1776

Rating:
Summary: Independence at last! A great DVD release!
Review: 1776 has taken an interesting journey from stage to screen in that, originally, the film was basically an accurate transfer of the stage version. In fact, several of the original cast members reprised the roles they created on stage. But, then it went through a massive edit cutting the story into a more streamlined vehicle. The cut even included the song Cool, considerate men that is restored in this DVD release. The story is only slightly peppered with song. The viewer practically forgets it is a musical right up to the moment that they begin to sing again. The songs in general are simple and rely on one catchy hook (He Plays the Violin The vocal imitation of a violin... Cool, Considerate Men's opening sounds like he's going to sing the Star Spangled Banner, The Lee's of Virginia it's nod to Old MacDonald Had a Farm, etc.)

Still, such scrutiny is to no avail because the film remains entertaining and a good documentation of the stage production. The last section of the film is (wisely) without song and is devoted to the actual signing of the Declaration of Independence. The moment is accented by the tolling of the liberty bell and the film medium perfectly captures the anxious moment. It is presented more as a melancholy moment than a happy one... What shall become of this nation? Are they doing the right thing? How does Saturday Night Live still get an audience after so many weak seasons? Ditto, ditto.

How wonderful to finally have this film on DVD! Much of the film is restored but it still runs about 10 minutes shy of the laser disc release. But, unlike the laser disc, the restored material is seamless without a change in film stock, color or clarity. The DVD also has a few camera tests and a commentary by the director.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome restoration but horrible Commentary Track
Review: It's about time someone restored this great film back to the original director's cut. Nixon was a barely a decent President and even less talented as a film editor. (scenes were cut from this film because he felt it would hurt the Republican party's image) Any fan of this film will be pleased at this new restoration. I tossed out my old VHS copy. Once you get a look at this new widescreen version, it becomes apparent that the VHS copy cut off about HALF of the image on screen. My only complaint is that the audio commentary track was poorly done. It features both the director and writer of the film, problem is, the writer never shuts up! He's constantly interrupting the director who, by the way, is the only one of the two with anything interesting to say. The writer seems to think we want to hear him perform the scenes and recite dialog over top the actors performance. No offence, but pipe down! Let the actors do it, and let the director finish a sentence without cutting him off!! At least he was trying to tell us cool behind the scenes stuff. Anyway, aside from that minor glitch, this DVD is well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent Restoration!
Review: Wow!

I just finished watching the DVD and all I can say is that if you haven't seen the restored version, you haven't seen the film.

I've always loved this musical, but this DVD has three great advantages over the VHS and TV versions we've been watching for the last 30 years.

First, it's presented in widescreen, rather than pan and scan -- which is a huge advantage considering the visual composition of the film.

Second, the sound on this DVD is remastered Dolby stereo (for some reason Columbia originally released it in mono). You can imagine that it makes a bit of difference to a musical to actually be in stereo.

Third-- and most importantly -- it contains approximately 25 minutes of restored footage (seamlessly restored by the original director, by the way). Some of the additions are minor, but I especially like the restoration of Adams' exchange with Abby listing her faults (which adds resonance to the final exchange when Abby responds to John's list of its own faults) and, of course, the restoration of the "Cool Considerate Men" number -- a very important political statement which was removed by Jack Warner for political reasons (another example of why Richard Nixon was such a creep).

I enjoyed the commentary by director Peter Hunt and writer Peter Stone, but this would be a knockout even without it. It may not be the greatest music ever written for the American stage, but it's a great bit of historic recreation. While Stone and composer Sherman Edwards twiddle a few historical facts (as a North Carolinian, I've always been dismayed by my state's treatment ... North Carolina was, in fact, the first state to instruct its delegates to support independence and not a toady for South Carolina), they do manage to recreate the drama that even serious historians agree created the "Miracle in Philadelphia."

Rating:
Summary: No where near as good as Pioneer's Laserdisc version!
Review: Since Pioneer's laserdisc version clocked in at 181 minutes, and this DVD is around 166, you had to know that this release was going to be inferior. And, no surprise, it is. The Entrance, Intermission, and Exit music have all been cut out. The last verse to "The Lees Of Old Virginia" is gone. Plus, one of my favorite scenes has been taken out...When John Adams is waking up at the foot of Thomas Jefferson's stairs, and Philadelphia is starting it's day.

