Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0841887050524
Format: Color
Label: PBS Paramount
Manufacturer: PBS Paramount
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: PBS Paramount
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-01-24
Running Time: 120
Studio: PBS Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: 2005
MPN: D705052D

Relying heavily on the extraordinary correspondence between the second president and his wife, this joint biography sheds light not only on the characters of two remarkable people, but also on the tumultuous times through which they lived. John and Abigail Adams played a critical role in many of the pivotal events of their era: he was a vociferous participant at the Continental Congress; she was an important eye-witness reporter during the Siege of Boston; he was an important war-time emissary to France. This AMERICAN EXPERIENCE reminds us that the Founding Fathers - and Mothers - were not men and women of marble following a script that made independence and American national success a pre-ordained conclusion, but rather real, flawed, multi-dimensional people, who had no idea how things would turn out.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Comment: It was pretty good. Nowhere near as good as the HBO miniseries. But, there was some good information in there.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: An interesting dose of history
Comment: I ordered this item after watching the HBO series "John Adams." Many of the events described were the same, and it was a documentary more than a dramatization like the HBO series. Still, this version had some information that was not included in the series. I would recommend this one both for those who have seen the series and those who have not, including those who might want a shorter version of the same story.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: John & Abigail are real!
Comment: Growing up, my image of the Founding Fathers always seemed to focus on Washington, Jefferson & Franklin. Adams seemed secondary.

After seeing this, the viewer must come away with a high respect for both John & Abigail. One was nothing without the other.

A little acting, and a bit of historian narration, this DVD is both entertaining and informative. The actors do a wonderful job of conveying the lives of the people of the times.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: America's First Politcal Power Couple
Comment: Over the past twenty years or so there have been various attempts by historians of the period to reshuffle and expand the pantheon of the American Revolution. These efforts have included highlighting lesser male personalities like financier Robert Morris, paying attention to the role of the Founding Mothers and a deeper look into the plebian base of that revolution. Those efforts have also, most prominently of late, included reordering the place that John Adams, an acknowledged early revolutionary leader and second President of the United States, in that pantheon. Leading this charge has been David McCullough's (one of the inevitable `talking heads' in this docudrama) best-selling book and now this PBS film. Brother Adams (and Sister Abigail) have arrived.

I will confess here, as I have previously in this space, that I am something of a `homer' on the Adams family. I was born in their hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts and so imbibed the spirit of the place and their effect on it from early youth with visits to their homes and tombs. Some of my first political readings in elementary school were biographies of various members of the family (Which may explain quite a bit, right?). I never, however, at that time, or later, saw them as central to the revolutionary experience. Washington, Samuel Adams (a cousin), the Sons of Liberty and, above all, Tom Paine fired my imagination. To be kind, as I have also mentioned before in this space, I had characterized John Adams as a `conservative revolutionary' (an oxymoron, to be sure) and nothing in this documentary has changed my opinion on that matter. John Adams represented (except in his early firebrand pre-revolutionary period) individually and later through his `party', the Federalists, the closest approximation to what Lafayette represented in the French revolution- the idea of rule by a small-entrenched elite over the `mob'-the so-called Republic of Virtue.

This documentary, although something of a valentine to John and Abigail, does not hide this fact but rather downplays it by highlighting other aspects of a rather long political career. The chronology presents Adams as the pre-revolutionary firebrand, the supreme political operative of the Continental Congresses, the diplomatic emissary to various European countries during the war including invaluable service in getting funds from the Dutch, the gentleman farmer chafing at the bit in political slow times, the formative role as first Vice President, the stormy one term as a beleaguered president, the love- hate relationship with his arch political opponent Jefferson and threaded throughout this career his strong dependence on Abigail as wife, mother, political confidante and `soul mate'. For those who thought that political power couples only started with Bill and Hillary this will be a surprise. Frankly, what this documentary has done for me is to reinforce my elementary school-derived high opinion of Abigail. As for the closet (and at times not so closet) Tory John I will let David McCullough argue his case.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: History comes alive
Comment: This is a fantastic look at one of our greatest Presidents.
If only we had people like Adams today. We might have more confidence and hope for our nation's future. Needless to say, the video is not a substitute for the bestseller "John Adams"

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