LogFAQs > #933524912

15. 1776

Inviso: 8
Scarlet: 11
Karo: 13
KBM: 13
Johnbobb: 17
JONA: 22
Genny: 28

Inviso - Honestly? The ONE thing that holds this film back from being even better is the musical aspect. The storyline is really engaging, and there are long sections that are strictly dialogue and debate, and manage to impress the importance of the events upon the viewers. I know its not necessarily historically accurate, but just watching John Adams fight for every concession he could earnit was exciting. It reminds me of Lincoln, and how interesting the legislative process can be at times, when you craft a story of a divisive issues, and all of the work that went into getting it through congress. But like I said, the songs themselves are what really slow the momentum and reduce my enjoyment of the movie. I dont think any of them are especially memorable, and the end result is the movie being bloated to nearly three hours, when you couldve had a tight, solid story even without the music.

Scarlet - Mister Feeny saves America with musical democracy. Highlight of the movie: King George has diddled these colonies. We wouldnt have Hamilton without 1776, people. Give it the credit its due.
Best Song: Sit Down, John

Karo - Also known as 'that other musical about america's founding fathers', it is a somewhat comical rendition of the events behind the signing of the declaration of independence back when congress was only slightly less dysfunctional than it is now.
It is bloated with a bit too much filler that really didnt have anything to do with the declaration, when a movie is coming up damn near to 3 hours of runtime somebody should have had the nerve to ask if they really needed to include every single song from the stage play.
It is interesting from a historical perspective and is competently enough made, but with the extreme length and lacking of any memorable songs is it something I'd really ever want to watch again? I'll have to abstain. Courteously.

Score: 67/100

Best Song: 'Cool, Cool, Considerate Men'

KBM - Why I Chose It: The musical 1776 is largely remembered today as being the progenitor of the recent smash hit Hamilton. However, 1776 was a rather big hit in its own right, winning three 1969 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and it only took three years after opening on Broadway for the stage show's playwright Peter Stone, director Peter Hunt, and composer Sherman Edwards to adapt their own original 1969 Broadway musical for the screen. The film, which therefore hewed very closely to the stage show and also starred many of the original Broadway cast, was met with mostly positive reviews, with an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical or Comedy. 1776 is also notable for using the exact text from letters and memoirs of the historical figures therein portrayed, in portions of both the dialogue and the lyrics. The show is set to get a new Broadway revival in 2021.

My Thoughts: It's quite possible I'm biased because I grew up with both the show and the movie, but I find 1776 pretty delightful. I still remember seeing the stage show in fourth grade and being absolutely captivated, and then discovering there was a movie and introducing it to my dad, who was similarly impressed. The songs are underrated, with witty lyrics and memorable tunes, the performances are great, and the film really doesn't lose much if anything in translation, which is kind of rare among musicals adapted directly from the screen. This means the film DOES retain the show's tendency to drag a bit at times, especially during the infamous 45-minute chunk in the middle of the show's first act which features no music at all, but for the most part, the script retains just enough knowing humor and gives the characters enough, well, character, that the thing remains at the very least watchable throughout, and often downright compelling. John Adams is probably my favorite Revolutionary-era personality, speaking as a history buff, and he's done proud here. Plus, the show set the stage for such disparate classics as Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Hamilton (of course), and arguably even the likes of Evita, so at the very least you have to give it mad respect for that as, at the time, a lot of people thought writing a successful and engaging stage musical about politicians deliberating over legislation simply couldn't be done.

Favorite Song: Molasses to Rum (Honorable mention to The Lees of Old Virginia which is just outright hilarious especially in the Director's Cut when Lee materializes from a bush to sing one last verse.)

Johnbobb - This is possibly the only musical where the musical sequences are my least favorite part. That's not to say the songs are bad; they're okay. At worst, kind of dull, and at best, overall pleasant. The one exception is Molasses to Rum, which is both an excellent villain song and absolutley ridiculous. The debates, however, are the real meat of the film. The writing is great, the arguments are both compelling and hilarious (despite obviously knowing in advance where it'll end up). Also, gotta mention that Thomas Jefferson of all people being the primary advocate for aboloshing slavery is just bonkers.
Favorite song: Molasses to Rum

JONA - Going in, I knew this just was not gonna be my thing. The movie being really long also didnt help things. I wont deny that there is witty and funny dialogue here, but it just couldnt hold my attention. There are movies I ranked above this which I would say are objectively worse, but I just got more entertainment out of those movies than this. I wish I could somehow abstain from ranking this like the New Yorker I am.
Favorite Song: But, Mr. Adams

Genny - Actually the performances were great, particularly the vocals. However this was just entirely too long to hold my attention the whole way through. I think I'd prefer a different format for my historical documentaries, thanks.