REPOST: "1776", the Musical
Wishing all of you in the U.S. a very happy Fourth of July!
As I do every year, I'm taking this opportunity to put in a plug for my favorite Revolutionary War movie: "1776", which is a musical about the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
If you've never seen "1776", I highly recommend it. It came out in 1972 (based on the Broadway musical of the same name) and I think I've seen it almost every year since I was nine or so. That tradition continues to this day; my family always watches it on DVD every July 4th, and we will do so again this year.
Diana Gabaldon likes it, too; I've heard her describe it as "hilarious, moving, and very singable". I asked her specifically about the costumes, because I'm fascinated by the details of the 18th century clothing in this movie, and she said they're pretty accurate.
Evidently Matt Roberts, executive producer and one of the writers on the OUTLANDER TV series, is also a "1776" fan. If you've seen Episode 303 ("All Debts Paid"), you may recall Frank's line in the breakfast scene near the beginning of this episode about "Tudors, Stuarts, and Plantagenets". Matt has said that he added that line as a deliberate homage to the very similar phrase used by John Dickinson in "1776".
Here are a couple of my favorite songs from the movie:
1) "The Egg" - Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson choose America's national bird.
2) "Sit Down, John" - This is the movie's opening number.
If you're a fan of "1776", what's your favorite song? Mine is the one where they argue about who's going to write the Declaration of Independence.
You can get "1776" via Amazon here. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
As I do every year, I'm taking this opportunity to put in a plug for my favorite Revolutionary War movie: "1776", which is a musical about the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
If you've never seen "1776", I highly recommend it. It came out in 1972 (based on the Broadway musical of the same name) and I think I've seen it almost every year since I was nine or so. That tradition continues to this day; my family always watches it on DVD every July 4th, and we will do so again this year.
Diana Gabaldon likes it, too; I've heard her describe it as "hilarious, moving, and very singable". I asked her specifically about the costumes, because I'm fascinated by the details of the 18th century clothing in this movie, and she said they're pretty accurate.
Evidently Matt Roberts, executive producer and one of the writers on the OUTLANDER TV series, is also a "1776" fan. If you've seen Episode 303 ("All Debts Paid"), you may recall Frank's line in the breakfast scene near the beginning of this episode about "Tudors, Stuarts, and Plantagenets". Matt has said that he added that line as a deliberate homage to the very similar phrase used by John Dickinson in "1776".
Here are a couple of my favorite songs from the movie:
1) "The Egg" - Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson choose America's national bird.
2) "Sit Down, John" - This is the movie's opening number.
If you're a fan of "1776", what's your favorite song? Mine is the one where they argue about who's going to write the Declaration of Independence.
You can get "1776" via Amazon here. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeuaTpH6Ck0
The Outlander episode which takes on the Caribe slave trade with Clair facing off the invasive auctioneer reminded me of this scene in 1776 the first time I read that chapter.
As coincidence would have it.... I was fortunate to meet the actor, John Collum, during the mid 1970's on a Manhattan sidewalk on his way to the stage production of this same film. He was just as imposingly impressive on the stage performing that very scene!