1776
by Peter H. Hunt
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Donald Madden, Howard Da Silva, John Cullum, Ken Howard, William DanielsDirector: Peter H. Hunt
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 148 minutes
Release Date: 1998-06-02
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures
VHS Movie Reviews of 1776
Movie Review: A Salute To Our Radical Forefathers
Summary: 5 Stars
Not long ago, I reviewed a musical film here, and received a commentary from a fellow reviewer who said they were curious if I'd done a review of another filmed musical, 1776. At the time I thought, "Oh that thing" - I remembered seeing the show, and my reaction to it, but I'd forgotten how much I liked it, why I liked it - and vaguely remembered why I didn't like the film. I had acquired the "restored" DVD some time ago, but didn't get around until now to watching it, or to renewing in my mind what I'd liked about the show some 37 years ago...
I first saw 1776 on Broadway in 1971; it was, in fact, the first Broadway show I'd ever seen. I was 17 at the time, and I now remember that I was blown away by the mix of history, music and patriotic sentiment that I saw on stage. As many people know, the show surrounds the fight to get the Continental Congress to declare American independence, and how several members of Congress resisted the effort of the "agitators" to take up the "treasonous" cause of breaking with England.
One of the most powerful moments in the show for me (as a young person, tired of the Viet Nam war at the time) was the song, Mama, Look Sharp, in which a messenger from George Washington recounts how a soldier lay dying in the battlefield, while his mother searches for him. But the anti-war sentiment of that song was not as potent as the message in a song that immediately preceded Mama Look Sharp.
That number was called, "Cool, Cool Considerate Men". It was a song in which the "right wing" members of Congress boast of their expectancy to prevail in the debate over independence, and defeat the resolution. Paul Hecht, as John Dickenson, gloats to his fellow conservative Congressmen, "...don't forget that most men with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich, rather than face the reality of being poor. That is why they will follow us
To the right
Ever to the right
Never to the left
Forever to the right..."
When I saw the film version at Radio City Music hall, I was disturbed that the song, "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" had been excised from the film. According to the notes on the DVD, then-President Richard Nixon himself objected to the song, and the producers reluctantly agreed to delete it, rather than incite controversy. Happily, the restored director's cut includes this important song in its entirety, and alters the focus of the narrative.
Now, visiting this film 37 years later, I am struck by the irony and topicality of the song, its meaning and its basis in history. Of course, Ben Franklin and John Adams did not dance in the halls while the first reading of the Declaration of Independence took place, but the creators of 1776 were very careful to preserve the attitudes, beliefs and advocacies of the main characters presented in the show. And if the presentations of those attitudes and beliefs are historically accurate (and there is little reason to doubt that they are) the fact seems to be that American Independence came down to a struggle between conservative forces who wanted to preserve the status quo, and progressives who wanted to advance the cause of liberty. After all, Adams, Jefferson, Hancock and Franklin were all, in their own way, revolutionaries (why do you think it was called the American Revolution?) and their cause was not only unpopular, it was in fact quite radical.
It somehow has become fashionable to link the left with a lack of patriotism. It is therefore with a great deal of pride in my own liberal sentiments that I heartily recommend the restored version of 1776 as a testament to the fact that our founding fathers were very much revolutionaries, and the reality that the very birth of our country was a triumph of progressive values over conservative ones. The year after the film 1776 was released, I voted for the first time. I have never missed an election since, and I have never pulled the voting lever for anything but what I consider progressive candidates or issues. That's the Revolutionary spirit, and I am proud to call myself a "progressive", just as John Adams and Benjamin Franklin are portrayed as progressives in 1776.
Although some of the musical numbers, romanticism and sentimentality of 1776 are, at times, over the top, the basic message is solid, and definitely worth a look. And the next time someone tells you that "liberals" are unpatriotic, tell them to watch 1776. They just may get a few surprises.
Summary of 1776
The hit Broadway musical by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards became the basis for this 1972 film about America's first congress and the nation's declaration of independence from Britain. Most of the original cast members are aboard, including William Daniels as John Adams. The film is a little stodgy and moves stiffly from scene to scene--the adaptation to the screen is not a smooth success. But it is nonetheless captivating, considering that so few films have dealt directly with America's birth. Directed by Peter H. Hunt. --Tom KeoghMusicals & Performing Arts VHS Video
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