1776 (Restored Director's Cut)

A MUST SEE MOVIE THIS ELECTION YEAR! AND IT IS FUN! EVEN IF YOU NEVER SAW A MOVIE MUSICAL IN YOUR LIFE, YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS WONDERFULLY ACTED MOVIE. I HAVE SEEN IT SINCE IT CAME OUT ON THE "BIG" SCREEN, TO OWNING MULTIPLE COPIES OF IT AND RECOMMENDING IT TO FRIENDS, STUDENTS, EVEN NON-USA FOLK. A CLASSIC FROM 1972 THE PLOT IS SIMPLY JUST HOW DID 13 COLONIES GET TOGETHER AND DRAFT A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE! THE COSTUMES ARE EXQUISITE AND TELL TONS ABOUT THE CHARACTER BEING PORTRAYED FROM MASSACHUSETTES' JOHN ADAMS 'SIMPLE BROWN OUTFIT TO NJ WITHERSPOON'S CLERICAL GARB NOT AT ALL MEEK AND MILD TO THE CAROLINAS' ORNATE [ALMOST LIKE FRENCH REGENCY] DOWN TO THE WIGS. AND THE SONGS! THE LYRICS! FROM THE ROMANTIC 'HE PLAYS THE VIOLIN' THAT BLYTHE DANNER (GWYNETH PALTROW'S REAL LIFE MOM) SINGS ONE MORNING AT 7thH & CHESTNUT (PHILADELPHIA) AS SHE, ADAMS AND BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DANCE IN THE COURTYARD. THEN THE INCREDIBLE 'FROM MOLASSES TO RUM TO SLAVES' THE HAUNTING AND SOBERING CHALLENGE BY SOUTH CAROLINA'S EDWARD RUTLEDGE. I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T MENTION THE HORSE IN RICHARD HENRY LEE (OF THE LEE'S OF OLD VIRGINIA). YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WATCH THIS MOVIE TO KNOW WHAT THE HORSE DOES (WITHOUT DIRECTOR'S APPROVAL I'VE BEEN TOLD). IF YOU WANT MORE, CHECK OUT WIKIPEDIA'S "1776 THE FILM". OH! THE 4TH OF JULY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.

Learn historical facts about the birth of our nation and the intellect, courage and sacrifices of our founding fathers as you watch incredible performances in this unforgettable musical!

I love this movie/musical. Besides it being humorous, fun, and entertaining, it is a very engaging way to learn about history. I force my kids to watch it around July 4th almost every year - they protest and then they enjoy it none-the-less. You can tell that the subject was well researched as anecdotes from letters and historical documents have been placed into the script and songs. While some of the songs are cute and witty such as t4eh song about choosing the national symbol (The Eagle or the Turkey or the Dove?). Others are very serious in nature. It does not shy from controversial topics which the Founding Fathers had to deal with in order to come together to declare independence. Even though the events leading up to the writing of the Declarartion of independence involve mainly a cast of men, the playwrights included a couple women in the story. For me, Martha Jefferson's appearance represents the realities for the men of choosing to serve their 'about-to-be-formed-country'; that the men were all away from their families and homes for an extended period of time. They missed their families. More notably, Abigail Adams is portrayed as the equal partner that she was to John Adams. She's stuck running the farm and taking care of sick children while John Adams was gone to Philadelphia to encourage the colonies to declare independence. Abigail aids him and the cause of independence both spiritually, thru her loving support in her letters, as well as directly by organizing the women of Boston to make saltpeter(gunpowder) for the army. Finally there's a song with General Washington's messenger where he sings about the young men in the army and the terrible reality of death in battle. This play/musical makes me appreciate all the sacrifices people made to make our democracy a reality. And it reminds me that we are still in the process of carrying out the Founders' vision of creating a country founded solely on democratic principles and freedom for all. I can watch it again and again and never get tired of it!

I saw this movie more than 25 years ago as part of a junior high history class (and, naturally, had quickly forgotten it), but had the pleasant experience of seeing a touring Broadway version of it last year. Wow! What an amazing show it was - I doubt there was anyone in the crowd who was not teary-eyed at the end, during the emotional scene where each state/delegate bravely signs the document, risking his life and property, and forever changes the world in ways he could not even imagine.I quickly went out and bought the CD of the wonderful music, but hesitated to buy the film version as I was hoping it would come out on DVD. Voila! Here it is (perhaps thanks to Amazon's great feature of allowing you to "vote" for an item's release). I was first in the Amazon checkout line, and was not at all disappointed.William Daniels is superb as John Adams. I was used to hearing Brent Spiner (Star Trek's Commander Data!) sing this role from my CD of the revival cast, and to my amazement, he did a fantastic job as well. But it's hard not to think of the kind, gentle Data when listening to him (at least to Trek fans!), which is kind of distracting. While Daniels seemed familiar to me somehow (and now I know why - Knight Rider and St. Elsewhere), and while he doesn't seem to physically resemble Adams too well, I thought he was quite believable as Adams, and that Howard DaSilva was even more so as Franklin.As for the DVD, it was nice to see some extras, especially the restored scenes (who cares what Nixon thought!) and the (sometimes lame) commentary. The widescreen angle, I think, makes all the difference given the historical significance of the room where most of the action takes place - it is nice to see the WHOLE room, especially during the very moving scene when the document is read for the first time. "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."My complaints with the DVD are few. The sound, occasionally, seems to be uneven, and even monaural at times, but this may be a result of the once-deleted scenes that were pieced back in. I do appreciate the conversion to Dolby 5.1, and the few sound lapses are worth it to get the Dolby audio.Also, the screen tests were mostly of the lesser cast, and not much different from the actual scenes in the movie. Kinda worthless filler.I was a little disappointed with the emotional impact of the final scene, which I thought was done much better in the Broadway version I saw. Each signer stood around the desk after signing, in a pose that was plucked right out of John Trumbull's famous painting of the event, at which point a huge, see-through backlit silk backdrop of the Declaration was lowered in front of the frozen-in-place signers, with them visible behind it as the Liberty Bell rang triumphantly. It sent chills right up my back, and was a sure catalyst for a standing ovation. While I can appreciate how this was probably hard to recreate on screen, and while it is done to some degree, it just didn't seem as effective to me.Minor complaints aside, this is a fantastic movie. It gives you an awe-struck appreciation for the incredible events that led to the founding of this nation, and makes you marvel at the fact that it ever happened at all. So many things could have - and did - go wrong, from Washington's dismal dispatches about the sorry state of his troops to the entire Southern delegation walking out of Congress over the slave issue. It makes one line in the Declaration, added afterwards, especially prophetic - "with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence......"Highly recommended to all.

I loved this film when it came out and have seen it done on stage, even saw Howard da Silva play Franklin! This is an excellent restoration of the movie, with both extended and directors cut versions. Extra features include commentaries as well as deleted scenes and screen tests. I am in the UK and the BluRay disc played with no problems on my machine.

So good! A great way to learn about the creation of the Declaration of Independence. With some catchy tunes thrown in too :)

I never heard about this musical before which is actually a comedy about the history of the american revolution. Very funny stuff, absolutely worth watching but don't take it too serious.....

Good story, daughter loved the movie.

A great musical, somewhat unusual but I love the songs and the sentiment. This is the restored version with the cuts restored. Some of the restored sections are not as good quality as the rest in term of picture quality but they are essential to humanise the characters. This does deserve wider viewing across the pond. View in a multi region dvd player or on your computer.