Rapid Review the American Revolution & Constitution 1754-1789
Darn The Defiant
An splendid primer on the Revolutionary War, Liberty is a penetrating view at the causes and motivations besides every bit the saga of the course of the state of war. It is interesting that the major source for information on the war is the writings of Sgt Martin. There'due south an excellent flow score Da**[rn] the Defiant that's role of the opening and closing credits. Regretfully the audience for glorious cause is a pale shaddow when compared to that of the lost cause.
This compares favorably to THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (narr Charles Kuralt) and HOW THE WEST WAS LOST (Amer Indian perspective).
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History coming alive ...
An splendid series, absolutely riveting - bought it on DVD and saw information technology in 2 sittings. I could write miles of praise nearly this documentary-in-the-best-sense-of-the-discussion, basically based on contemporary documentation, simply I will add one tiny speck of criticism; in the final-but-one episode, we almost get the impression that the British entrada in the South was supposed to lash out at the institution of slavery (there is some reference to the "All men are created equal" phrase in the Declaration of Independence beingness hypocritical), only of class the British could not take minded slavery in 1781 since they themselves would not abolish it for another fifty-two years. At the very end of the series, Dr. Pauline Meier puts forth a very interesting thought: that the world tends to forget its heritage from the American revolution simply because - dissimilar the French revolution and the Russian revolution - information technology succeeded. When all is said and done, this is the revolution that launched globe republic.
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At last, a decent The states history documentary!
Allow me begin past saying I'chiliad a Brit through and through (currently live in Japan though), and a pretty patriotic one to kicking.
Fifty-fifty so, I loved this serial, despite the fact that we were supposed to exist the "enemy" and we lost.
I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of most U.S. made historical documentaries, because I ordinarily find them lightweight, kittenish, naieve, biased and as well focused on what I consider minor details. I can't stand about of the stuff served up on the History Channel, for case. And then I wasn't expecting also much when I came across this PBS series.
But what a pleasant surprise! At the end of watching this series I felt information technology was on a par with anything produced in Britain and I came away with a much ameliorate understanding of the background and sequence of events during the revolutionary menstruum.
What I liked:
i. Well paced. half-dozen episodes at twoscore minutes each was just correct I felt.
two. Nicely balanced between the U.South. and U.K. version and interpretation of events; several British historians were interviewed and they served every bit a good counterweight to their American counterparts.
three. In depth explanation of the events leading up to the outbreak of hostilities in the xiii colonies; they didn't try to put all the blame on George Three or British authorities.
four. Talking heads actually brought to life the letters and diaries of the men and women of that time. Far nicer than just listening to a narrator read information technology all out.
5. Good balance between coverage of battles and tactics with the bigger picture and strategies
6. Surprisingly impartial and fair to the British pov, because that Americans commonly accept a huge uber-patriotic blind spot when it comes to this period in their history. The British weren't overly demonised or portrayed equally dummies in redcoats (as was the example with awful films such equally "The Patriot"). This documentary shows that terrible atrocities were committed in the proper name of the revolution and in the proper noun of surpressing it. I felt this was a sign of maturity and 'closure' on the part of the makers.
seven. The role the French played in securing the victory at Yorktown for the Americans was given fair prominence. The makers of this documentary seem large enough to not be mealy-mouthed about this, which makes a refreshing change from the usual myopia on this topic.
There were some fairly emotional scenes besides. Although I consider myself objective and impartial when it comes to history (I think we have to be, to achieve that higher truth of which Descartes spoke), I felt surges of patriotic pride when the British army performed well (such equally British regular army engineers scaling that mountain to secure the give up of Fort Ticonderoga, the capture of New York, or Clinton's successful initial entrada in the American South). Conversely, I really felt distressing for "our lads" at times, being 3,000 miles from dwelling house when they were outnumbered and cutting off deep in insubordinate territory. I hope Americans will try to understand why I feel this way... it's hard for us to exist impartial all the time.
Overall, I was left with a sense of the greatness of Washington, Franklin and Jefferson. I was also pleased to larn that Cornwallis was a far ameliorate field commander than history has given him credit for and that he was badly let down by Clinton in New York.
I salute PBS and ask all Americans interested in fine art, culture and the pursuit of historical truth to keep supporting this wonderful institution you accept. It represents the all-time traditions of your wonderful country.
God Bless America and God Salvage the Queen!