What a tremendous disappointment this DVD is, after having seen the Pioneer's laserdisc release. Shame on Sony, and Peter Hunt for not giving us the entire print of this fabulous movie!

Rating:
Summary: I said 72 Virginians. What did you think I said?
Review: Well, I got my way at last. The DVD was finally released.

If you had the VHS of it, you might consider getting the DVD anyway. Not because the VHS is going to wear out eventually (even though it will) but because the DVD of 1776 has about 30 minutes more footage than the cassette-- bringing the grand total to just under three hours.

But don't let that dissuade you. Pack a lunch, and have a seat.

There is at least one additional song, which I don't care for. The song (Minuet) doesn't seem to fit in with the overall tone of the film, and it was well disposed of in the regular release. Fortunately, I don't have to watch it if I don't want to (ain't that Skip button grand?)

The rest of the additional footage enhances the rest of the film. Character development is more robust, certain scenes flow into the subsequent scene more naturally.

If you haven't seen this movie, I recommend it to you. If you are a student of history, you might be surprised how accurate some minor details are (A few lines were taken right from John Adams' mouth, as were some of Ben Franklin's)

I'm not a big fan of musicals in general. Usually, I prefer my movies with car chases and explosions. Even I was won over by this musical, however. The humor is always witty, and the songs even manage to seem natural (well, more so than other musicals).

Now, I won't lie to you and say that Daniels has a beautiful singing voice as John Adams. He doesn't and it really shows in his duets with Abigail. His acting more than makes up for it, however, and most of his songs are "hollering songs" anyway, so it doesn't matter if he can sing or not.

If you think America is a wicked, corrupt and totally evil nation that oppresses everyone and everything (in other words, if you're French), then you would be better off getting Born On The Fourth of July. For the rest of us, I can confidently recommend 1776 as a great film, even if you only watch it once a year (on the 4th of July, of course)

Rating:
Summary: Bad Job
Review: Sony Pictures did a terrible job at releasing the director's cut. First it is not the director's cut , it is a copy of the VHS tape with the song 'Cool Cool Considerate Men' added. If you want the real director's cut it is on the laser disk of the movie.
They left out:
1)The rest of the song of Piddle,Twiddle & Resolve
2)The rest of the song of The Lees of Old VA
3)The dialog between Dickinson and Congress before Lee comes back and JA says "One more day "to Benjamin F
4)The fire wagon scene before Lee comes back
5)The dialog between JA and AA about her looks after Jefferson's wife arrived
6)The dialog between Benjamin F and John A with Martha J looking out her window and the beginning of the song 'He plays the Violin'
7)The long dialog that leads up to the fight between Dickinson and Adams. The VHS cuts it in half the laser disk does not.
8)The dialog between Doctor Hall and Rodney that takes them outside.
9)The scene where Maryland gets stuck in his chair
Sony said they did research but they didn't. All they had to do was to recopy the laser disk.
They did do a great job of recopying the VHS with an added song.
I hope to burn my laser disk onto a DVD. When I do then I will have the real Director's Cut of the movie 1776

Rating:
Summary: A History Lesson
Review: "1776" is not only entertaining and funny but it is also a great lesson in history. As a history major in college, I have a passion for the Revolutionary War Era, especially John Adams, and this musical brings many of the little known facts, quotes, and relationships into the public light. In no other forum (except David McCullough's book "John Adams", is John Adams portrayed as the great man he was. Many of the lines and songs in the musical were taken directly from Adams's personal journals and letters. I appreciate the historical accuracy and the attempt to get the story of independence straight by demonstrating the character, strength, and persistence of the most underappreciated Founding Father, John Adams.
Also, the DVD's Director's Cut (for the most part) adds more background information to the plot and makes the movie run more smoothly. I especially enjoyed the restored scene where Rutledge and Adams discuss the possibilities of a new American government and whereby forshadowing the Civil War. The added scenes also make cleaner and more thourough transitions in the film.
Yet, I did not like the addition of "Cool Considerate Men." It was historically innaccurate and it seemed that it was just thrown into the middle of the film without any build up or follow through. The American Revolution has the honor of being the first and only conservative revolution. America separated from Britain for conservative reasons and through conservative men. So the song is inncorrect in that respect. Also, the participants especially Dickinson are overly villified. Dickinson did not believe in revolution because he hated violence (since his wife was a Quaker, yet he believed in the cause and the mistakes on the part of the British government and he made those views manifest through his numerous essays. Dickinson also showed his patriotism not only on the battlefield but also in the drafting of the Pennsylvannia constitution and he was instrumental in the US Constitution's ratification in Penn. So that scene's addition only demonstrates the political motivation behind it.
So for a quick yet thoughrough history lesson and a lot of entertainment buy "1776."

