1985)
John Anderson	...	William Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
Lee Bergere	...	Nicholas Fabray (6 episodes, 1985)
Jonathan Frakes	...	Stanley Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
Wendy Fulton	...	Isabel Truscott Hazard (6 episodes, 1985)
David Harris	...	Priam (6 episodes, 1985)
Mitch Ryan	...	Tillet Main (6 episodes, 1985)
Forest Whitaker	...	Cuffey (6 episodes, 1985)
Johnny Cash	...	John Brown (5 episodes, 1985)
Erica Gimpel	...	Semiramis (4 episodes, 1985)
William Ostrander	...	Forbes LaMotte (4 episodes, 1985)
Tony Frank	...	Salem Jones (3 episodes, 1985)
Alveda King Beale	...	Slave (3 episodes, 1985)
Walter Barnes	...	Benny Haven (2 episodes, 1985)
Nikki Creswell	...	Young Brett Main (2 episodes, 1985)
Chris Douridas	...	George McClellan (2 episodes, 1985)
Temi Epstein	...	Young Ashton Main (2 episodes, 1985)
William Preston Daly	...	Tom 'Stonewall' Jackson (2 episodes, 1985)
Arthur Gilliard	...	Nathaniel (2 episodes, 1985)
Cody W. Hampton	...	George Pickett (2 episodes, 1985)
Tuck Milligan	...	Smith Dawkins (2 episodes, 1985)
Andy Stahl	...	Cadet Ned Fisk (2 episodes, 1985)

Runtime:

561 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) (2006) | UK:15 (season 2) | UK:PG (season 1) | Netherlands:12 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Boone Hall Plantation - 1235 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, USA

Company:

David L. Wolper Productions

Trivia:

James Read's great-great-uncle, Sebaldus Hassler, fought and died with the Union Army, falling in battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 20, 1863. Read's great-great-grandfather, Sampson T. Groves, served in the First Ohio Volunteer Heavy Artillery until his honorable discharge on July 25, 1865, after which he lived to a ripe old age.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the end of part 6, when George and Orry leave the Hazard mansion during the anti-southern procession: George is wearing a round Union-sympathy mark, but when they arrive to the rail station, the mark is flower-shaped.

Quotes:

Orry Main: This is our way of life, it has been for more than a hundred years!
[pause]
Orry Main: How would you like me, to come up to Lehigh Station, telling you how to run your life, to change the way you have always lived?
[pause]
Orry Main: But I mean this George. You and me... we're good friends, and if we wanna keep that friendship, there are certain things we can never say to each other. Some things we can never talk about.
George: [long pause] I guess you're right.
[Orry begins to talk, George interrupts him]
George: We're supposed to be fighting Mexicans... not each other!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Retrosexual: The 80's" (2004)

Wonderful

A story about love and hate, tragedy and happiness, and most of all, friendship set in the very interesting time of the American Civil War.

Gets you interested in history, gets you emotionally involved and makes you feverishly wait for the next episode.

Moreover, the casting was splendid. Many superstars appear in short cameos, the leading roles are played by a big array of talented mimes - Kirstie Alley and Terri Garber should be mentioned here - this is simply a superb example for a TV production as it should be.

Not to forget the sheer loveliness of Wendy Kilbourne portraying Constance :-)