It's great to see so many fans of this movie. Just out of curiousity, has this film made you appreciate American History particularly the Revolutionary era more since watching it? Has it gotten you interested in any way other than just being interested in history?
"These are only shadows of the real world..."
I watched this movie for the first time in grade school and instantly fell in love with it. It actually set me on my course for the rest of my life. Now I have a degree in history and am wanting to get a masters or higher studying American history 1750-1830 with *gasp* a focus on the politics at that time particularly the 1st and 2nd Continental Congresses.
Who knew that a movie could be responsible for so much? :)
When I first saw it as a young man, it actually did.
shareYes, it certainly has. Please see my separate post SPIRIT OF '72 on this message board.
Like many great favorites I revisit 1776 every couple years because I never want it to lose it's freshness, to become too familiar & memorized. I tend to give most musicals the benefit of the doubt & usually find something to like (or dearly love) in practically every musical film of the 1960s or early 70s. 1776 is my most cherished film of '72 & obviously the best possible choice for July 4th viewing, a good latenite watch once the fireworks are over & your guests have gone home. As much as some of us love the film, it's not for everyone.
Heartening to see 1776 has such a fan base. In truth, it could've used more critical encouragement back in '72. Pauline Kael in particular shredded it to ribbons & I expect John Simon did what John Simon does: flexing his vocabulary to amuse himself at the cruel expense of others (the great destroyer, Sheridan Whiteside made flesh.) And it didn't help that what moviegoers initially saw had, according to some sources, been scissored at the peremptory request of our uncool, conservative sitting president.
Before I saw the movie as part of a Jr. High field trip when it came out in 1972, my grandma took me to see the play on Broadway (on July 4, 1971, how appropriate!). This show got me to love and be interested in the Revolutionary War era of American History in a way no history class had ever done. It made the events and people come alive for me; they were now more than just names, dates, and words (Declaration of Independence) to memorize and name. Seeing the show inspired me to learn more about John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington as people, and about the struggles involved to help give birth to our nation.
This show also lit a fire in me in regards to my interest in musicals too -- it (along with Fiddler on the Roof which I saw that same summer) began my lifelong love of Broadway and movie musicals!