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A virtually showtime person look at The American Revolution
Extra! The Empire gets the boot in the Rim Colonies! Emperor vilified by common rabble! Imperial forces attacked by Insubordinate forces! Headlines from "The Tatooine Gazette"? No. The showtime of an experiment in self government and a war that secured no enemy territory and succeeded where later revolutions failed. With no video, movie cameras, or CNN, how does one make the world of 1763 real? By having actors read from speeches and papers of the master movers and shakers of the day. The actors are to exist commended for fleshing out long-dead historical figures, especially "Male monarch George Three" and "Maj. Gen. Burgoyne." It is an interesting journeying, every bit the American colonists change over time from respectful subjects of Male monarch George Iii to concerned revenue enhancement rebels, an aroused militia, committee members drafting petitions, to "Common Sense" citizens seeking Independence. This serial deserves the DVD treatment, with behind the scenes sections about the many reenacters and preservation societies that prove how the world of John and Abigail Adams worked/works. A&Eastward's look at the same subject used paintings and voiceovers to comprehend the same basis, but Ken Burns' "The Civil War" had photographic impact that oils couldn't capture. I promise that PBS will circulate this soon, or as a July quaternary special for those who missed it the beginning time.
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Simply exceptional.
"Liberty! The American Revolution" is almost as adept a series on the American Revolution as you can find and it not only is about what led to the state of war as well as the state of war but besides the period AFTER the war when the Colonies were xiii independent nations in need of a stronger central government. How this led to the Constitution is discussed in the final episode. Infrequent production values, nice historical re-creations and an interesting script make this one to sentinel. As a retired history instructor, I establish very little to complain about except in episode 5--which made it sound as if the Colonies Crush the British. This is a misconception. The British cutting their losses and left the Colonies because they were involved in a world war with France, Kingdom of spain AND Holland--then the Colonies ALONE were not victorious--it was conspicuously a grouping effort. Well worth seeing--and information technology's non as well surprising since information technology'southward from PBS video--and those folks seem to make one astonishing documentary after some other.
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A fantastic portrayal of the Enlightenment'southward climax
Information technology is safety to say that the American Revolution was the meridian of the Enlightenment. There, all the ideas the philosophes had proposed were put to the test. They passed the test. I don't mean to audio nationalistic to non-Americans, but I practice feel this way.
We alive in a very cynical time period. We are cynical well-nigh our governments, cynical almost our past, and cynical almost humanity in general. Yes, pessimism is skilful, only we should also go along in heed how far we have come. I am a history buff, all the same I am going to say this: History needs its heros, for without them, it has no meaning to our inner selves. The documentary reminds us of how far nosotros have come up.
Yes, "Liberty: The American Revolution" could have had more than facts in it, but that is minor. What amazes me is how it was able to testify the ultimate goodness in the revolution, still did so without making anyone a villain. The British are not shown every bit evil, but as existence on the wrong side of history.
Another thing I liked was how the documentary had no dialogue that wasn't historically spoken. Everything the characters said was taken from letters, interviews, and so along.
Nonetheless I must say, my favorite part.......was the soundtrack. I bet you thought I was going to try to say something deep :) Well, it is true.
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Why the actors/talking heads?
I was looking forward to watching this documentary with great anticipation, but was surprised & disappointed to see the storytelling element where many historical figures are reenacted/represented by actors. I was looking for cited quotations, a more detailed narrative, historic illustrations, & maps. I instead felt like I was watching a "history-lite" documentary that dwelled likewise long on the entertainment value of dressed up actors. I judge I'll take to find some books to read, because this documentary felt like as well piddling substance for the length of the documentary. My sense was the "living history" actors took something away from the gravity of the narrative & history. "Liberty! The American Revolution" was produced after Ken Burns' "The Civil War." One would think these documentary filmmakers could take learned something from Burns devices for telling a story when i tin can't rely much on photography or video. Marginally recommend equally a supplement to reading histories of the American Revolutionary War.
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Mostly good, except for the the cringey character acting segments
Effectually 4/5ths of this documentary is corking. It really goes into the roots of why things happen, and is presented very clearly.
However, the other fifth of the time are segments with actors dressing upward as historical figures and reading out things they had written. The acting is and then incredibly awful, and just comes across as corny. Thus, it really takes abroad from the seriousness of the remainder of the documentary. It is so bad that I only take to fast forward all those sections.
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Fairly balanced view of the Revolution
This documentary features actors speaking the words of long-expressionless people, from Abigail Adams to Rex George Iii to Hessian mercenaries. The consequence is a multi-faceted view of the American Revolution. I use part of this programme to teach the Revolution in my college courses for this reason. Since this is a U.South. production, the bias is pro-Revolution. I do non mind this, since my side won that war. I appreciate, withal, the honest discussion of the primal contradiction of the Revolution--the maintenance of slavery equally part of the struggle for independence. Our founders were people, not demigods.
I volition correct another commenter on this website. King George Three really spoke flawless English language, as the histrion who portrays him does. The monarch's not bad-granddad (George I) spoke High german. George II, grandfather of George III, spoke English language as a second language. George Three, still, took pride in speaking excellent English language.
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Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129692/reviews
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