In school we were presented with a stodgy version of history, so 1776 was immediately appealing simply for turning our American saints into human beings.
Some of the songs are absolutely delightful, such as The Lees of Old Virginia, and the fairly perfect But, Mr. Adams. The story is involving and the characters well defined. William Daniels has his best role as John Adams, and Howard Da Silva is so perfect as Benjamin Franklin that it's hard to accept anyone else in the role.
On the other hand, a lot of the songs are fairly forgettable, and some, like He Plays the Violin, are extraneous, which is a particular issue if your movie is overlong. While the second half is fun, the more serious second half sometimes drags, for all its admirable good intentions in showing the dark side of revolution. And to me, the letter exchanges between Adams and his wife seemed only mildly interesting.
Watching the movie, I couldn't help thinking that it parts of it (like Adams and his wife) would probably work better on stage, although that's only a guess.
This is well worth watching, but I wouldn't call it a truly great musical.
Some of the songs are absolutely delightful, such as The Lees of Old Virginia, and the fairly perfect But, Mr. Adams. The story is involving and the characters well defined. William Daniels has his best role as John Adams, and Howard Da Silva is so perfect as Benjamin Franklin that it's hard to accept anyone else in the role.
On the other hand, a lot of the songs are fairly forgettable, and some, like He Plays the Violin, are extraneous, which is a particular issue if your movie is overlong. While the second half is fun, the more serious second half sometimes drags, for all its admirable good intentions in showing the dark side of revolution. And to me, the letter exchanges between Adams and his wife seemed only mildly interesting.
Watching the movie, I couldn't help thinking that it parts of it (like Adams and his wife) would probably work better on stage, although that's only a guess.
This is well worth watching, but I wouldn't call it a truly great musical.