The recent HBO miniseries about John Adams (titled “John Adams”) was a reminder of what committed filmmakers can accomplish when they chronicle the figures and the events of the American Revolution. It helped that the biopic was based on a biography of Adams by David McCullough, possibly the foremost literary narrator of American history. Still, it was smart, enlightening TV.
So what's wrong with the movies? Why can't somebody make a full-length feature film about the founding of this country, either on the battlefield or in the candlelight of Independence Hall?
The track record so far is abysmal. Of more recent vintage: the ridiculous “1776,” adapted from the Broadway musical, in 1972; the absolutely awful “Revolution” in '85, “featuring” arguably Al Pacino's worst screen performance; the bloody and ham-fisted “The Patriot” in 2000, little more than Mel Gibson setting “Braveheart” four centuries later.
Predating this lot: the likes of 1940's “The Howards of Virginia,” with Cary Grant in 1770s hair; “The Scarlet Coat” (1955), with Robert Douglas (who?) as Benedict Arnold; and 1959's “The Devil's Disciple,” which transported Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster from the O.K. Corral back to Revolution-era New England.
Equally lacking are notable portrayals of George Washington, the Father of Our Country. Jeff Daniels in “The Crossing”? (2000). Terry Layman (double who?) in “The Patriot”? It's enough to make you go jump in the Delaware.
I'm going to hazard a few guesses as to why so few American Revolution-theme films – particularly ones worth a fife and drum – have been made. One, they feel dated. Powdered wigs? Ponytails? Muskets? Come on, the war began 233 years ago? What do you expect? Yet sadly, because the Revolutionary War was fought so long ago, it's ancient history to moviegoers, especially today's target moviegoers: short-attention-spanned, special-effects-addicted teens.
Second, for studios, the Civil War seems sexier (“Cold Mountain,” anyone?), the Vietnam War weightier and more Oscars-friendly (“Platoon,” “The Deer Hunter”) and the Iraq War more relevant (if not, to this point, commercially bankable).
I don't know, maybe actors just don't want to wear breeches on screen.
TV miniseries developers, with less to lose than movie studios who've got one shot at an audience, are more likely to revisit the American Revolution. We may have to settle for that. Hollywood long ago decided that “Independence Day” worked better as sci-fi than history.
TOP FIVE DIGITAL SONGS (get art of Kate Perry)
1. “I Kissed a Girl,” Kate Perry (pictured)
2. “This Is Me,” Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas
3. “Viva la Vida,” Coldplay
4. “7 Things,” Miley Cyrus
5. “When I Grow Up,” the Pussycat Dolls
Source: billboard.com
FILMS OPENING THIS WEEKEND (get art of “Hancock”)
“ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD” 
“Encounters” consists of loosely connected images and stories collected during a visit by documentarian Werner Herzog to McMurdo Station, a 1,000-person U.S. research outpost at the South Pole. Spurning lovable penguins, he focuses instead upon the continent's quirkier human inhabitants, from a research linguist “on a continent without languages,” to a plumber of claimed royal Aztec descent to a contortionist-biologist who once drove a garbage truck from London to Nairobi. (Scott LaFee). Rated G; 1 hr., 39 min.
FINDING AMANDA
(See review on this page)
“GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON”
(See review on Page E1)
“HANCOCK”
This is a movie with an identity crisis, a stultifying stew cooked to a pulp by seven producers, two credited screenwriters, a director who signed on after a couple of others reportedly dropped out and a Fourth of July holiday box-office superstar. “Hancock” is rated PG-13 and pushes the boundaries with crude language (a certain seven-letter word sends Hancock into a fury) and violence. There'll be “Hancock” fireworks, for sure, at the box office (it is Will Smith, after all). Nevertheless, this superhero saga fizzles. (Lee Grant). Rated PG-13; 1 hr., 32 min.
“KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL” ½
Kit Kittredge is a girl who is supposed to show modern-day kids what it was like to live during the Great Depression. But with the economy the way it is, it turns out that girls may not learn from Kit so much as they'll be able to relate to her. Kit is one of those American Girls – a franchise of dolls and storybooks covering periods in U.S. history. Kit hails from 1934 Cincinnati. Dressed in fabulous period dresses and with bobbed hair, expressive eyes and inherent cuteness, Abigail Breslin makes it easy to believe that this really could be Kit come to life. The plot, on the other hand, is a bit more far-fetched than the short, realistic storybooks accompanying the collection of dolls. (Nina Garin). Rated G; 1 hr., 40 min.
“SAVAGE GRACE” ½
The story of Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane), heir to the Bakelite plastics empire, and Barbara (Julianne Moore), his shallow social wife. They go to parties; they engage in small insults and mildly dirty table talk; they alternately ignore and obsess over their son, Antony. This is all fascinating to a child psychologist, perhaps – or an ancient Greek dramatist – but the movie fails to make it believable. (Stephen Whitty, Newhouse News Service). Unrated; 1 hr., 37 min.
DVDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK (get art from “Vantage Point”)
“VANTAGE POINT” In this political thriller starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Sigourney Weaver, Forest Whitaker and William Hurt, eight witnesses present different versions of what transpired during an assassination attempt on the president of the United States. Only the two-disc DVD version contains these extra features: a commentary by director Peter Travis, an interview with screenwriter Barry Levy, deleted scenes, interviews with cast and crew members, and more. Rated PG-13.
“DRILLBIT TAYLOR” Three kids who are tired of being pushed around by the school bully hire their own bodyguard, but the former soldier of fortune they employ (Owen Wilson) isn't exactly what he seems. This comedy from producer Judd Apatow, director Steven Brill and writers Seth Rogen and Kristofor Brown comes in a regular theatrical edition, featuring a commentary by Brill, Brown and young cast members Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley and David Dorfman, deleted and extended scenes, a “Line-O-Rama” joke feature, a gag reel and an interview with writers Rogen and Brown, as well as an Extended Survival Edition (at the same price) with five additional features on the making of the movie. Rated PG-13.
– BRUCE DANCIS, MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
