1776 (Restored Director's Cut)
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Movie Reviews of 1776 (Restored Director's Cut)
Movie Review: Okay movie
Summary: 3 Stars
For the most part, I rate this movie high on the history it presents. William Daniels is great as John Adams and Frank Da Silva is a hoot as Benjamin Franklin. I really like the scenes that take place in the Continental Congress - lots of conflict, arguing and arrogant attitudes. However I think the songs are weak and completely unmemorable. For a musical, this (to me) is unforgivable. Unfortunately, the most powerful song is the one sung by the Thomas Jefferson character about the evils of slavery and those that propagate it - what a joke! Knowing what we know of the hypocritical slaver Jefferson, this song is nothing more than an insulting farce! Also, if you're thinking of letting your children watch this be aware of the fact that there is quite a bit of swearing as well as some sexual references and innuendos. The Director's cut that I borrowed from the library does feature wide screen, if not letterbox, format. I'd never call this a classic but it's okay to watch once.Movie Review: Review of 1776
Summary: 5 Stars
EXCELLENT RESTORATION OF AN EXCELLENT DVD! IWILL CHERISH MY COPY IF I DON'T WEAR IT OUT!.........REALLY EXCELLENT!!!!!!Movie Review: 1776 Worth Buying?
Summary: 5 Stars
1776 (Restored Director's Cut) is an exellent exampel of a Broadway musical put to film. Well done, fun to watch and true to the original. The buying experience was exellent. Quality of the product was great and delivery was as promised. Movie Review: Not the Legendary 180 minute 1992 Laser Disc Restoration...here's the story
Summary: 3 Stars
In April of 1991, Joseph Caporiccio approached his bosses at Pioneer with the idea of letterboxing this lost classic and giving it a true stereo soundtrack for the first time ever. Only mono tracks believed to exist but approval was soon given based on the continued popularity of the previous laser disc release. Director Peter H. Hunt confirmed that the music was recorded in stereo, but its location was anybody's guess. He also informed Mr. Caporiccio of an entire musical number cut after only two preview screenings in New York and Phoenix.
"Cool Considerated Men" was as powerful and entertaining as any song in the film, a personal favorite of the director. But after a negative reaction from the White House regarding the scene's anti-conservative tone, studio executives agreed to remove eight solid minutes. So great was the pressure that the original negative and all known parts of the scene were destroyed. A search began for any version of the missing footage.
Meanwhile, the option of using the soundtrack album as a source of stereo music was rejected because of the heavy reverberation added prior to release. Columbia Records later provided access to the original sixteen-track master tapes of the songs, background music and some of the reprises, but unmixed and unbalanced. Complete sound for "Cool Men" was located in this massive collection. The final sound for this laserdisc was essentially reassembled from scratch.
The movie premiered in 1972, approximately forty minutes shorter than Mr. Hunt's original cut! Legendary producer Jack L. Warner personally supervised a series of cuts intended to accommodate additional showings on daily schedules, a necessity happily irrelevant to home video. The major theatrical release and all previous video releases ran 141 minutes, down from three hours. "Cool Men" was among the last cuts made.
Columbia graciously released box after box of priceless film and soundtrack from their storage facility in Kansas. The fact that this footage even exists today is a testament to the studio's respect for filmmaking. Amazingly, even small strips running a fraction of a second were preserved. Mr. Caporiccio, assisted by Michael Matessino, poured over this treasure trove of "lost" material. Long hours were spent readying the sound note-by-note to match the new transfer.
The magnitude of the possibilities became clear after playing a three-channel orchestral tape of "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve." Mr. Caporiccio picked up William Daniel's voice carrying over to the nearby musicians' microphone, singing lyrics that were not in the movie! Recorded and filmed, these additional shots were prime material for inclusion once again. Now he and Michael Matessino stepped up their efforts. Footage was cleaned by hand, color retimed, individual frames repaired.
Finally, color "Cool Men" footage began arriving in bits. Miracle: a complete set of the excised scenes had secretly been set aside by the editor on the 1972 trimming project! Painstakingly edited and synchronized to the stereo tracks, it is now presented as the director intended all along. In the end only one scene in the film had to be taken from the black-and -white workprint and a five second transitional scene was never found.
The restored film on the laserdisc was presented in the widescreen format and remixed for true stereo sound using the original multi-track units (in some cases as many as twenty-four tracks). It contained a total of 40 minutes of footage not seen since the two premiere screenings in 1972, including reconstructed OVERTURE and INTERMISSION music. Other highlights of the Laser Disc version were the full opening credits, newly incorporated character closeups and additional music for several songs. The running time was once again 180 minutes. The 1992 Pioneer Laser Disc Special Edition of 1776 was one of the most ambitious video restorations ever performed.
For the 2002 DVD release, the replaced footage has been repaired, giving the DVD a much cleaner look visually than the laserdisc, but the film has been shortened to 166 minutes. The overture and entr'acte music have been removed entirely and the song "Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve" has inexplicably been shorn back down to its original release length. The delightful reprise of "The Lees of Old Virginia" has also been completely removed. One minor plus; a short piece of footage following "Cool, Conservative Men" has been found and reinserted.
Movie Review: Great Quality; Great Price; Great Service
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie arrived within three days and was in perfect condition. The quality (picture, sound, etc.) is great, and although I am not familiar with the unrestored version of this film, I am sure the quality of this one is much better.
The movie itself is awesome too, and great musical numbers accompanied by great acting make the film perfect for any history buff (or musical buff for that matter).