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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
Status: offline
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 Posted - August 10 2008 : 11:39:24 PM
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| Yes, WW, I too felt emotion when the series was over. Relief. |
"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
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Posted - August 11 2008 : 08:27:40 AM
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Guess we'll never convince him, Rich.  |
"It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imaginings could possibly have been." |
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richfed
Sachem
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 13 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - August 16 2008 : 09:22:09 AM
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| I am afraid that you are correct, Miss Wilderness -- I think it has to do with the production's portrayal of the French, in episode 3, I think it was. |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - August 16 2008 : 10:05:06 PM
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No doubt.
Those French... they really are something else, aren't they? Tsk, tsk, tsk....... |
"It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imaginings could possibly have been." |
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
Status: offline
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Posted - August 16 2008 : 11:51:03 PM
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If I remember correctly, the French of which you speak are the Republican French, the scum of the Paris sewers, who murdered their king and replaced him with a tyranical despot. They murdered God's regent on earth and installed in his place men who know not God. We serve His Most Christan Majesty, King Louis XV.
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"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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Bookworm
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 10 2004
Status: offline
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Posted - August 17 2008 : 2:36:29 PM
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I've watched the entire series and have been trying to organize my thoughts, as I had decidedly mixed reactions. Here goes:
The biggest positive, IMHO, was the realistic way the colonial era was portrayed. Abigail picks up a rifle from above or near the front door, not (thank God!) over the fireplace. The interiors of residences, even those of prosperous people, are relatively spare (not cluttered with five or ten of everything, as in the renovated homes that appear in Early American Life). A blanket hangs over a door to keep out the cold. Etc. Anyone who looks back to this era through rose-colored glasses, seeing it as a simpler, happier, more serene time, should contemplate traveling through snow and blowing winds on horseback, or having a mastectomy without anesthetic, or being inoculated against smallpox with pus from a dying victim, or BEING that dying victim.
Or, God forbid, being tarred, feathered, and ridden out of town on a rail. I agree, WW, that was a difficult scene to watch. Could anyone have survived such treatment? It must have resulted in third-degree burns over most of the body. Violence in movies rarely bothers me, but this was different -- because the mob took such gleeful pleasure in their cruelty, maybe? I'm glad the series was honest enough not to pretend that our Revolution was conducted entirely by high-minded philosophers and brave lads with muskets.
Laura Linney was wonderful as Abigail. I liked especially the forthright way she would notify John that a character flaw ("Vanity!") was getting in the way of his better judgment. Tom Wilkinson was also wonderful as Ben Franklin, but that almost seems like an easy role, perhaps because Franklin revealed so much of himself (no pun intended) in print and seems the most modern of the Founders. Stephen Dillane's portrayal of Jefferson was interesting --at first I thought, "Jefferson wasn't like that," then realized that I have no clue what Jefferson was like, so that portrayal was perfectly valid. Perhaps he revealed less of himself than any of the others, and so we can't form a clear mental image of him. (Joseph Ellis wrote a book about him entitled "American Sphinx.")
Now for the bad news: I have to agree with Fitz that Paul Giamatti was miscast as John Adams. He is a very good actor (in "The Illusionist" and "Sideways," for example), and in the scenes where Adams' strengths are on display, such as the Boston Massacre trial, he did a very fine job. Where Adams' faults are being emphasized, however, something was missing, and he seemed almost laughable. I don't know how to describe what was missing except with that overused word "gravitas." As an illustration, consider how different Adams would have seemed if portrayed by my first choice for the role, Russell Crowe. Nothing, no emotion or quality of character, would ever be missing. Even when he was being shown as petulant or vain or whatever, Adams' seriousness of purpose and depth of character would always have been there, and would keep the portrayal from descending into caricature. In this regard, I thought the portrayal of Adams in "The Adams Chronicles" (whoever that was) was better.
As others have said, I thought that David Morse's portrayal of Washington was right for the older Washington but not for the younger. Morse as the Washington of 1775 didn't strike me as a great leader of men, which everyone agrees Washington was.
Two final notes on fashion:
1) It was such a relief to leave behind the garish, cluttered, over-the-top magnificence of France for the cool, understated colors and designs of colonial and federal America!
2) Men should never have abandoned tricorns. Nothing since has looked as good.
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Bookworm
"I've gotten so fascinated with the eighteenth century, I'm going to stay there." -- David McCullough
"Nothing to it, brother." -- Barack Obama |
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Irishgirl
Council of Elders
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 14 2006
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Posted - September 22 2008 : 09:14:58 AM
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Well Congratulations to all involved in this brilliant mini-series. For those who don't know it took home 8 Emmys last night.
Best Mini-series
Best Actor........Paul Giamatti
Best Actress......Laura Linney
Supporting Actor..Tom Wilkinson
Best Casting
Cinematography
Best Costumes
Best Prosthetic Make-up
Laura Linney really deserved her Emmy as did Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti
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