Suggestions

Looking for suggestions on movies both theatrical and documentary to watch on about anything related to our favorite type of firelegs.... Also books as well. I just bought the patriot and while it is full of historical inaccuracies I enjoy it anyways. Since I've decided I wanted to take muzzleloaders more seriously ive been wanting to watch and learn. Thanks fellas.

Have you seen the mini series Centennial? Also Jerimiah Johnson and Mountain Men. All with inaccuracy's but based on facts. They are my favorites. Another I almost forgot, Alone yet not alone.

Pretty campy and low on the HC side, but Winter hawk does have the old boys loading well, and Windwalkers made an effort to dress the Indians right. Both are fun movies. The Crossing did a good job of covering the events around Trenton. Meeks cutoff is slow but guns are pretty good. The old favorites come to mind, how the West was won, drums along the Mohawk, North west passage, and a Clark Gable movie that the name escapes me now.

That was Across the wide Missouri.
Books I can think of are the winning of America series by Allen Eckert. Jeff Shaara books, any of the old journals and Bios, like Yankee Doodle by Plumb-Martin, memoirs like Z. Lenard, the Lewis and Clark journals, fun books like give your heart to the hawks, or encyclopedic like firearms traps and tools of the mountain men.
“So many books so little time” or, “We are doomed to die tomorrow but through books I live a thousand years”

Fiction books, look at the Carry the Wind series by Terry C. Johnston. There is another Johnston who writes western fiction, but his books are more formula and not from our time frame.

If you can find an old copy of the book Across the Wide Missouri on which the Gable film is based, it is a decent book. It has many copies of old paintings in it too which is a plus. I have a copy somewhere and ran across one in an antique store for $25 a while back. I probably should have bought it.

Most of the books I have are fur trade era related. Living on the great plains all my life, gave me more of a personal interest in that time frame. Journal of a Trapper is another one.

Movies, many have already have be mentioned.

Ill have to check all of these out... Was hoping I could find some of the movies online without buying them but I don't think that's going to happen.... Found a Netflix original series called The Frontier not sure im impressed so far. Like so many modern shows it focuses on drama and theatrics and not much else. I only know so much about it though so perhaps its better than I think.

How about good documetaries?

I was disappointed in The Frontier also. I thought it was going to be more about the frontier, instead of the Hollywood drama.

Black Robe is a biography film.... :thumbsup:

I could watch The colonial Gunsmith every morning for breakfast....Starring Wallace Gustler as himself.
https://youtu.be/qTy3uQFsirk

Few documentaries done over last ten to twenty years have been very good. Most tried to be pc with bad ol’ fill-in-the-blanks depending on what it was about. Back in the seventies PBS did some historic docs that covered the frontier and age of exploration stars, Jed Smith, Joe Walker,Capt Cook,MacKinzie , exploration of the Amazon,ect.Clothing and weapons tended to be TC, but told some fair stories about frontier life. The only place I have seen these offered is in libraries.

I wondered about that I saw it on Amazon and I can watch it free with prime

While not "Movies," if you have interest in watching flintlocks being shot and used for hunting, and learning more about different aspects of them (loading, cleaning, care), Brian Beckum's series of hunting videos will do that for you. "Real Black Powder" is my favorite out of all of them.
http://www.beckumoutdoors.com/home.cfm/page/Products/Category/Hunting_Videos.html

Movies

“Barry Lyndon” - wonderful movie! Seven Years War, Europe
“The Deulist” Napoleonic France
“Last of the Mohicans” - goes without saying
“The Revolution” with Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland. It’s a really underrated film
“The Crossing” - about the battle of Trenton. Great film
“Black Robe” I’ll second it. It’s a good wilderness film, well made and artistic
“The New World” - about Jamestown. Really artistic and not for everyone, but I enjoyed it

Shows:
“Turn” Rev War Spurs. Do watch for entertainment only. There is a good book, “Washington’s Spies,” that examines the topic thoroughly

“Taboo” - a kind of wild one that I didn’t like much, but a lot of folks do. Ton Hardy as a businessman in Georgian England with a thing for the occult

You tube is full of crappy vids, and good. Stillwater wood crafts are well done frontier craft and life style vids,Brandon F is the name of a man who does Eighteenth century warfare reinactments and his you tube vids are very good.

"Unconquered" with Gary Cooper using an original swivel breech flintlock. The film takes place in western Pennsylvania, Fort Pitt, during Pontiac's Rebellion. I saw it as a young boy, and it primed me for my later interest in flintlocks.

