The American Revolution has not been served well on the Big Screen. Ican only think of three first class films about it; Drums Along the Mohawk, The Devil's Disciple, and this, my favorite. I first saw the Musical 1776 at the fabulous Fisher theater in Detroit back when in 1973. I loved it then. The Movie version fell sadly flat at the box office. There were some reasons for this. For one thing, it was the age of Vietnam and Richard Nixon, and patriotism- especially the intelligent, literate kind found in 1776 was out of style. Another thing that was out of style was Hollywood musicals.Almost every musical at the time was an over-produced flop, and most film-goers apparently thought 1776 would be more of the same. Finally, Columbia did a terrible job marketing the movie. The suits were stupid enough to think that their big hit would be the musical version of Lost Horizon, a film that must rank as one the supreme stinkers of all time, so they decided to focus on that silo of cinematic merde instead of this wonderful film.
I just saw it again in an uncut, restored version on TCM. To be honest, I can see no fault in this movie. The direction ( by Peter Hunt, who as far as I know ], did not direct another significant film in his life - His credits include such immortal series' as "Tucker's Witch") was excellent. The acting is terrific and pitch perfect, by a cast that almost never appeared in major motion picture's again, was very fine. I was amazed to notice the likes of William Hansen, ( who I only knew from a single "Slattery's People" episode.) and Dark Shadows regulars David Ford and Emory Bass in a feature film. I notice carping critics who say that Willam Daniels looked nothing like John Adams.( other than his height). Who cares? He TALKED like Adams, THOUGHT like Adams and FELT like Adams.
Finally,l there are the songs and the script. I noticed people saying that there were no memorable songs. Are these people tone-deaf? "Molasses to Rum", "look Sharp", the magnificent " Can Anybody Hear', the poignant duets between John and Abigail: ( Incidentally, EVERY word in those songs was lifted from the actual letters of Abigail and John.) these are merely the tip of the iceberg.
Then there was the script. It was witty, thoughtful, literate and erudite. This film is testimony to the fact that America was not only founded by bloodshed; it was founded by intelligent , sometimes painful argument. This show was not simplistic patriotism. No one who heard Molasses to Rume could think that. I hope to use this film with my American government students. It is one of greatest films about America-and one of the wisest films about politics- I have ever seen.
I just saw it again in an uncut, restored version on TCM. To be honest, I can see no fault in this movie. The direction ( by Peter Hunt, who as far as I know ], did not direct another significant film in his life - His credits include such immortal series' as "Tucker's Witch") was excellent. The acting is terrific and pitch perfect, by a cast that almost never appeared in major motion picture's again, was very fine. I was amazed to notice the likes of William Hansen, ( who I only knew from a single "Slattery's People" episode.) and Dark Shadows regulars David Ford and Emory Bass in a feature film. I notice carping critics who say that Willam Daniels looked nothing like John Adams.( other than his height). Who cares? He TALKED like Adams, THOUGHT like Adams and FELT like Adams.
Finally,l there are the songs and the script. I noticed people saying that there were no memorable songs. Are these people tone-deaf? "Molasses to Rum", "look Sharp", the magnificent " Can Anybody Hear', the poignant duets between John and Abigail: ( Incidentally, EVERY word in those songs was lifted from the actual letters of Abigail and John.) these are merely the tip of the iceberg.
Then there was the script. It was witty, thoughtful, literate and erudite. This film is testimony to the fact that America was not only founded by bloodshed; it was founded by intelligent , sometimes painful argument. This show was not simplistic patriotism. No one who heard Molasses to Rume could think that. I hope to use this film with my American government students. It is one of greatest films about America-and one of the wisest films about politics- I have ever seen.