The flick that really says it all::
Okay, it's not Yankee Doodle Dandy, but 1776 blew my socks off when I first saw it during Navy service. After viewing it, I returned to my destroyer base totally jazzed, and tried to talk my shipmates into going to see it.
But nobody cared. And nobody went.
Unpatriotic swabbies.
The picture flopped the year of its release (1972), but I still maintain it's a solid screen musical. William Daniels looks nothing like Mr. Adams, but 1776 is superior to the lower-key John Adams (second episode) that was unspooled last year on HBO.
At least, I think so.
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22 comments:
With each passing 4th of July I become more and more depressed.
We took everything they fought for and flushed it down the drain.
Everything we do is taxed. And if you don't pay your taxes, they are taken by force. Our money is used for bailouts, welfare, and anything else the government sees fit to do with our money. Our cellphone calls are spied on. We get digitally searched just traveling. Corporations and Banks control the government. Regardless of party we have war, war, and more war (Afghanistan being the latest). The country is bankrupt and debt has enslaved the masses all because private banks control the money supply. The government controls our education system, which has dumbed down the masses so they aren't intelligent enough to know when they are being screwed nor care.
It seems the 4th of July will eventually become a holiday to celebrate what we were...not what we are.
Have a great 4th of July everyone, we USED to be a country that valued life, liberty, and property!
With each passing 4th of July I become more and more depressed.
Take drugs.
Brilliant musical. Great film. Those who've not seen the directors cut are advised to. It's still available, cheap.
That said, it's gonna take a LOT to undo the 8 years of "bush-dom." Especially the bush economic debacle.
"Take drugs"
Or join a union, then someone else can think or act for you.
Voila...no more depression! :)
On the life, liberty and property front that anonymous #1 fretted about it's clear the government is at fault:
-personal tax rates at historic lows (damn government tax cuts)
-traffic fatalities now lowest since 1961 (damn government speed limits and car safety laws!)
-smoking declining consistently since the 1960s(damn Surgeon General Report!)
-non-whites now able to engage in normal lives and vote, unlike in 1960s(damn Civil Rights laws)
-violent crime at historic lows (damn police state!)
-even with economic collape, home ownership at historic highs (whoops, Chinese will be left holding the bag on this one!)
Or join a union, then someone else can think or act for you.
Au contraire, mon ami. To be an engaged union member in this corporatist age is an act of political courage.
I stand in awe of people who stand up for their rights. There are damn few who do.
Now. Not all union members are engaged. But that's a different story.
The Philly exteriors for "1776" were shot a couple of hundred feet from where Warner Bros. Animation stands today -- on the Warners Ranch in Burbank. (In '71-'72 it was the Columbia Ranch.)
Interiors were shot over the hill at the Columbia studios. The director says on the commentary track that the interiors for Independence Hall were built from research and blueprints cribbed from Knotss Berry Farm -- which had just built a replica of Independence Hall in Buena Park, CA.
Exteriors for John Adams' Massachusetts farm were filmed at Disney's Golden Oak ranch in Santa Clarita.
Jack Warner bought the rights to the musical and imported most of the Broadway cast. Howard Da Silva (Franklin), was an unrepentant Lefty who'd been blacklisted in the 1940s, but Republican Warner used him anyway. (It no doubt stuck in Warner's craw, but Da Silva was brilliant, and what the hell was old Jack gonna do?)
The film cost $4 million at the time of its release. As I said, unsuccessful in its time, but now a perennial.
Anonymous said: "-personal tax rates at historic lows (damn government tax cuts)"
Never lived in California I take it, Anonymous?
And since taxes are going sky high across the nation, I'll have to take all your other stats with a grain of salt...
Hugely enjoayble film! A wonderful translation of a great Broadway one-of-a-kind hit.
It's also a treat to look up the DVD clips on Youtube-and read all the comments from kids who only know William Daniels(onetime SAG president) as Mr. Feeney...they all LOVE this film.
I'm talking about contemporary 7th and 8th graders, loving a 1970s musical about the Declaration of Independence!
That gives the bird to such as Pauline Kael, who hated and ridiculed this as just being horribly, epically bad. It's not.
"And since taxes are going sky high across the nation, I'll have to take all your other stats with a grain of salt..."
Mr. "Locke,"
"ARE going?" How do you know? What is this, FOX news? Your guys lost. Your guys screwed things up. The new guys have to fix it, now. If they do something that doesn't work, rest assured they will change up and try something else until it's fixed. They are free to do that because they are not anchored to the obsolete naive ideology that got us into this mess in the first place.
It's time to drop the Conservative election Liberal-Bogie-man talking points, already. Nobody's buying it anymore.
