John Adams (HBO Miniseries)
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DVD details
Actor: Laura Linney, Paul GiamattiBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 501 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: HBO
DVD Reviews of John Adams (HBO Miniseries)
DVD Review: TV historical drama does not get much better
Summary: 5 Stars
Occasionally a TV drama comes along that makes you regret using 5 stars on something else, just so you can say this one is that much better. This is one of those!
From start to end, we are presented with a compelling drama, which is not only reeks of authenticity (though of course, what do I know - I'm not an historian..) but is an absorbing portrayal of a couple in love, a family in motion, and the birth of a nation.
Paul Giamatti is simply superb casting to play John Adams - a man who is not portrayed as charismatic or `pretty' but clever, sincere, moral and committed. Events start with the Boston Massacre, leading up to the Boston Tea Party, the War of Independence (unseen for the most part since Adams spent most of the time in Europe), the drafting of the Constitution and of course his term as the second president of the United States, before his retirement years. It's not told as a simplistic TV movie of the week triumph in hard times, but is told as a well rounded look at the man through fascinating historical times. Some victories, some defeats, some frustrations, but most of all the relationships with people he knew. Most fascinating of these was his wife Abigail, portrayed in definitive form by the ever adaptable Laura Linney. It seems the story of one is equally the story of the other, so intertwined are their stories. And then there are other supporting cast members, David Morse as Washington, Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson and Tom Wilkinson having a blast as Benjamin Franklin.
Events are never told with rose colored glasses.. this is warts and all, and even handed, showing Adam's frustrations and bitternesses as well as his successes, and indeed also the country's sometimes ugly birth pangs as it discovers its identity. There is little in the way of big budget battle scenes, the battles are for the most part off screen. And yet despite often being a talking heads exercise, the canvas seems writ large, giving the impression at times that we really are looking through a window to the times, rather than a cleaned up portrayal of it.
Recommended, for both those interested in a pivotal time in history, and those interested in the development of a fascinating character and those around him.
DVD Review: One of the Best
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a television miniseries at its best. Paul Giamatti is a superb actor at any time, but he exceeds his best in his performance in "John Adams" playing the lead role. This miniseries takes you from Adams introduction into the beginning of the revolutionary period of American history, his role in the Continental Congress up to his death. Laura Linney, has the role of Abigail Adams, his wife, his best friend, and most trusted advisor.
Anyone with a love for American history will agree that this DVD is one that you must have in your collection.
DVD Review: A remarkable man who lived a remarkable life--the story of one of America's Founding Fathers
Summary: 5 Stars
John Adams was one of the Founding Fathers, the greatness of whom was appreciated at the time, although more so after his death as historians examined his life with the benefit of historical perspective. This miniseries is based upon David McCulloch's acclaimed biography of John Adams, and it is a faithful, and even loving, recreation of the story of John Adams' remarkable life.
The miniseries takes us from the time of the Boston Massacre to the American Revolution, to the founding of America and through its early years as a fledgling nation. Mr. Adams was there for almost all of it. Adams was defense counsel for the British redcoats who were tried for, and aquitted of, murder for their actions in the Boston Massacre. He then was a firebrand delegate to the Continental Congress as an outspoken advocate for American independence, a radical idea at the time. This film explores all of this and provides insight into Mr. Adams' ideals, and his well-known outspokeness and stubborness. It also explores his relationship and partnership with his wife Abigail, who history records was his full political partner and confidant throughout his career.
I particularly enjoyed the film's treatment of Adams' relationship with Thomas Jefferson. Friends, then bitter political adversaries who later reconciled their friendship. I might have enjoyed an even more thorough exploration of this dynamic. The interaction between Benjamin Franklin and John Adams is similarly fascinating, and is one of the high points of the miniseries.
The film's review of Adams' single term as America's second president was very interesting, and it is consistent with McCulloch's (and modern historians') analysis of the Adams administration. Adams' great accomplishment as president was keeping America neutral in the war between Britain and France and in avoiding war with France.
