John Adams [Blu-ray]
John Adams is a sprawling HBO miniseries event that depicts the extraordinary life and times of one of Americas least understood, and most underestimated, founding fathers: the second President of the United States, John Adams. Starring Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man, HBOs American Spendor) in the title role and Laura Linney (You Can Count on Me, Kinsey) as Adams devoted wife Abigail, John Adams chronicles the extraordinary life journey of one of the primary shapers of our independence and government, whose legacy has often been eclipsed by more flamboyant contemporaries like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin. Set against the backdrop of a nations stormy birth, this sweeping miniseries is a moving love story, a gripping narrative, and a fascinating study of human nature. Above all, at a time when the nation is increasingly polarized politically, this story celebrates the shared values of liberty and freedom upon which this country was built.Based on David McCullough’s bestselling biography, the HBO miniseries John Adams is the furthest thing from a starry-eyed look at America’s founding fathers and the brutal path to independence. Adams (Paul Giamatti), second president of the United States, is portrayed as a skilled orator and principled attorney whose preference for justice over anti-English passions earns enemies. But he also gains the esteem of the first national government of the United States, i.e., the Continental Congress, which seeks non-firebrands capable of making a reasoned if powerful case for America’s break from England’s monarchy. The first thing one notices about John Adams‘ dramatizations of congress’ proceedings, and the fervent pro-independence violence in the streets of Boston and elsewhere, is that America’s roots don’t look pretty or idealized here. Some horrendous things happen in the name of protest, driving Adams to push the cause of independence in a legitimate effort to get on with a revolutionary war under the command of George Washington. But the process isn’t easy: not every one of the 13 colonies-turned-states is ready to incur the wrath of England, and behind-the-scenes negotiations prove as much a part of 18th century congressional sessions as they do today.
Besides this peek into a less-romanticized version of the past, John Adams is also a story of the man himself. Adams’ frustration at being forgotten or overlooked at critical junctures of America’s early development–sent abroad for years instead of helping to draft the U.S. constitution–is detailed. So is his dismay that the truth of what actually transpired leading to the signing of the Declaration of Independence has been slowly forgotten and replaced by a rosier myth. But above all, John Adams is the story of two key ties: Adams’ 54-year marriage to Abigail Adams (Laura Linney), every bit her husband’s intellectual equal and anchor, and his difficult, almost symbiotic relationship with Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane) over decades. Giamatti, of course, has to carry much of the drama, and if he doesn’t always seem quite believable in the series’ first half, he becomes increasingly excellent at the point where an aging Adams becomes bitter over his place in history. Linney is marvelous, as is Dillane, Sarah Polley as daughter Nabby, Danny Huston as cousin Samuel Adams, and above all Tom Wilkinson as a complex but indispensable Ben Franklin. –Tom Keogh
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Joh Adams (HBO Miniseries)
Great movie series. Touching love story, great historicaly correct saga. Fantastic acting. Good period costuming. Great casting. All around A1 for those who care for nations history.
5 Stars History Lesson at it’s best
My husband and I watched the entire series DVDs over the Christmas holiday break. We learned so much about our founding fathers and how the Constitution and Declaration of Independence came about. It’s great for school aged children to also watch and learn… this part of history is not covered in depth in school books! Got to know exactly what type of person John Adams was and how Abigail managed to stay married to him and by his side despite his grouchy disposition.
5 Stars Awesome Miniseries
I bought this for my husband for Christmas. He heard how great this miniseries was. On the weekend he started to watch it and got so wrapped up into the story he kept wanting to watch the next disc! I sat down after one hour (I’m not a history buff) and found myself hooked into the story. The acting is wonderful (won some academy awards). We ending up watching the whole miniseries in one weekend and will watch it again and again!!!
This is must have for all you history buffs and women who want a great story line!!!
Highly recommend this one for your DVD collection!!
5 Stars JOHN ADAMS DVD
AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION OF THE LIVES OF BOTH JOHN AND ABIGAIL ADAMS…A VERY SWEET STORY OF AN AWESOME FRIENDSHIP, PARTNERSHIP, AND MARRIAGE. VERY GOOD INSIGHTS INTO THE LIVES OF THE MEN WHO GAVE THEIR ALL TO FORM OUR NATION. PAUL GIAMATTI AND LAURA LINNEY ARE SO REAL AND CONVINCING. I HAVE GIVEN SEVERAL COPIES AS GIFTS TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY. IT IS A CLASSIC. FIVE STARS AND 2 THUMBS UP.
