DVD Corner

John Adams Blu-Ray

John Adams Blu-Ray

Content Grade: A+
Sound Grade: A
Extras Grade: B+
Picture Grade: A

The HBO miniseries, “John Adams” comes to Blu-Ray and the wait was worth it.

Starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams, the series not only captures the truth about Adams and how he was an overlooked patriot, but it also captures in great detail colonial living in America.  Detail to authenticity was extreme with the series actually getting permission to shoot in Colonial Williamsburg, which rarely lets anyone film there.  The extraordinary work of Production Designer Gemma Jackson is apparent in every scene.  She wanted to capture the essence of living in colonial America and succeeds.  Even David McCullough, the writer of the Adams book, praises the detail of the production.

The supporting cast is also worth mentioning: Tom Wilkenson as Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson, and Sarah Polley as Adams’ daughter are all outstanding.   David Morse as George Washington is amazing to look at; he is one of the few actors who really does look like the man and his make-up is outstanding.

The series captures Adams life from pre-revolutionary days, when Adams defends the soldiers arrested after the Boston Massacre, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the long period in Adams life when he was sent abroad to represent the new country, his role as Vice President under Washington, and his narrow election as President, living in an isolated and bleak White House, being constructed by slaves.  Personal highlights include his love affair with Abigail, who was his match intellectually, his long and turbulant with Thomas Jefferson, and the tragedy that befell his family.

While sometimes dark to access, the series is a remarkable achievement from the acting to the detail of sets, costuming  and makeup.  It debunks a lot of myths about colonial America, our founding fathers, and events we all learned about in American History class.  It deserves to be seen by every American and gets our highest recommendation.

Picture and Sound

The picture on this 3 disc set is awesome. The HD picture shows many details that were not visible on dvd. The detailed pattern work in the halls of Europe, the uniforms of the army, and the everyday living articles all show much more detail. The sound is DTS HD MA and is perfect for the many different atmospheres and sets for this 7 episode series.

Extras

Extras include a popup history track, a making of feature with cast, crew and David McCullough, and what I think is a great documentary on the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book. The documentary captures the spirit of McCullough and his life’s passion, family and history. You really seem to know the man after seeing this documentary.

November 14, 2009 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Blu-Ray review, HBO, John Adams miniseries, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti