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North and South: Book II (1986)
Rate:
10
Viewed:
9/15, 6/24
9/15:
North and South: Book II is off to a slow start, and it'll take two hours for it to pick things up.
From there on, it's back to the same momentum as felt in the first part, thanks to many thrilling scenes which continue the same
themes including the test of Orry and George's friendship through the good and bad times. There are a couple changes in the
second part but with none of them bothersome.
Kevin Connor takes over the director's chair that's occupied by Richard T. Heffron. I thought it would be a problem during
the first two hours, but things were back to normal thereafter. He has done a great job with the battle scenes.
The next one is the replacement of John Stockwell and Wendy Fulton with Parker Stevenson (who was once married to Kirstie Alley)
and Mary Crosby, respectively, for the roles of Billy and Isabel Hazard. I thought I would be peeved by the change
for the former, but I've gotten used to Parker Stevenson and thus like him more. I wish he was cast in the last part for the
sake of continuity. As for the latter, it's no big deal because Isabel is hardly a memorable character.
The difference of the battle scenes between North and South: Book II and
The Blue and the Gray is night
and day. There are many extras marching for both sides, and plenty of battles are shown. They have the feel of mega troops
going against each other. I like the scene for the First Battle of Bull Run better than the other one. At least, it doesn't
disappoint by showing the Battle of Gettysburg.
There are several cameos including Gone with the Wind's Olivia de Havilland, James
Stewart, and Wayne Newton (who's surprisingly good). I also want to make a mention of various thespians who gave great
performances: Anthony Zerbe as General Ulysses Grant, Hal Holbrook as Abraham Lincoln, Lewis Smith as Charles Main, Kurtwood
Smith as Colonel Hram Berdan, and David Ogden Stiers as Congressman Sam Greene.
The acts of Elkanah Bent, Ashton Main, and Virgilia Hazard have, quite frankly, grown old this time around although Virgilia
has a change of scenery and offers an interesting perspective while working as a nurse. The trouble with Bent is that he has no
power to speak of, becoming impossible to take seriously; all he does is build castles in the air. I can't help but laugh at
him and his stupid, idiotic plan of deposing Jefferson Davis from the presidency. There's no suspense from it anyway
because Davis survived the war and lived for a long time. Ditto for Ashton who happens to be a dumb whore.
All in all, North and South: Book II is another nine hours of Civil War masterpiece.
6/24:
North and South: Book II may be long, but it's still quite good.
All in all, it's been a great job by everybody to make North and South possible.