John Adams (HBO Miniseries)

Adams is often considered one of the "forgotten" founding fathers because of his being overshadowed by such historical giants as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. But Adams role in our nation's founding was massive, as this series shows.
I'll offer a word of caution from the outset. While this series can be very educational, parents need to be aware of three scenes that may be inappropriate for younger audiences. Two scenes involve nudity, but thankfully neither of them are sexual in nature. Early in the series, a British tax collector is stripped, tarred, and feathered. Towards the end of the movie, there's a scene in which Adams' daughter has a mastectomy because of breast cancer. While neither scene would be considered vulgar, parents need to beware. The only other "risqué" scene involves John and his wife Abigail. After they had been separated for a couple of years with John in Europe, Abigail comes to Europe and they are reunited. And they are REALLY, REALLY happy to see each other...if you get my drift. Actually, it was nice to see Adams longing for his wife as opposed to many diplomats of the day who simply took mistresses. Nevertheless, HBO being what they are, felt the need to show an intimate scene involving the couple. There was no nudity, but there was a little more action shown than was needed in my opinion. Now for the movie itself.
I found the series to be very captivating and accurate to historical events. The series is based upon David McCullough's award winning biography of Adams, which is a classic. McCullough has also written biographies of Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt; as well as an account of American Independence called 1776. All great books that I would highly recommend.
The characters bear an uncanny resemblance to the originals. Washington, Jefferson, and Adams all look exactly like their famous portraits. The historical accuracy seems to be very detailed, even down to the facet of John Adams having an almost constant dip of snuff in his mouth throughout the movie (he was a habitual dipper).
The movie seems to have accurately portrayed Adams' strengths, while still pointing out his shortcomings. He was known as an intensely honest man who was willing to stand for what he believed to be right regardless of consequences. This can be seen in his serving as the defense lawyer for the British soldiers accused in the 1770 Boston Massacre.
In the beginning, Adams was somewhat of a reluctant patriot, not nearly as zealous as his cousin Samuel. But though he wants to give Britain the benefit of the doubt, he eventually sees that their tyranny has gone too far, and he joins the cause.
Adams had some downfalls which are depicted as well. He could be extremely obstinate and overbearing at times. He worried excessively about his standing in history, and at times was a little too proud of his intellectual prowess. His wife Abigail serves as a stabilizing force in the movie, frequently bringing him back to earth. Abigail is depicted in many ways as a heroine, which is both right and wrong. She was a very impressive person in her own right, but I have read in other sources that her ambitious and controlling nature was at times more than her husband and children could bear.
While the Adams' clearly loved and wanted the best for their children, they were at times too obsessed with John's career and less focused on the parent/child relationship. But in their defense, this was common practice in early America. The paradox of this form of child raising can be seen in two of their sons. Their oldest, John Quincy went on to be the sixth president of the United States. Their next oldest, Charles grew up to be an embittered alcoholic who drank himself into an early grave.
The movie depicts Adams early life, days as a lawyer, foreign diplomat, Ambassador to Britain, Vice President, President, and elder statesman. One of the most fascinating aspects of his life was his relationship with Thomas Jefferson. They grew to be very close friends while both were serving in Europe. Then began to drift apart in George Washington's cabinet where Jefferson was Secretary of State and Adams was Vice President. When Jefferson defeated Adams for the Presidency in 1800, they severed all ties. Many years later, as old men, they began corresponding by letter, in what still remains one of the most illuminating sources of historical data known to America.
The movie ends with one of those moments so bizarre that Hollywood couldn't even conceive it. On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams dies. His famous last words were: "Thomas Jefferson survives." But unbeknownst to him, Jefferson had died just a few hours earlier. Both of these patriots...the last two remaining from the Revolution...died on the 50th anniversary of July 4, 1776.
Overall, I would highly recommend this series, if one keeps in mind the warnings I gave at the outset. It's well written and well produced. Though it's over seven hours long, there are not really any mundane or boring sections of the film. Some of the camera angles give you the feeling of peeking into the room while history is taking place. While some may find this mildly annoying, I thought it gave an authentic touch to the scenes. The musical score by Rob Lane was well done and enhanced the overall appeal of the movie. You'll definitely come away more educated, and entertained in the process. And after all, "entertaining education" is the best kind of education there is.