Rating:
Summary: Same as laserdisc special edition
Review: Is this the same release as the laserdisc widescreen special edition that was out many years ago? Are there additions? If so, it is spectacular even with restored parts being in somewhat poor condition. I saw the original production with almost the same cast on Broadway in the 1970's. This is one of the finest transformations of a Broadway musical ever done. It maintains the spirit of the original. This is a truly special event.

Rating:
Summary: A five-goosebump movie that personifies American pride
Review: I saw this movie more than 25 years ago as part of a junior high history class (and, naturally, had quickly forgotten it), but had the pleasant experience of seeing a touring Broadway version of it last year. Wow! What an amazing show it was - I doubt there was anyone in the crowd who was not teary-eyed at the end, during the emotional scene where each state/delegate bravely signs the document, risking his life and property, and forever changes the world in ways he could not even imagine.

I quickly went out and bought the CD of the wonderful music, but hesitated to buy the film version as I was hoping it would come out on DVD. Voila! Here it is (perhaps thanks to Amazon's great feature of allowing you to "vote" for an item's release). I was first in the Amazon checkout line, and was not at all disappointed.

William Daniels is superb as John Adams. I was used to hearing Brent Spiner (Star Trek's Commander Data!) sing this role from my CD of the revival cast, and to my amazement, he did a fantastic job as well. But it's hard not to think of the kind, gentle Data when listening to him (at least to Trek fans!), which is kind of distracting. While Daniels seemed familiar to me somehow (and now I know why - Knight Rider and St. Elsewhere), and while he doesn't seem to physically resemble Adams too well, I thought he was quite believable as Adams, and that Howard DaSilva was even more so as Franklin.

As for the DVD, it was nice to see some extras, especially the restored scenes (who cares what Nixon thought!) and the (sometimes lame) commentary. The widescreen angle, I think, makes all the difference given the historical significance of the room where most of the action takes place - it is nice to see the WHOLE room, especially during the very moving scene when the document is read for the first time. "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."

My complaints with the DVD are few. The sound, occasionally, seems to be uneven, and even monaural at times, but this may be a result of the once-deleted scenes that were pieced back in. I do appreciate the conversion to Dolby 5.1, and the few sound lapses are worth it to get the Dolby audio.

Also, the screen tests were mostly of the lesser cast, and not much different from the actual scenes in the movie. Kinda worthless filler.

I was a little disappointed with the emotional impact of the final scene, which I thought was done much better in the Broadway version I saw. Each signer stood around the desk after signing, in a pose that was plucked right out of John Trumbull's famous painting of the event, at which point a huge, see-through backlit silk backdrop of the Declaration was lowered in front of the frozen-in-place signers, with them visible behind it as the Liberty Bell rang triumphantly. It sent chills right up my back, and was a sure catalyst for a standing ovation. While I can appreciate how this was probably hard to recreate on screen, and while it is done to some degree, it just didn't seem as effective to me.

Minor complaints aside, this is a fantastic movie. It gives you an awe-struck appreciation for the incredible events that led to the founding of this nation, and makes you marvel at the fact that it ever happened at all. So many things could have - and did - go wrong, from Washington's dismal dispatches about the sorry state of his troops to the entire Southern delegation walking out of Congress over the slave issue. It makes one line in the Declaration, added afterwards, especially prophetic - "with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence......"

Highly recommended to all.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous DVD
Review: Introduced to this film only in recent years, I never knew what I was missing. Wow! The restored bits seem none the worse for having been gathered off the cutting-room floor. "Molasses to Rum" (sung by John Cullum, who later played Holling Vincoeur in "Northern Exposure") especially benefits from the widescreen treatment. Shiver. A fine job, Mr. Hunt, thank you. I still burst out laughing during "But, Mr. Adams". Truly delightful entertainment that shines a humanizing light on those long-gone patriots and lovers.