Any of Allen W. Eckert's "narrative history" books. My personal favorite is "That Dark And Bloody River" about the settling of the Ohio River Valley; also "Wilderness Empire" ( about Sir William Johnson, Indian Agent for the King, and NY, responsible for the alliance with the Iroquois Confederation); and "The Frontiersmen", where you will learn about the greatest of them all, Simon Kenton, and Tecumseh. Eckert probably has a book on most eras of the settlement of the Country. They are good reads.

Richard/Grumpa

Drums along the Mohawk has some stunning imagery. The flag scene makes me think of Ford and the Midway flag shots...Ford directed Drums and was rolling film as the Japanese bombed Midway. He was nearly killed.

Movies not mentioned...
The Scarlet Coat. 1955 about John Andre
Allegany Uprising 1947 John Wayne, Claire Trevor
The Horse Soldiers 1959 John Wayne
The Searchers 1956 John Wayne, Ward Bond
The Alamo 1960 John Wayne, Ken Curtis
North and South 1985-6 Patrick Swayze...underrated...very good.
How the West was Won 1963 Jimmy Stewart, George Preppard
Shenandoah 1965 Jimmy Stewart, James Best
The Fighting Kentuckian 1949 John Wayne, Oliver Hardy
Captain Horacio Horblower 1951 Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo
Hornblower mini series A&E 1990s
Master and Commander 2003 Russel Crowe
Treasure Island 1934
Davy Crockett Trilogy 1954-55 Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen
Shane 1950 Alan Ladd.....just because
A man called Horse....Goerge Harris
They died with Thier Boots On 1940...Errol Flynn, Olivia Dehaviland
The Last of the Mohicans 1937....Randolph Scott
The Buccaneer 1937...Fredrick March, Sonja Henie better than 50's Heston version.
Young Andrew Jackson 1954 Charlton Heston, Susan Hayward
Gone with the Wind 1939....Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh
The Kentuckian..1957? Burt Lancaster, Walter Matthau
The Outlaw Jose Wales 1976 Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George
Wild Times,1980s miniseries.....Sam Eliot shoots Plains Rifle against Ben Johnson's lever to win Winchester 1 of 1000...
The Red Badge of Courage 1950...Audie Murphy
Sgt. York best picture 1941....Gary Cooper, Joan Leslie
Springfield Rifle Gary Cooper
High Noon 1950.... Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly" another....just because

Now this list is purely for entertainment....

Man in the wilderness, and what I call the remake, The Revenant.

A man called horse and Return of a man called horse.

The mountain men...

Jeramiah Johnson.
And even Old Yeller...

Now if you like naval movies......Then Master and commander is good. But,... TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH is even better and set in 1812....It offers realism not usually seen.

If you want to see a good 17th century naval movie with lots of battle scenes the ADMIRAL will be to your liking it is a story about Michiel de Ruyter
Here is the trailer...
https://youtu.be/9Gz9M_lBURY

How did I forget Master and Commander?! It’s one of my favorite films ever

“Quick’s the word and sharp’s the action!”


Also, Civil War
“Glory”- Amazing
“Gettysburg”- similarly amazing
“Gods and Generals” (beware. A few good scenes but for the most part it’s hard to watch

Also, “John Adams,” an HBO miniseries that I rewatch once every couple of years. It’s so good. Less action but am amazing story nonetheless, one that every American should see

I was offered the Command of a Confederate Regiment for "Gettysburg" even though I had recently stepped down from commanding my Confederate Infantry Unit, because I was being transferred to California. Originally they wanted us for 60 days and while I had that much leave on the books, there was no way my command in California would allow me that much time away. As it turned out they did the filming with the Reenactors in a week or just slightly more. At least I got a glimpse of my old Unit in the movie. In the scene immediately before Pickett's Charge, as the camera was slowly going past the Confederate Soldiers, I could name almost every one, though they were not in my unit.

I am not ashamed to admit tears flowed down my eyes during Pickett's Charge as our original unit had been in that charge. It was all I could do not to scream out loud in the movie theatre and I probably would have, had it been in a Marine Corps theatre and not one out in town. I never expected the movie to stir me so deeply.

"Gods and Generals" of course had the Battle that took place in my adopted home town of Fredericksburg, VA, and I was happily surprised how close they got the town and battle to the real thing. I was also surprised that the Actor who portrayed Pickett somewhat poorly in "Gettysburg" did a much better job of portraying General Jackson in "Gods and Angels."

Needless to say these are my two of my favorite WBTS movies.

I also agree "Glory" was an excellent WBTS movie. I was surprised how much they got right in that one. Loved the Federal Sergeant Major who trained the recruits and though I don't remember his name, he sure portrayed a period Sergeant Major extremely well.

Gus