Lance
Sam James
Josh Adams
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Terry Woods
Ryan
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Mike O
Brian McConnell
Brian LePort
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Reading on Walden Bookstore
Tyler D.
Hugo
Jon
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Garnet SpyYesterday I gave my review of the first part of the John Adams miniseries put on by HBO. I had the opportunity to watch the second episode (90 minutes) tonight, and I must say it left me speechless.
It begins rather slow, but covers most of late 1775 and into the summer of 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. There really is no way to describe the feeling the directors and producers and actors managed to put into this film. The sheer awe of watching the Founding Fathers declare an independency for the American states is simply breathtaking.
I am not sure what else to say except that the second episode is beautifully done. It might be the greatest 90 minutes I have ever watched on television or in a movie, but I encourage everyone to try and watch this so you can see it for yourself.
Filed under: History, Philosophy, Politics
I agree with all the reviews about JOHN ADAMS and their praise (for at least the first two episodes), however I found the Production Design, Set Dressing, Props and Costume Design exceptional. The CGI effects were by and large very well done, but the camera work was lacking in spots (see below).
The Production Design is right on target for authenticity, right down to the “glazed” woodwork and walls inside the Adams’ home. The set dressing and props are perfectly reproduced ( Colonial Williamsburg being close by as well as their historians was a help to the team).
The costuming is perfectly rendered both in styles and colours for the film and the use of showing the dirt of everyday wear and life enhances the reality.
The CGI (computer effects) was quite well done except in the harbor scenes where one can count the same ships reproduced in the background.
The lighting of the scenes felt completely natural and not once did I feel that they were lit by anything else but the natural sun, moon and candlelight.
However, the camera angles and movements were somewhat disjointedt and at times took away from the action and words of the scenes. Especially the use of framing the scene with an angle to the horizon. Using the tilt in the interiors with their wood paneling, wainscoating, and moldings the angle seemed to be even more acute making one wonder if the characters were about to tumble across the room and out the door or if the building was to fall over. There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to this choice. Also the back and forth cutting to a “shakey cam” shot from a steady level shot within the some exterior scenes was jarring. I almost turned the film off because it was taking so much attention away from the actors and their scenes.
But the camera work aside, John Adams is a very well done film and should do very well in all categories at this year’s Emmy Awards except maybe in Cinematography.
[...] Adams: The HBO Miniseries Review (Part 7) Posted on April 24, 2008 by Lance (Part 1) (Part 2) (Parts 3 and 4) (Parts 5 and 6) (Part [...]