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Summary: 'Molasses to rum to slaves.. Oh, what a beautiful waltz..'
Review: I was first introduced to the glory that is '1776' when I met my new best friend Caroline. She and I were both obsessed with musicals, and we frequently spent the weekend at one of our houses, watching movies. One day she rented '1776', and we both fell in love with it. It's incredibly hard to choose a favourite song, because they're all quite excellent. However, if I HAD to choose, I would have to say 'Molasses to Rum'. John Cullum does a marvelous job as Edward Rutledge [being a Southerner, I have to stick up for him! Wooooooo! ^.^], and the man's voice is INCREDIBLE. William Daniels is absolutely brilliant as John Adams, and I even managed to forget that he was Mr. Finney [no easy task, considering I watched 'Boy Meets World' long before I knew about '1776'. Howard Da Silva as Franklin.. Ken Howard as Jefferson.. What a marvelous cast. Words cannot describe their genius. I adore them all. ^.^ It's especially amusing, because Caroline and I have decided that at least four of the Congressmen are gay. Can you pick them out? *WE* can! ^.^
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Summary: 1776 DVD
Review: This is the Broadway Musical the way it should have been filmed---with the "Conservative Gavotte" included, even though it wasn't part of the movie release. It is an enjoyable way to learn the basic history, if a bit whimsical, of the Declaration of Independence.
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Summary: "1776" REPRESENTS U.S. FOUNDING FATHERS AS NAUGTY BAWDY...
Review: ...ordinary men who did an extraordinary thing (and who prance around and break into song at the slightest excuse -- well, it IS a musical, what do you expect?) and I LOVE IT!! This movie musical has GREAT songs, GREAT acting all across the board, and tells the story of the creation of the United States of America in the storybook/elementary school version yet somehow it's STILL GREAT!! You'll love it!! I know I do. Most people do when they see it but, unfortunately, they seldom think to make a bit of an effort to watch this because it's now a thirty-year old movie (from 1972) and some people don't even know about this movie at all (now THAT amazes me -- that's like not knowing about "Singin' In The Rain" or "The Wizard Of Oz" or "Gone With The Wind"). All in all, "1776" is truly a WONDERFUL movie and I love it. I always have and I always will. You will too if you like musicals and give it a chance. (Be forewarned, this is NOT a rock'n'roll musical score -- it's old Broadway Music, not today's music.)
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Summary: I LOVE this musical.
Review: This musical was an obsession of one of my friends. She leant me the CD and I loved it. I was happy when this DVD came out. Many people think that the Cool Cool Considerate Men is a little weird, but personally I think that it's charming to see dear John Dickinson sing and dance, don't you? ^_~ Get this you won't be sorry. And then go and visit colonial Williamsburg, you fiend! Hey, if you get bored there, at least you can go to Bush Gardens!
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Summary: A Musical to Remember
Review: I remember first seeing this movie in fifth while we were studying the Declaration of Independence. Being an avid fan of musicals, I immediately fell in love with it and rented it several times. The movie tells the story of the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the 'back story' of it, if you will. It mainly focuses on John Adams (played by the incredible William Daniels), Benjamin Franklin (the late Howard Da Silva), and Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard). Between the three of them and the memorable songs sung, this is one musical that will forever be with me. Now, just because this movie has songs in it does not mean that it loses its historical quality. Actually, I found it to be quite the contrary. Without the songs, I think that the movie would be dull. One of my favorites was deciding who should be the one to write the Declaration. We all know that in the end, Thomas Jefferson is the lucky one who gets to write it. When John and his wife, Abigail (played by Virginia Vestoff) are writing letters back and forth to one another in the form of songs, it is just gorgeous, not only in the way the story of their longingness for one another is, but the sets as well. We go from Pennsylvania to Boston. Bottom line is, if you like History and you like musicals, rent this one. You'll love it.
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Summary: I've come undone!
Review: I fell in love with 1776 when I was in grade school. I went on a class trip to Philadelphia in 1976, the bicentennial of our country's birth! I have now addicted my girls, ages 8 and 13, to this wonderful movie. We sing the songs aloud, and people look at us strangely! These people have no idea what they are missing!
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Summary: Even my thirteen-year-old son loved this movie!
Review: This film has been my favorite movie for years. I guess it's because I love musicals and I was history major, as well. Much of the dialogue and song lyrics in this movie come directly from the writings of our Founding Fathers. (The lyrics of the song John Adams sings, "Is anybody there?" are almost exact from a letter he wrote to Abigail after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.) William Daniels is perfect as John Adams and the scenes between John and Abigail Adams are the most romantic there is, even though they never touch each other once! My family has watched this movie every 4th of July for years. My son refused to watch it (B-O-R-I-N-G!) until this year, when he turned 13. He was fascinated by it this year. Afterwards, he told us he had learned so much about how his country came to be and, most importantly, he realized that there were REAL PEOPLE involved. I would recommend this movie to anyone studying early American history and to anyone who just plain loves a good musical. Based upon it's historical content and how it is presented, I wish I could show it to every high school American history class.
