John Adams on HBO

[Spindrift]

I watched the first two episodes of the new John Adams mini-series on HBO last night. I had read the book by David McCullough (sp?) and was really looking forward to it.

The first episode made me nauseous. It was shot mostly with a hand held camera from a claustrophobic range. It seemed like some film school experiment, bobbing and weaving, it was so distracting. At times I closed my eyes and just listened to the dialogue, which was quite good.

The second episode greatly reduced this filming style and was much easier to watch.

Why would anyone make a historical drama like this and try to use it to show off how cutting edge they are with their filming style?

Other than that the series has been excellent.

The language is appropriate for the time. No modern colloquialisms that I could detect. The costumes and sets are great. The historical figures seem to be accurately portrayed. David Morse as George Washington looks like he just stepped off of the dollar bill, the make-up is so good.

 

[dudalb]

Over all I liked it,though the first episode confirmed me in my opinion that the "shakycam" is a plague on the film industry.
The only fault I could find in the writing,though,is sort of a "John Adams did everything" effect that is common in film biographies,though.
But it does really,really,try to give a sense of how people talked in the 18th century...something few movies try to do.

 

[Spindrift]

Over all I liked it,though the first episode confirmed me in my opinion that the "shakycam" is a plague on the film industry.
The only fault I could find in the writing,though,is sort of a "John Adams did everything" effect that is common in film biographies,though.
But it does really,really,try to give a sense of how people talked in the 18th century...something few movies try to do.

Film bios do tend to gloss over others contributions. The book it's based on does posit that "John Adams did everything" or at least had his hand in a lot.

 

[Vic Vega]

I think it's been fabulous so far. I didn't even notice anything odd about that camera work in the first episode. That is the style these days so maybe I'm used to it.

I always look at a TV show or movie like I look at a historical novel. Some of it always has to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[bigred]

How many have been shown so far? I only saw the one where he screwed things up in France and moved on to the Netherlands (where apparently he's getting "dissed" -?), then got sick. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was toast, given how sick he appears and that brilliant blood-letting technique they're using.

And while he'd doing a good enough job acting-wise, I don't care for the guy portraying him. He has an almost goofy look about him which doesn't come across well at all.

PS near as I can tell or know of, their portrayal of France at the time is spot on. :shudder:

Overall though, it did seem well done and not given near the silly "Hollywood treatment" I feared...

 

[Spindrift]

How many have been shown so far? I only saw the one where he screwed things up in France and moved on to the Netherlands (where apparently he's getting "dissed" -?), then got sick. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was toast, given how sick he appears and that brilliant blood-letting technique they're using.

And while he'd doing a good enough job acting-wise, I don't care for the guy portraying him. He has an almost goofy look about him which doesn't come across well at all.

PS near as I can tell or know of, their portrayal of France at the time is spot on. :shudder:

Overall though, it did seem well done and not given near the silly "Hollywood treatment" I feared...

That was the 3rd episode. The Paris scenes were shot in Prague I believe.

Tom Hanks is producing this mini-series and he is a stickler for accuracy. His other HBO mini-series, From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers are quite accurate, not perfect but very, very good. Even his movie That Thing You Do does a good job with the early 1960's for a purely fictional piece.

Actually Adams is doing quite well in the Netherlands

 

[ARubberChickenWithAPulley]

Love the series so far, and I've never been happier that I decided to get HD channels. The costumes and locations are awesome, and look amazing in 1080i. They're really doing an outstanding job. The third episode was a little odd, but still very well done.

 

[bigred]

That was the 3rd episode. The Paris scenes were shot in Prague I believe.

Tom Hanks is producing this mini-series and he is a stickler for accuracy. His other HBO mini-series, From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers are quite accurate, not perfect but very, very good. Even his movie That Thing You Do does a good job with the early 1960's for a purely fictional piece.

That would also explain the minimal degree of cheap "Hollywood" BS and more of an authentic feel to it (ie not just costumes but attitudes etc).

 

[KingMerv00]

The guy playing Franklin is awesome...that is all.

 

[Spindrift]

The guy playing Franklin is awesome...that is all.

Tom Wilkinson. Very good actor with incredible range. Played everything from the mob boss Falcone in Batman Begins to a guy who gets a sex change operation while married to Jessica Lange to Lord Cornwallis in Mel Gibson's Patriot.

 

[Cincinnatus]

^ The man has swagger. I would have got along with franklin.

 

[EventHorizon]

I was very excited to see the Washington inauguration and it did not disappoint. If there is one moment of American history I wish I could have witnessed it would have been that one. Watching it in this series gave me goosebumps and almost left me a bit teary eyed.

 

[headscratcher4]

I know its pedantic, but I lost complete interest in this show in the second episode, I think, where Abaigale is in the front of her house watching General Knox pull the cannons he captured at Fort Ticondaroga toward Boston. Hun? Quincey Mass. is South of Boston. Knox brought the cannon over the mountains from the North and West. This encounter would never have occured. It is lovely drama in the old hollywood manner, but the story aims to tell history, and presumably do a better job than, say, The Tudors (where they've so Fed-up the chonology and timeline as to make it unrecognizable as history). Anyway, if you have force this dramatic moment, than you've missed the point of the book.

Rant done.