Review of 1776 (1972) by Gabe H — 09 Apr 2010

Ok, so this is a musical, which means that it has its corny moments and, of course, singing. I have a high tolerance for that sort of thing, however, so this doesn't bother me. In fact, I really like musicals. So there.

I first saw this in elementary school when our teachers took the entire grade (I think it was 4th) on a field trip to see it. I LOVED it then. I haven't seen it since. It has lived up to my fond memories. I think it's a great little under-appreciated musical gem. I definitely learned things when I saw this way back when, things I never forgot. For example, that Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird! (Who says musicals can't be informative?).

I wanted to see this again because I was so disappointed in the HBO John Adams series -- Paul Giamatti is a terrible John Adams, but I think I feel that way because I have the example of William Daniels as he played it here. Yes, HE is the embodiment of John Adams, not Paul Giamatti.

So, if you like musicals then this is a great option. If you don't, well . . . you might still like it. My husband, who dislikes musicals in general, grudgingly admitted that this movie was "actually pretty good.".