"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

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

Colour:

Colour

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:

In preparation for the role of George Hazard, James Read spent several weeks at Patrick Swayze's horse ranch where Swayze taught Read how to ride horse back.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Orry breaks up Charles's fight at the tavern, you can see Orry's waking cane bend when he hits one of the fighters on the back.

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:

Featured in George W. Bush Battles Jesus Christ (2008)

North and South

The 1985 miniseries 'North and South' is a great depiction of the events leading up to the Civil War. 2 young men, Orry Main from South Carolina and George Hazard from Pennsylvania, meet at West Point and quickly become friends.

Each member of the Main and Hazard Families represent an actual viewpoint that was held during the turbulent political climate of antebellum America, such as the abolitionist Northerner, The Southern sympathizing Northerner, The sadistic Southern slave owner, The Southern Loyalist, just to list a few.

There are many differences between the miniseries and the 3 volume books by John Jakes (North and South, Love and War, and Heaven and Hell). Unlike their literary counterparts, the actors and actresses who portray these historic figures are all very good looking and bigger than life on screen. The dresses worn by the women are impeccable.

I highly recommend the "North and South" miniseries.