John Adams (2008)

People are voting emotionally.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This seven part mini-series about John Adams (Paul Giamatti). In part one, he is a respected Boston lawyer. He arrives to help after the Boston Massacre. He is recruited to defend Captain Thomas Preston and his men despite his connections to revolutionaries. He wins the case and is approached by both revolutionaries and the crown for his support. He is leery of the revolutionaries' tactics but is forced by the King's dictates to join the cause. In part two, he's part of the Second Continental Congress as he pushes to confront the King and declare independence. The rest leads to his presidency and finally his retirement.This mini-series is elevated by the performances of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. One can really feel their relationship and partnership. There are some historical inaccuracies. For entertainment purposes, it has little to no effects. However this is a presidential autobiography and that needs stricter attention to every detail. It is still able to portray a more balanced picture of revolutionary America. The production value is pretty good considering it's a TV show. It's not glossy which actually works in its favor. I'm sure it's not a very glossy time period. This is a well-produced terrifically-acted TV.

This mini-series is so blatantly inaccurate that to say that it was based on the book by David McCullough is akin to calling McCullough an inept historian -- which he certainly was not. The book was extraordinary. But the film makers took huge and gross liberties with history – much of the "history" portrayed in the film is just wrong. And, as well, they interjected a massive amount of political correctness, apparently to make the film more pleasing to a wider audience -- particularly targeting the Gen Y and non-white viewers. Indeed, it seems that the producers and director wanted to portray white men as foolish and dishonest half-wits that could not possibly get anything worthwhile done without the help of their brilliant and angelically honest slaves. And, yes, thanks to those very strong and supremely intelligent women who also helped the weak, timid, and immoral white men get through the day. I'm not at all saying that black people and women did not play any significant role in our history – they certainly did. But this film clearly demeans and disparages white males in a profoundly erroneous and shameful manner. If we made a film portraying black males in this way today, there would be rioting in the streets -- and rightfully so. I don't understand why David McCullough allowed them to butcher his work. And I don't see how any thinking person could watch this tripe of a film without being insulted.

I usually don't easily rate with 10 stars, but this series is absolutely worth it. I didn't know too too much about the beginnings of the history of the US, but this series taught me a lot.Thanks to a great cast who brought these honorable people back to live and very moving scenes it will stay in my mind and heart.I agree that this should be showed to school children and especially modern day politicians.What especially positively impressed me was the nearly complete lack of violence compared to oh so many other (american!) productions.We all know how terrible things can be, so there is no need to show it over and over again and satisfy merely voyeuristic wishes.Voices, quotes, Face expressions,subtle gestures should be enough for any human being to understand the message of this movie.VERY WELL DONE!

If you read my separate reviews of the 7 parts of the series then I suggest you read them first.The series is about John Adams played in a wonderful performance by Paul Giamatti who is fighting for freedom for the colonies. It also takes a look at him as president and covers his problems at home along with his wife Abigail played by Laura Linney.If you have not seen this mini-series I say check it out. One thing was going on in my mind while watching this: why does Samuel Adams gets a beer named after him when he did not do any thing where as John Adams did a lot of things. The performances are really well done but some people are wondering why this was not a movie. Well the answer is it didn't need to be a movie because it has too much of a story to tell, and I think that the way it was done here was great. Definitely check it out. It's well paced and well told.Not Rated.8hrs 18min/498min(alltogether).****/****