More about this DVD  •  DVD Info  •  Movie Main Page  •  Message Board

I couldn't help but think of these scenes from The Simpsons while I watched 1776. I hadn't seen the film since my college days, and while its musical-theatre sensibilities are readily apparent, there's still a degree of silliness to it all that is unlike any other musical ever made. Of course one's reaction will depend on one's own personal response to the genre in general. For younger viewers approaching musicals in this postmodern world, sometimes there's an inability to truly dive into the narrative form and suspend disbelief. Characters in film breaking into song seems silly and unmotivated to the young, unlike more seasoned viewers, who often find it inspiring and energetic.

But love it or hate it, it is fair to say the genre is a dying breed. In hindsight, the musicals of the early-to-mid 70s carry a whiff of decay; Cabaret (also released in 1972) pretty much capped the magical elixir as box-office and critical acclaim goes (who can forget that Bob Fosse stole Coppola's Best Director Oscar for Cabaret?), so 1776 is, in a lot of ways, one of the last of its kind - a hearty, epic, passionate musical filled with showy tunes, costumes and charisma to spare.

The storyline is predictably grand. We follow various founding fathers as they sing, argue and chum through the days before signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. And to the film's credit, the majority of the characters are played by the same actors who performed in the stage play. Ken Howard and Howard da Salva topline as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, and are a pair of the seasoned Broadway professionals who bring time- tested stage experience to their screen performances.

But I have to admit to smiling during the film, and not necessarily due to the diegetic goings-on. The concept of John Adams and George Washington breaking into song in Congress is as inspired and lunatic as Ned Flanders singing "A Stranger's Just a Friend You Haven't Met" in "Streetcar!". To those heartily familiar with 1776's source material, perhaps it doesn't seem as goofy, but every time Benjamin Franklin started dancing with his little cane, I could hardly keep a straight face.

Not the big box office hit expected at the time of its original theatrical release, 1776 has become a staple of grade school education curriculum and developed a huge cult following of fans. This new "Restored Director's Cut" is complete and pristine enough to appeal to those who appreciated the scope and grandeur of the stage play, although new viewers may have trouble with the almost campy facade of 1776. But if you're at all interested in American history or the postmodern Hollywood musical, 1776 is a must-see. "Ex-cellent!" (cue tapping fingers...)

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Originally restored and reedited for a 1992 laserdisc release, that edition of the film was hampered by the loss of the film's original negative, which was never able to be located. While still cause for celebration, the laserdisc varied wildly in quality and even featured a few shots in black and white, which was certainly distracting but the best that was available at the time. The exciting news here is that somehow Sony was able to locate, at long last, all the missing original negatives; the result is a huge improvement over the laserdisc, and without a doubt the finest presentation of the film on home video, and perhaps ever.

Director Peter H. Hunt has done a new cut of the film, which is not exactly the same as the previous restored version presented on the laserdisc or theatrically. According to a recent interview Hunt gave us on the restoration (watch for the full story soon!), he has gone back to his original prerelease cut, discarded some segments that didn't work, reworked others, and the film has been completely restored and remixed. The result is his definitive cut which now runs 166 minutes, versus the 141-minute theatrical cut and the 180-minute laserdisc version.

This 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is really quite nice. The source print, even the "lost" footage, is in amazingly good shape with only a few blemishes to distract, and this is as good-looking as the film is likely to be. While the colors are subdued and muted by today's standards, they're rock solid and free of noise or bleed. Black levels are good, though there is some fading in some shots and contrast can appear flat. But there is little in the way of edge enhancement, detail and sharpness are above average for a film of this vintage, and compression artifacts are minor. It's not a perfect transfer, but this film has never looked better.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Just like the transfer, this 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is shockingly good. Even during the filmmakers' commentary (more on that in a second), the director mentions how amazing it is to be able to remix 1972 mono tracks into the wildly expansive six- channel surround. And the effort shows. Separation is extremely good, with nice deployment of music, effects and dialogue across the entire front soundstage, and good surround use, too. While there are some limitations in terms of fidelity and dynamic range due to the limited recording technology of the time, the track and especially the music sounds warm and inviting. Low end is also exploited surprisingly well, with nice and solid bass, although its still a bit dated by today's standards. Without a doubt, this DVD presents this soundtrack amazingly well.

Also included are English and French subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Perhaps due to the film's length and great expense of the restoration, this isn't really a full-fledged special edition. But we do get an excellent new screen specific audio commentary by director Peter H. Hunt and screenwriter Peter Stone. While their scene-by-scene explanation of scenes gets moderately redundant over the course of the film, what's really exciting is their descriptions of the arduous restoration process. They speak about how tough it was to merely find the original film elements after years of searching, and then the struggle just to clean them up to the same caliber as the rest of the film. It's astonishing how much work has to go into restoring a film, so fans will definitely want to give this a listen.

Also included are some screen tests from many of the main players, and is an interesting look at how unsure many were on whether these Broadway types could play on the silver screen. Rounding out the package are some theatrical trailers for 1776 and other Columbia theatrical-theme films such as Oliver!

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

The DVD-ROM extras are merely a custom interface and weblinks to relevant web sites.

Parting Thoughts