The Second Civil War (1997)

best movie i've ever seen.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

This is an excellent film wonderfully acted by all. Very very funny Beau Bridges is excellent and even dear Brian Keith as the General is extremely funny. The whole concept of of blocking borders of a state because of imigration is as up to date then as it is now. Its a great shame that films today are not of the quality onf films of yesteryear. Story lines and acting is much more superior than those junk movies of today. The use of the F word today seems must be included and jet the older films did not need it as the scripts were better. Lately i have been watching or rather erewatching these older films and the new are not a patch on them.

I recently bought this DVD because of the all-star cast. It was an HBO made for cable movie and was suppose to be a comedy. I love Beau Bridges, Phil Hartman, and James Coburn. I collect all of their movies.I liked the story and found the funny parts too realistic to laugh at. The most disturbing factor was the number of times the Lord's name was taken in vain. It was so numerous that I could not enjoy this film. What in the world was HBO thinking ? The saddest thing is that great actors like Hartman, Coburn, and James Earl Jones have this picture listed among their respective legacies.It's hard to believe that Beau Bridges won an Emmy for his role as the Gov. of Idaho. I don't keep up with the Emmy Awards. Was there nothing better aired on TV in 1997 ? Don't get me wrong. Beau Bridges is a great actor. I loved him in "Adam's Woman", a movie which has never been released on DVD.I'm not exaggerating about the excessive language. Even non-believers will find it overdone and annoying.

This movie raises a number of excellent points about retaining ethnic identities in a world of melting point political rectitude gone wild. It shows that every ethnic group in the WORLD has formed a special interest political faction in the US, but when the citizens in Idaho say, enough, we like our OWN national identity, war is declared. A number of GREAT quotes and sound bites! Overall plot edgy and unpredictable. Played for a few laughs, but all in all quite a serious treatment of this issue, even more relevant today (2005) than it was when issued. It must be seen in the context of what was going on at the time, specifically, the later half of the Clinton presidency. A blatant ripoff of the ideas in "The Turner Diaries", right down to using the same states and caricatures of certain ethnic groups, without, of course, giving any credit to the original material, but well worth watching, and a worthy companion piece to the book.

Political satires are interesting films, and they can sometimes be especially good. "Wag the Dog," with Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, is one of the best political satires in decades, and "The Second Civil War," though not nearly as smart as the former, is pretty darn funny in its own right, and -- if you can find it on TV or home video -- you'll probably find yourself smiling at it.I hadn't expected too much sitting down to watch "The Second Civil War." I had never heard of it before, and my TV guide didn't give it an especially favorable review. But it is a surprisingly good TV film."Since when was the country run by a soap opera?" asks US President Phil Hartman in the deliciously dark political satire "The Second Civil War." Star-studded and laugh-packed, the film may seem like mediocre fodder at first, but you'll soon find yourself getting caught up in the mild genius and clever wit of it all. Yes, the film is a public TV production, but that does not reflect its position as a film.The plot: Orphans from Pakistan are being immigrated to Idaho, but the Governor of Idaho doesn't like this idea one little bit, so he closes the border of Idaho and refuses to permit any Pakistanis into his state. This causes problems, of course, and immediately news and media from around the world start to monitor the entire situation in anticipation of something dreadful to happen.The US President, played by Phil Hartman, likes Dwight D. Eisenhower, but lacks the smarts to be President -- he covers behind the image of an all together man and quotes Eisenhower in speeches. He shifts his nationwide announcements so that they do not interfere with soap operas. His advisor reminds him that women got mad last time he did that.Idaho threatens to separate from the United States of America, and "The Second Civil War" is essentially a satire of the political scene and the newspeople surrounding it. "Boys, it looks like Idaho is going to war," says news anchorman Denis Leary. "I smell another emmy."Anticipating Idaho's separation from the USA, the President and his staff make a last ditch effort to save their country by placing the Pakistanis in the middle of the battle. But this only makes matters worse.Dennis Leary ("The Ref") is funny, but other great actors include Dan Hedaya ("The Addams Family"), Beau Bridges, James Earl Jones and James Coburn, to name a few of the A-list cast members. They all play pivotal roles in the plot, and when the film gets them in lengthy word fights it is at its best.To top it all off, the film is directed by Joe Dante, who has brought Gremlins and werewolfs to life in the past. Dante is great at making imaginations come to life -- his kiddy action film "Small Soldiers" was even fun to sit through. Like Robert Zemeckis, Dante uses film as a medium for wit and imagination. He's made some great films. Here is another one.4/5 stars.John Ulmer