Before seeing this series, I've always had my own best guesses about how these distinguished men and women who founded this country lived - basically vague pictures in my head originating from the last history book I had read in junior college.

However I didn't *really* have any idea about how they interacted with each other, what types of disagreements or power struggles they had, who got along with whom, etc, even such as did the diplomatic couples show public affection.

There were also the tough challenges that we don't experience in current times, of things like simple travel - taking a ship ride just to get to France or Britain was grueling and a hair-raising experience (in the series, there was an unexpected battle with a British warship for example, with both J.A and young J.Q.A. aboard).

If you watch this with the main motive for trying to see violence and action: the battles, etc... this won't be for you (it's mostly drama and dialogue). However, what is more satisfying to me is how the series depicts the decisions that went into: for or against war with France, etc.. and the various minor "incidences" such as when George Washington (played by David Morse ) told the French ambassador where he could put his 'tude.

The various personal tragedies in the family back then were depicted in powerfully moving ways.

If you enjoy watching drama based on real history, it's simply a must-see.

This is perhaps the finest recent historical series, following in the grand tradition of some of TV's earliest efforts. The acting is superb, the direction and scene setting authentic; in all, an example of what film and TV can do when it tries.

The TV series led me to buy the audio version to listen to on long drives; both versions will provide viewing/listening for years to come. We have much to learn from the efforts of our earliest leaders. Some of our current Washington figures should watch this series to learn what service to country and family really mean.

I ordered this series from an Amazon Vendor and was pleased to receive it promptly and is pristine condition. I have since enjoyed the series and feel it to be painfully authentic, certainly much more than mere entertainment.

HBO's magnificent screen portrait of John Adams and his fellows at a time when they were 'winging it'--as historian David McCullough has it in HBO's online site for the show--is simply brilliant film-making. It should be viewed in every classroom of the nation from which this reviewer ponders the deeply moving experience of having done so in his living room.

Adams was the kind of politician--he would have hated the word and the notion to which it refers--for which the most secular among us should urgently pray. He had no stomach for the thing and only wanted to return to spread his best manure-soil mix on his beloved New England farm. Principled, articulate, and stubborn, he learned in the earnest fray of the revolutionary years the art of intelligent compromise. Paul Giamatti never lets us look away from the pain it caused him to lead, nor to easily evade the burden of historical gratitude that we owe to him, to his wife and family, and to those who labored beside them in the birth pangs of a nation.

There was no plan, there was no aged wisdom, there was only the pressing task at hand. The making of sausage is never pretty. Rarely has its product mattered as much.

Laura Linney is incendiary as Adams' pillar, his rock, his 'best friend' and wife Abigail. Nations have mothers, too. Abigail Adams and Laura Linney make the case for their costly legacy as few others could.

Stephen Dillane is exceptionally compelling as Thomas Jefferson, passing through his various experimental stages at a time when the shape of a people's government depended in part on what he thought *today*.

We are fortunate that Executive Producer Tom Hanks has turned his formidable intelligence and influence to projects like Saving Private Ryan and John Adams. The man is well on his way to serving as a kind of cinematic elder statesmen, encouraging his fellow citizens to keep their finger in the dike against the surging waters of amnesia and indifference. Hanks could be doing many things or, quite comfortably, nothing. That he engages projects like this one means the world is a slightly better place today than it might have been.

'American exceptionalism' has quite rightly taken a lot of heat in recent years. Like most overstatements, it contains a kernel of truth. JOHN ADAMS probes gorgeously, pedagogically, entertainingly at that kernel. 'Almost, Messieurs Hanks, McCullough, Giamatti, and company, thee makest us all exceptionalists'.

God bless us every one.