5 Stars John and Abigail Adams: patriots and heroes
I chose both J & A in my summary because one without the other would not have succeeded in the deep and profound lives they lived. First of all a sober assessment of this film should be put aside until one has read David McCullough’s fantastic historical account of J.A. The reader is entertained by a master storyteller, who first caught my ear in the ever great Ken Burns series “The Civil War”, where he was used as narrator and historian. Once you have read this book then the many facts that you face when watching the film will make all the more sense.
Why is J.A. such a great series? The producers and director took great pains to reproduce the look and feel, the authenticity of the times. (my one and only criticism of this and just about every such series is that costumes, especially of the soldiers all look like they were just freshly pressed and taken from the closet. Soldiers of the day had no such luxury and probably looked pretty shabby, notwithstanding the bright colours. But I quibble….) The overall view is the impression that we are looking at the times as they really were. What I noted in particular was the extreme hazards of a winter time boat crossing of the Atlantic !!!! Good heavens, I can think of few things at that time or our own that were more perilous and as we watch poor J.A. wretchedly sick as the boat crashes upon the waves….we tremble at their fate. Never mind that they had to fight a pitched battle against a British ship….and could have been sunk themselves.
John Adams was a complex man but a very good and moral one. Bull headed when he dug in his heels, opinionated, erudite, hard working, a devoted and loving father and husband. All of his life’s energies he channelled through the filter that was his beloved wife, Abigail. John trusted no other human as much as his Abigail. They say that they had one of the great love and literary affairs of the century. If the volume of correspondence and the expressions therein are adequate testimony, then we witness a true love. John was both a farmer, scholar and lawyer, something not seen much in our time. He was also guided by a simple but iron willed principle that all men must be governed by laws and that society that abandons them opens itself up to the rule of the mob. Early in his life he is tested as he is given the thankless task of defending British soldiers who stood accused of killing several colonists. His uneasy but fierce and successful defence of the soldiers gives us an idea of the depth of this man. He was to be tested over and over again as he was torn away from wife and children to tend to national duties as they rapidly evolved. There was not a single time that he did not gain his wife’s blessings to his paths, no matter the pain it caused her.
The series quite accurately tells their story. From the incredibly difficult days where he was away in Philadelphia helping hammer out the declaration of independence while sickness and the British forces gave his wife and children many sleepless nights to the even more wrenching times when John was alone in Europe trying with great vexation to motivate French and Dutch bankers and royalty to support the erupting American revolution. The series shows the physical depredations he lived through and the mentally trying decision to send his young son John Quincy off to St. Petersburg as a diplomatic assistant.
The ensemble cast is superb from top to bottom. Much detail is given to making the actors appear as close to the historical characters. While they had no photography back then they certainly had plenty of portrait painters and we know pretty much what they looked like. David Morse’s depiction of Washington was almost inch for inch what he would have looked like, the actor being as tall as Washington was. As well it is known that Washington’s teeth had been removed or came out and that he wore ivory dentures. Look at all the stuffing in Morse’s mouth and the attempt to reproduce the generals face is all there.
While there is so much tragedy in the Adams family, with the loss of a daughter to cancer and a son to alcoholism, the most shattering moment comes when John watches his wife slip away. Such very great people you cannot find much in the historical record. I still must say that I find Thomas Jefferson one of the most vile of the founding fathers. A prosperous, brilliant, urbane, conniving, calculating and charming man who simply could not see his pleasures and wealth compromised by ever giving up his slaves, of which it now appears that he fathered a number of children; I find him personally disgusting. Give me John Adams and the manner in which he was a father, a husband, a Vice and President of the United States. When all is said and done, this is one of those very great series that should be mandatory in every American school system.
The chemistry between Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti is composed of a wealth of excellent dialogue, quotes from their huge output of letters to each other and by the unbreakable bonds of love. Clearly these actors felt a sympathy for these founders and were able to channel their spirit with such clarity. Tom Wilkinson’s depiction of Dr. Benjamin Franklin is wonderful to behold. Watch for the hilarious chess game played in the bathtub. As I am watching the series all over again it motivates me to re-read McCullough’s book. Both are treasures you should own and learn from.
Filed under: Blu Ray Movie Reviews