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Product Description: 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.Running Time: 501 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 883929020065 Manufacturer No: 1000038820Amazon.com: Based on David McCullough's best-selling biograpy, 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
Customer Reviews:
- Don't Blame the Material!: Let's call a spade a spade--this was just not very good movie making. I forced myself to watch every episode but the finale (my dedication has limits). Each time I wanted the show to do well, but each time it left me oddly unengaged, as if I were getting the story second-hand from a disinterested correspondent. Is it the curse of the American revolution, whose story can't seem to be made into an entertaining movie?
- Roll Over Jefferson And Tell Franklin The News : There is much to argue with in HBO's interpretation of David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize winning masterwork - timelines, cinematography and perhaps some casting choices. However, these "technical" issues are really beside the point and do little to undermine the overall power and scope of the entire series. Whatever we think we know of these events through the idealized rote of history, McCullough's baseline brilliantly illuminates the struggle of imperfect men attempting to create "perfect" government. Throughout the series I was constantly reminded of the old admonition about the grotesque similarities between the making of sausage and legislation.
The core cast (Paul Giammati, Laura Linney, Tom Dellane) is spectacular. Linney in particular powerfully makes the case that without the emotional intelligence of Abigail Adams as counterbalance to her husband's overflowing intensities our history might have been very different. John Adams is time well spent and highly recommended.
- Simply Fantastic: I am so impressed with this series. If anyone like American history in the slightest, they will enjoy this series.
The acting is outstanding. The protrayal of characters, including the costuming, make-up and dialects, is extremely good. I particularly enjoyed (in addition to John and Abigail Adams) George Washington and John Quincy Adams.
Parts 2 and 4 are exceptional -- The series gets a little slow in 5 and 6 but are paramount in supporting the remarkable concluding part 7.
Is this a perfect series? No, but it is the best portrayal of John Adams that I have ever seen. - Poignant and educational: Everyone should be made to watch this in school. John Adams introduces us to the fundamental conflict underneath the Amercian reality; are we revolutionaries, or monarchists? The course that America took during George Washington's presidency is the reason why we are where we are today. John Adams is the man portrayed as the Founder caught in between Jefferson and Hamilton, the two poles of thinking as to who America should side with and invest in. Ultimately we sided with the monarchists, and it should surprise no one that we have ended up with a unitary executive like George Bush, a monarch in all but title.
Had Jefferson not left America and taken over from Washington, we could have supported the French, because they were our true ideological allies. Plus, we owed them. But America has a knack for siding with the morally wrong side of politics, and this trait has persisted thru the centuries. Looking at our present thru the lens of the past is crucial, and this mini series spells it out. A masterpiece and a triumph. Recently I heard a political scientist say that they will never be able to think of John Adams without thinking of Paul Giamatti. It's that good. - History can be Interesting!: I loved this HBO Miniseries. I am already a great history buff and
a lover of the US Constitution and our founding fathers wisdom.
So many people don't care about history which I find disturbing because
there is so much too learn from it. These men and women were all
too human and desired then what most of us take for granted now.
I am buying the DVD set to share with family and friends who dont have HBO.
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