I really felt like I got to know something about the character of George Washington, terrifically played by stage and screen actor Barry Bostwick ("Grease"/"Rocky Horror"), with Patty Duke a perfectly cast Martha Washington, marrying George after her first husband died. With David Dukes as his best friend, the three part film starts off on a lighthearted mood, the youthful innocence and character building years indicating his humanity and humble nature. Jaclyn Smith as first love Sally remains a confidante even after he marries Martha, and there's no jealousy between the women who are friendly with each other.
The seriousness of the advance to America freedom begins with events leading up to the French and Indian War, showing Washington as friendly to the natives, and even deals (rather briefly) with his ambivalence towards slavery. As issues with England erupt towards the necessity for the declaration of independence (presented in the second part, with Hal Holbrook cast as John Adams), the film finally reaches near excellence, and in the third part, the war is presented in great detail, starting with the crossing of the Delaware.
A starry film where cameos of famous actors is a bit distracting, that doesn't take away the series impact. Jose Ferrer, James Mason, Lloyd Bridges and Trevor Howard aren't onscreen long enough to defuse attention away from the historical facts, and by the third part, they're not even around, the ensemble featuring mainly unknowns with the exception of John Glover as a lesser general who seems to resent Washington simply because he doesn't have what it takes to live up to Washington's standards. The battle sequences of all three parts are filmed in different ways so it never seems repetitive. At the heart of the series lies Bostwick and Duke, and their performances really take the viewer back to the birth of a nation.
The seriousness of the advance to America freedom begins with events leading up to the French and Indian War, showing Washington as friendly to the natives, and even deals (rather briefly) with his ambivalence towards slavery. As issues with England erupt towards the necessity for the declaration of independence (presented in the second part, with Hal Holbrook cast as John Adams), the film finally reaches near excellence, and in the third part, the war is presented in great detail, starting with the crossing of the Delaware.
A starry film where cameos of famous actors is a bit distracting, that doesn't take away the series impact. Jose Ferrer, James Mason, Lloyd Bridges and Trevor Howard aren't onscreen long enough to defuse attention away from the historical facts, and by the third part, they're not even around, the ensemble featuring mainly unknowns with the exception of John Glover as a lesser general who seems to resent Washington simply because he doesn't have what it takes to live up to Washington's standards. The battle sequences of all three parts are filmed in different ways so it never seems repetitive. At the heart of the series lies Bostwick and Duke, and their performances really take the viewer back to the birth of a nation.