Rating:  -
I watched a library version. These are some points of interest. Was frontal nudity even necessary in this series? Why so many scenes including doctors, and illness. I understand that during the times illness and pox were major life issues for all but how much attention spent on this made the series predictable. I was expecting more of a historical political account of Adams. There was no need for any of the gore scenes pertaining to the pox and when the doctor removes the cancerous tumor from Adams daughter later in the series. The Adams front yard must have been exactly in the path of major battles as their children are constantly being ushered into the house.
What was up with camera work constantly shaking and leaning to and fro? Washington is almost portrayed as comic strip version of himself. Jefferson is always leaning on something. In the scene in which the White House is being built, was there no one else around? Was the entire White House plot made by slaves as the movie shows? The French are depicted as bizzar. The series tries too hard to apply the life and times of Adams and the revolution to our issues and politics of today. It seems as if there was too much HBO sprinkled into this. I will now read the book to search out more of the historical facts.
Rating:  -
I have been to the memorials in DC several times. The Lincoln memorial in DC is perfect, the Washington monument is appropriate. But every-time I have gone to the Jefferson memorial, I feel something is missing here. Now I know what it is. If Adams was the voice and Jefferson was the pen, and they together were the north and south of our independence and liberty. Then they should have two statues of these men in the Jefferson monument. One on each side, facing each other with our sitting in the center to contemplate what John McCullough has so very definitively brought to light. I feel ashamed it isn't so.
Rating: -
I first saw this miniseries on HBO and decided then and there that I wanted a copy for myself. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the history of our country come alive. The acting was superb making these brave people real.
Rating:  -
I purchased this title with the Biography title of John Adams.
It is an excellent program, although I had trouble keeping straight the characters, Watching this series the second time solved that problem. In this series, all details were paramount. This viewer felt as tho she was in Boston, or New York, or Philadelphia, in those early days! The "Boston Massacre" story was told way differently than it was from my grade school days! And that John Adams was the representative in court for the accused British soldiers was never told in grade school history! David Morse portraying George Washington was a perfect casting choice! Various details of the various characters were also revealed in this series. For example, the founding fathers are always depicted in paintings as having hair, as school childeren, we are told they wore wigs. But when the founding fathers go to their lodging or home, they took their hair off & hung it, like they did their hats. That John Adams had a temper, I didn't know previously. He was a man, like any other man & this series doesn't "sugar-coat" his flaws. In fact each character's flaws as well as their strengths are revealed. A sad scene was when john went to the home of his son Charles, in a dirty back-street of New York, only to find his son passed-out from booze on his kitchen table. John shows a little "tough-love" to Charles & disowns him right then & there. Abigail is saddened by this, because he was joy in her life the years John was in France & England. Another gizzley scene is when a doctor performs a mastectomy on John's daughter "Nabby". The viewer feels as tho she is going to witness a battle-field scene of a limb amputation. Even the fact that the teeth would be decaying is part of the make-up as the scenes of life progresses. The genuine love & friendship are also portrayed here.
This video set features a sub-program "facts are stubborn things", in which various little factoids are displayed like sub-titles through the programs. These are very interesting, although in somecases, they are not displayed long enough to be read. In cases like this, I simply "re-wound" as I would a vdeo-tape and re-read them. The first time i watched this series, I din't use that feature. What is supposed to happen, I think is if the viewer clicks on that factoid, there is supposed to be further information. Perhaps, viewing the DVDs on my computer will allow that further exploration. When I attempted to click on it with my TV & DVD player, nothing happened.
The only negative things I have to say about this series is the length is a bit too-long, but if it is viewed in segments, as it would have been aired, it's much more comfortable. And, I had trouble keeping-straight the characters. What exactly causes the "rift" between John Adams & Thomas Jefferson, that lasted for many years is not made clear. That Abigail's death is the event that leads John to "touch base" with Thomas again, reveals that John held grudges for a long time too.
I am glad I purchased this video set. It might be a good reference for junior high or high school papers also. This video set was purchased used & it was in perfect condition. If there is a sizeable price difference between purchasing a used copy or new, my recommendation would be to purchase the used copy.
Rating: -
This is a first class movie in its own right. I did not give it 5 stars only because nothing is perfect. There seems to have been a lot of emphasis on historical accuracy, that and the cinematography transports you back to 1776. The acting is wonderful as the characters seem three dimensional. This is not for the pre-teen folks as the cruelty of life is not whitewashed. Every citizen should watch this! (Also loved the pop up history facts.)
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