You Should Read the Book
If you like this movie, you should read the book. As I recall, the book got me started on the whole series of the Falconhurst saga of the ways whites treated blacks in the South in the first half of the 19th century. It was a very interesting read. Since I read this one, I've probably read at least 15 other books in the same subject area.
The book has some great lines. For example, Doc Redfield to Hammond after Hammond discovers his wife Blanche birthed a black baby. "You had ought to burn em. Cut em first with a dull butcher knife and then burn em. It's the only way to learn em."
The movie is toned down quite a bit from the book, as expected.