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Summary: I love it even more now!
Review: I loved the VHS version of 1776, but since I've never seen the play, I had had to rely on the Original Cast Recording soundtrack to even verify that there was a conservative song in the first place. As soon as I heard Paul Hecht, the soundtrack's John Dickinson, sing the number, I became quite angry that it wasn't on the video. Little did I know how badly the entire film had been chopped up. While reading reviews on this website of the VHS, I saw the "this text refers to the DVD version," at the end of one and clicked the hyperlink. It was so good to know that the vital parts of 1776 were restored for those of us who didn't have any other versions than the VHS to draw opinions on. The play is now much more complete, and ceases my wondering about such things as what exactly Martha Jefferson had started when Adams tells her "don't stop, madam." It's like seeing a completely different, much improved movie. The sound is better, the screen tests are pretty interesting, and I love the commentary. And going back to my favorite song, "Cool, Considerate Men," it's even better than I'd hoped and the choreography is quite intriguing. It's a very charming plot aside from having a lot of historical errors. Reading the David McCullough book, John Adams, was a little depressing due to how differently it recorded every event in the movie, such as how Martha Jefferson never came to Philadelphia, how Judge Wilson was a lot more opinionated than had been portrayed, and that Dickinson wasn't even there on the day of the final vote, completely ruining the logic of that scene in the movie. But it certainly is good drama, good comedy, and quite a score. My advice: buy it today!
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Summary: 200 Years plus and going strong!
Review: See how the greatest nation on earth was born. 1776 is a wonderful time. See how the Declaration of Independence was written and the difficult and some not so difficult times the Continental Congress faced inorder to write the great document.
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Summary: For God's Sake, John, Sit Down...
Review: First, let me say that I'm not a big fan of movie musicals. However, I've always made an exception for 1776. I suppose it's my abiding interest in history, and in the popular presentation of history, that keeps me coming back to this film. For the uninitiated, 1776 is the story of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and was first presented on Broadway in the late 1960s. Set in Philadelphia in June and early July of 1776, the action centers around John Adams's attempt to get a reluctant Continental Congress to declare the 13 colonies independent of Great Britain. Adams, and his allies (including Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson), is opposed at every step by the conservatives in Congress, led by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania. Although we know the ending, it is to scriptwriter Peter Stone's credit that we realize things may have turned out rather differently. My first recorded version of this movie was taped off of a local television station that had drastically edited it for length and content. When I finally got around to buying the VHS version of 1776, I was amazed at what had been left out, particularly when it came to the earthier dialogue. Imagine my reaction to the new DVD director's cut edition of this musical; it was like watching a completely new movie. Bridging scenes that had been edited out now provide a nearly seamless narrative flow, and the musical number "Cool, Considerate Men" has been restored, providing for greater balance between the conservatives and radicals in Congress. The cast, a number of whom reprise their roles from the Broadway production, is nearly flawless. William Daniels IS John Adams, hard-headed, driven, passionate, "obnoxious and disliked". Howard da Silva is equally effective as Benjamin Franklin, elder statesman and earthy man-of-the-world, while the rest of the actors do very well by their characters. Of necessity, the film's emphasis is on Congress, and therefore on the male of the species; women are limited to two roles--Martha Jefferson, played by Blythe Danner, and Abigail Adams, played by Virginia Vestoff. Of Danner's role, there is little to say beyond the fact that the actress is a luminous screen presence. Vestoff, on the other hand, has a rather more substantial role as John Adams's wife, confidant, and sounding board. The film effectively portrays the correspondence between John and Abigail, a partnership that was, in many ways, remarkable in American history. Director Peter Hunt keeps things moving along at a lively pace, propelled by the music of Sherman Edwards, who also wrote the lyrics. It's hard to pick a favorite song, but two stand out in my mind--the chilling "Molasses to Rum to Slaves" and the poignant "Mamma, Look Sharp". The former underlines the flawed nature of the American Experiment--that a new nation established on the principle that "all men are created equal" would also keep hundreds of thousands of people in chains. The latter song brings home the fact that while Congress engages in endless debates, men (and boys) are dying on the field of battle. I could dwell at some length on the historical inaccuracies embodied in this movie--the character of Judge Wilson, for one, and that of Richard Henry Lee, for another. However, purism aside, what 1776 makes clear is just what a close run thing independence really was, that there was, indeed, a significant proportion of Americans (and their representatives) who wished to remain loyal to the British crown. Better yet, the Founding Fathers are portrayed mot as marble men, but as the passionate, flawed, flesh-and-blood individuals they were.
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