No review would be complete without commenting on the theme music for this miniseries. It is vibrant and inspiring. Some films benefit immensely from a stirring musical score and this is one of them.
This is not a perfect film. Like many a miniseries, it might have benefited from a bit more editing. Adams' family problems (he had them, just like almost all families do) probably could have been handled with more brevity with no sacrifice of clarity. Likewise the various medical issues upon which the film dwells. In its defense, one must say that this piece reminds the viewer that our forefathers lived in a tough and dangerous time, when a serious illness meant death much more often than is the case today. Any study of the lives of the people of that era cannot but notice the significant role that disease and illness played.
The American Revolution and its ideals are vital knowledge that our schools do a poor job of providing to our young people. This film is both excellent entertainment and a superb look at one of the giants of American history.
DVD Review: Apoplectic cinematography, shame!
Summary: 3 Stars
It was the same for my wife and me, as for some, to look forward with excitement to the next installation of "John Adams" on HBO when this originally aired. Take note, when such films are made they are pretty explicit about the fact they are BASED on fact; it is unfair to ever expect fact to get in the way of a good film project. Tom Hanks didn't get invovled with this for nothing!
Paul Giamatti gives a brilliant, subtle performance, and it is unjust to say he plays himself instead of Adams. Who can say how Adams ought to be played? Giamatti does, in fact, give an OSCAR-worthy job. Pity he won't get an Oscar for it-- it lifts this from the drab and prosaic bio-flicks of the 1980s and 1990s, along with his great co-stars. Tom Wilkinson is a delight as Ben Franklin, though we see far too little of him.
The production values are magnificent, worthy of any film counterpart. The far-from-completed White House is stunning. The script, the dialogue and the interaction is superb, and it simply doesn't get any better than this with a biopic.
THE BAD AND THE UGLY: I have a HUGE beef with the way this entire thing was shot. I can never understand the stupid, pointless "up and down" cinematography, that looks like someone gave a drunk a camcorder. Is that really necessary? My wife and I sometiems become ill if we watch "John Adams" too long.
This should NEVER be done. It isn't "Docu-drama", it isn't "you-are-there" cinematography... it is lazy, bowing to passing juvenile tastes in the way indie films are filmed. "John Adams" deserves better than that. Watching this film, at times, is worse than sailing without Dramamine, and that should NEVER occur.
There is too much of what I consider revolting detail in this film. It is one thing to demonstrate how people may have lived in an era-- gross-out tactics, well, that's another thing this film does in excess. Again, all the work gone into this makes the film and the viewer deserve much better.
We were surprised there was no scene with someone using a chamber-pot.
Finally, I have a gargantuan gripe about the packaging of this treble dvd set: why on earth do the dvds seem glued into the package? It is what you'd expect: pretty window dressing, mostly cardboard and some nasty, plastic, flimsy dvd-holding mechanism inside. Why do the production companies do this? Even with its faults-- and I took away 2 stars for those I mentioned-- doesn't John Adams deserve a "keep case"? YES!
It is a mystery what exactly it is that has gotten into movie companies these days, but the crappy outlook is demonstrated by these wretched dvd cases. I own some dvds dating back to 1998, and the cases are marvelous. Nowadays we feel lucky the thing comes in a case of any kind! Why not just shove it in a fancy foil-printed envelope?
I actually bruised my thumb removing dvd #2... my favorite sequence of episodes. Shame on the people who design dvd packaging! If you want proper care and preservation of your dvds, buy your own cases. U.S. Plastic Corporation is terrific, and made in America.
Now, John Adams would have loved that.
DVD Review: John Adams is fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
I wish they would make more movies like John Adams. Fabulous acting and great sets etc. Inspired me to read about Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Abigail Adams. And next year I am going to Virginia to Monticello!!
Description of John Adams (HBO Miniseries)
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.DVD Features:
Documentary
Featurette
Production Notes
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
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