Hatfields and McCoys is a winner for the History Channel.
It’s very rare to hear The History Channel and “must watch TV” mentioned in the same sentence. However, The History Channel’s epic miniseries Hatfields and McCoys, is not the cable network’s normal everyday kind of programming.
The three-part post Civil War movie stars Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. The film uses themes of crime, passion, vengeance, courage, and sacrifice to chronicle how America’s greatest family feud unfolds between the Hatfields and McCoys.
“Devil” Anse Hatfield (Costner) and Randall McCoy (Paxton) are fellow rebel soldiers who start out as friends fighting side by side until Hatfield deserts the army. Randall ends up suffering in a Union prison until the war ends. Returning home, he finds Devil ready to continue their friendship until “Devil’s” hot-headed brother James (Tom Berenger) provokes the McCoys when he kills one of their family members who served as a union soldier. With a lack of damning evidence, James is never brought to trial. This unfortunate event fosters bad blood between the two clans that festers for many years until it erupts into an all out war.
After watching a private screening of Hatfields and McCoys, Berenger called the film “The Godfather” of the mountains. The actor raved to the Herald Dispatch about how the movie hits you with every human emotion:
“It was very visceral I mean you have love stories going on and executions and hangings and firing squad and murders and it sometimes makes you feel nauseous and sometimes you’re crying because it is real sad but there’s also a lot of humor and some black humor too,” Berenger said. “It is a real visceral experience. I think some of the performances are stunning – the play between Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield when he [Costner] comes home from the Civil War, and then the scenes with the McCoys, between Bill Paxton and his wife Mare Winningham.”
Hatfields and McCoys is directed by Kevin Reynolds who also guided Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Waterworld (1995). The movie airs on The History Channel May 28th, 29th and 30th at 9PM. Costner and Paxton are supported by talent that includes Sarah Parish, Mare Winningham, Matt Barr, and Lindsay Pulsipher.
So will you watch Hatfields and McCoys? The first five minutes of the film will likely hook you to the entire mini-series. Watch the trailer below:
