Johnny Tremain
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Movie Reviews of Johnny Tremain
Movie Review: Outstanding Teaching Material
Summary: 5 Stars
After having students read this and do all appropriate written exercises and oral discussions, the DVD/Video would be a real treat.Movie Review: Fun way to show early american history
Summary: 5 Stars
Great way for Children and young adults to learn some about the early stages of the revolutionary war and the Tea Party IMovie Review: GODD HISTORY PIECE
Summary: 5 Stars
OLD WALT DISNEY TV DISNEY SERIES THAT I ENJOYED AS A KID. NICE TO FINALLY SEE IT AGAIN AFTER ALL THESE YEARSMovie Review: Family Friendly Version of the Events Leading to the Revolutionary War
Summary: 4 Stars
Jonathan Lyte Tremain is an apprentice silversmith in Boston in 1773. Johnny's whole purpose in life is to try to become the best silversmith possible. Johnny is quite diligent in becoming a good silversmith. Barely perceptible to Johnny, at first, there are activities around Johnny that are leading to a confrontation between the colonies in America and English soldiers. The confrontation will spark a battle that will eventually lead to the founding of the United States of America.
Johnny Tremain believes he can do more, if only his master Ephraim Lapham (character actor Will Wright, who appeared in nearly 200 films and television shows) would trust him. While trying to prove his ability, Johnny accidentally burns his hand. The skin on his fingers grows together and Johnny is no longer able to be an apprentice to Ephraim Lapham.
Johnny goes to a wealthy man, Jonathan Lyte, for assistance. Johnny's mother told him that Mr. Lyte (Sebastian Cabot, "Family Affair," "Winnie the Pooh" and dozens of other movie and television appearances) was a relative. Of course Mr. Lyte considers Johnny a scam artist trying to blackmail him for money, and Mr. Lyte accuses Johnny of being a thief. Famed attorney Josiah Quincy (Whit Bissell, famous character actor who appeared in more than 275 movies and television episodes) represents Johnny Tremain free of charge, and Johnny's life changes forever.
While Johnny is going through his travails, historic events are in progress around him. Initially Johnny refuses to participate in these events because he believes that if he does his job and becomes a good silversmith then his life will be fine. Johnny believes the people working against the Crown are foolish. However, Johnny's tragic accident gives Johnny a new perspective.
Johnny finds work in a print shop that produces The Boston Observer, where Johnny gets a front seat to the events leading up to the American Revolution. As Johnny becomes more enamored of the concept of liberty and has a greater appreciation for the meaning of liberty, he becomes more involved in the cause. Johnny meets many of the important men leading the cause, including Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and James Otis. Eventually Dr. Joseph Warren frees the fingers of Johnny's hand and Johnny is able to participate more directly in the activities of the Sons of Liberty.
A shipment of tea has arrived in Boston with a tax imposed on England, a tax that the colonists did not approve. After appealing to the governor of the colony, and losing, the colonists show their disapproval by dumping the tea into Boston harbor, the famed "Boston Tea Party." The movie continues onward to the events at Lexington and Concord and concludes shortly thereafter.
This movie is a relatively sanitized version of the events leading to the American Revolution. The characters are generally larger than life, and many of the grittier details are glossed over. What remains is the story of a group of people who have the goal of gaining representation for the Colonies. The movie does portray the Colonists as having pure motives and being paragons of virtue, and most of the English are relatively heartless with only profit as their goal. Of course these are stereotypes and the truth was much more complex, but the simplicity of the movie reflects on the style of story-telling in the 1950's.
The movie does show people being shot, though in a relatively benign way; i.e., they fall over, though sometimes dramatically. Because of these scenes, this Disney movie may not be suitable for very young family members, perhaps younger than 6 or 7 years old. However, everyone else will find this reminder of the roots of American independence to be interesting and enjoyable.
Enjoy!
Movie Review: These Disney "young heroes" flicks should be relevant to any generation
Summary: 4 Stars
They certainly were to mine. As we grew older, a leftist segment of our generation accused the Disney group (then led by Walt himself) of trying to brainwash us with "reactionary flag-waving values", completely missing the fact that the characters in this story were radicals themselves. If some of us could theorize that Jesus was, why not a fictional young proto-militia soldier like Johnny Tremain? Johnny comes by his membership in the Sons Of Liberty in a peculiar way--he's an apprentice silversmith who receives a crippling on-the-job injury at a time when there was no such thing as Workman's Compensation or Disability. So his career is over when it barely just started. Fortunately Johnny's boss was involved in the emerging American Revolution, so since Johnny is no longer capable of becoming an artisan, he becomes a fighting man. Most people drawing a pension nowadays can't conceive of such "safety nets" as "Comp" not always being there. People who call themselves "progressives" don't realize just how far we've come and how lucky we are that real-life Johnny Tremains helped start this peculiar oft-unappreciated by its own citizens country we live in. I still get a thrill from the scene immediately after the "Boston Tea Party", where Johnny and his comrades march to the Liberty Tree, singing possibly one of the best Disney songs ever.