What did you think of John Adams?

[Bullet1987]

I myself, being a history buff anyway, thought it was excellent! I think the decision to cast Paul Giamatti was smart and he plays the role brilliantly I believe. David Morse as George Washington was also great...he looked just like him. It was interesting seeing everything that I've learned over the years through school and independent research play out on HBO. There needs to be more Revolution era films made. The last one I can think of was The Patriot, and that was just a movie set during that time period. If I recall it wasn't based on a true story or anything. I don't know if Hollywood producers and filmmakers feel they'll offend their British friends or something because I honestly don't know how modern British feel about the American Revolution.

I thought that scene of the tar and feathering was somewhat dark. I was slightly upset that they didn't show the Boston Tea Party, but they probably didn't want to get off track since the movie is about John Adams and he didn't have anything to do with that. The Director portrays Adams as very conflicted in the beginning about whether or not to support the Sons of Liberty in Massachusetts, but he eventually comes around and plays a big role in arguing for our Independence and the creation of a Decleration. I also wanted to see how the miniseries would deal with the issue of slavery. We know that many of the founding fathers were very conflicted, and there was that one scene where Jefferson calls slavery an abomination and says so in the Declaration. What people don't know is that, that very anti-slavery phrase was later taken out because I guess they weren't ready to come around to the idea of emancipation.

Overall, the first two parts were very well done and I can already see that I'll be likely buying the entire miniseries when it comes out on DVD.

9/10

[Kittycat]

1. Was that on HBO or something?

[Bullet1987]

3. Yea...

a 2-part special. And there are 7 parts in all! So it'll be on for 5 more weeks (one show every Sunday at 9pm).

[misanthrope]

2. "The Patriot" was terrible...

...It was hackneyed, jingoistic crap and I literally laughed through the entire thing the first time I saw it.

[4_Legs_Good]

15. Agreed! Hated it!

Would love to see John Adams, though!

David

[frogmarch]

4. WOW! I was blown away by it.

I loved it! Can't wait for next week's episode (or episodes).
Edit: I'm referring HBO's John Adams.

[TriplePlay]

5. Wow, this series is really well made.

These first two parts were fantastic! It is so authentic and well written. My kids both watched and loved it. I found the debate over independance especially well done. As they said in the making of John Adams after the episode, you don't just read or know of the history behind the story after you watch it, you FEEL it.

I'm a history buff myself, especially the Revolutionary War. I've been to Boston and all the sites in the area, Philadelphia, Washingtons Headquarters in Morristown NJ, Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Fort Ticonderoga, etc. I love this stuff. I especially like movies or tours that give you the sense of how these patriots put everything at risk by daring to oppose British rule.

I loved THe Patriot also, by the way.

[kentuck]

6. My wife says...

He looks like Shrek. :-)

[Swamp Rat]

28. LOLOLOLOL!!!!!

:rofl:

[crispini]

7. Really good!

Got HBO for it and have definitely been rewarded. :D

Will probably cancel HBO right after, LOL.

[ginnyinWI]

11. So did we!

I ordered HBO added to our DishTV package this morning, and will cancel after April 20th when the series is over. It's pro-rated so shouldn't cost as much as buying the DVD would. I read the book a year or two ago, loved it, and so far love the series.

[bluestateguy]

8. Very good

Abigail was very good.

But I'm sure some snot-nosed critic will rip it apart.

[flowomo]

9. we enjoyed it a lot....

did a lot of Googling while it was on and found bunches of minor errors and misleading plot features (for example, six were acquitted, but two Brit soldiers were convicted of manslaughter after the "Boston Massacre")but overall it was compelling and accurate.

[Strelnikov_]

10. Two thumbs up . . .

Smallpox epidemics . . . christ.

[garthranzz]

12. It was a great book.

Read it.

[4_Legs_Good]

16. Cool! I will

Thanks for the heads up! I'd like to learn more about Adams.

David

[jackson_dem]

13. I wish I could have seen it but I don't get HBO.

If it is eventually posted on youtube can someone post about it here?

[Bullet1987]

14. I doubt it'll show up on Youtube...and if it does it'll be deleted

The only show I've seen a lot on Youtube from ANY of the premium channels is Real Time with Bill Maher.

[cliffordu]

17. Too bad our current crop ain't up to their example.....

[Blue_In_AK]

23. I was thinking that, too...

...and wondering why we Americans have become so lazy and lax. It's good for a miniseries like this to come out and remind us what we're supposed to be all about.

[Oilwellian]

18. Watched it and loved it

It's very well done and it gave me goosebumps a couple of times...when John and Abigail were standing on the cliff looking towards Boston & coming to the realization the colonies had no choice but to become independent. And after they signed the Declaration of Independence and sat there with worry, realizing what they had just done...cut the umbilical cord to England. I had never given any thought to what that must have been like for our forefathers to do so. Such dread yet a brave & revolutionary act.

I can't wait to see the next show. :thumbsup:

[CitizenLeft]

19. it was fantastic!

I loved it, can't wait for next week!

Yes, the tar/feather scene... did you notice the slaves they brought up out of the hold right behind him as they were pouring tar over his head? They were watching. I'm not sure in what way that was symbolic - I don't like deconstructing what I see on the screen - but the juxtaposition of those two events was striking.

[misanthrope]

22. The symbols of that moment...

...Colonists committed violence on someone for slights they perceived while they themselves took part in and condoned greater injustices.

Also, the greatest act of ridicule they could visit on the object of their derision involved making him black, the color of the slaves. Taking away his whiteness was part of the shame.

[CitizenLeft]

29. well done.

Sounds about right to me.

[Ino]

20. The English...

The English devote about a paragraph in their history books to the American Revolution. It's just a blip on their radar. (My ex-husband is English.)

Going Out in Style
(sing to the tune of My Country Tis of Thee or UK National Anthem)
by Ino

We kicked some English ass -
it really was a gas -
but they don't care.
Humiliate their king.
July was such a fling.
Cause they didn't have a thing
but red to wear.

That British stiffened lip
may quiver just a bit,
but who's to know?
In uniforms of red,
so chic and so well-bred,
they looked good even dead -
the blood didn't show.

We celebrate our cause
with rockets and applause,
but Brits just smile.
With condescending sneer
they whisper in our ear,
"But you should know, my dear,
you have no style!"

[tammywammy]

21. I've always thought John Adams

Is the least known of the Founding Fathers.

I don't have HBO, so I'll check this out when it's available on DVD. BTW, the David McCullough book on John Adams is excellent.

Edited to add: PBS has an excellent show on John & Abigail Adams. http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=2174239&cp=&sr=1&origkw=john+adams&kw=john+adams&parentPage=search

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. I just loved it!

That music makes me tear up...

The lead actors are marvelous!

It is a huge reminder of what our forebears went through to establish our country...


They might very well be appalled at what we have let her become...

A fabulous series!

:patriot:

[Kool Kitty]

25. I loved this. I can't wait to see next

week's installments. While we were watching this, my husband asked me if I thought Bush was watching. I told him that first of all, it was past W's bedtime, and second of all, the irony of it would be lost on him.

[sandnsea]

26. I think it is exceptional

Paul Giamatti has outdone himself and if he maintains this level, absolutely deserves an Emmy. I always get a little annoyed when people put current events into an historic film, the "moderate" references irked me, unless someone can provide the quotes. But otherwise, this might be the best Revolution movie ever done. I can't wait to see the whole thing.

[Norrin Radd]

27. I was disappointed that Washington didn't have his horse made of crystal:

George Washington by Brad Neely
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tQ8BCNj2oao