As a woman who:
- votes
- drives
- earned a college degree
- owns property
- chose her career
- chose to marry
- chose her own husband
- uses contraception
- wears comfortable clothes
- speaks freely
...I vastly prefer my options in 2009 to the stifled existence I would have had in 1776. In 2009, I have life, liberty, and a good shot at pursuing happiness.
^_^
I don't think anyone said it was better to live in colonial times. (It is interesting, though that to a great extent, the white Christian male property owners still think they should be in charge, only now it manifests itself as corporatism).
The posting is about the show, "1776," which is a remarkable piece. Because it's full of actual quote and thoroughly researched historical information, it's a far more accurate representation of a moment of history than "Grease" is of the 50's, "Hair" is of the sixties or "Fiddler on the Roof" is of Czarist Russia.
Bush debacle? Sorry, but didn't we have nearly 8 years of prosperity before the Dems took over Congress over 2 years ago and put Barney Frank on the Banking Committee, which failed to oversee Freddie and Fannie (despite the Bush admin trying 11 times to get the Committee to do its job) and THAT'S when things began to go south? Meanwhile, Obama's on the brink of bankrupting this country with HIS policies, not Bush's.
Get a freaking grip. This brainless Obama worship is really getting old - and annoying.
@ My 2 Cents
I was responding to the first Anonymous comment, not the post about the musical.
^_^
Point by point...
-personal tax rates at historic lows (damn government tax cuts)
Umm, you do realize tax rates are low because of conservatives and also there was no such thing as personal income tax until 1913 when we got a progressive into office named Woodrow Wilson. We should have never had an income tax to begin with. Obama will make these tax rates skyrocket by the time he leaves office. He has already started.
-traffic fatalities now lowest since 1961 (damn government speed limits and car safety laws!)
No one disputes we should be a nation of laws. And the whole point of liberty is that no one has the right to harm another person by being reckless. As for car safety, if someone chooses not to wear a safety belt...then they should be able to. It is their choice to live or die. The government doesn't have to protect me from myself.
-smoking declining consistently since the 1960s(damn Surgeon General Report!)
Again, if someone wants to smoke and get lung cancer that is their business. Just don't blow your smoke on me. And don't ask me to hand over my hard earned cash to pay for the health issues you caused yourself by smoking. And you don't think the government knew all along that smoking was dangerous before? Big government and big tobacco were in bed together the whole time. The taxes from this addictive drug have fed the monster, and congress laughed all the way to the bank.
-non-whites now able to engage in normal lives and vote, unlike in 1960s(damn Civil Rights laws)
Wow, so you think government did that? The people demanded it, and the government had no choice. The way it should be. Left up to the government, it would have gone on forever.
-violent crime at historic lows (damn police state!)
Again, no one disputes a nation of laws. This fact is due to becoming "civilized". However, having police and government constantly violating the 4th amendment due to the Patriot Act is not what I would call freedom. If so, would you mind if I come over...bug your phones and put surveillance cameras in your house to make sure you aren't a terrorist? You should have nothing to hide right?
-even with economic collape, home ownership at historic highs (whoops, Chinese will be left holding the bag on this one!)
Haha...this one was funny. You use this as an example of what government can do, but it destroys any point you had. You see, the government pushed these sub prime loans so everyone could have the "American dream", and inadvertently caused a disaster. And you realize we are still at the beginning stages of this collapse? Unemployment just hit 10%. Many more people will lose their homes before this is done.
Just for fun, watch this...your government at work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN31-nKndg8
Dear Anonymous Funster Immediately Above:
Fannie and Freddie had little to do with the systemic crash of the financial system.
I know this is tough to digest, but it doesn't stop it from being true.
But even if it were true, running clips of Democrats defending F and F back in '04 when the GOP controlled EVERY branch of government (and I'm talking White House, Congress, and SCOTUS) undercuts your thesis.
Because, see, the evil Dems were small-time then, powerless to pass anything. That's what "being in the minority" means. You don't have the muscle to make law, even if you want to.
Oookay. Make that: "But even if it WEREN'T true ..." just above.
Otherwise the screed makes no sense.
Hey Steve,
Speaking of big government vs small government, I would be interested to know your opinion about this.
Senator DeMint tried to add an amendment to a bill that would allow the Federal Reserve to be audited by the GOA. He was blocked from doing so, as you can see from this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tRQHsXujpo
What is your take on this? Do you think the Federal Reserve should be audited and accountable to the congress, or be more of a free agent to regulate and centrally plan the economy on its own?
Anonymous said:
"Mr. "Locke,"
"ARE going?" How do you know? What is this, FOX news? Your guys lost. Your guys screwed things up."
Yes Anonymous, taxes are going sky high in California and you ask how do I know? I LIVE HERE. That's how. My new car I just bought last year had it's taxes doubled and I'm going to have to pay more for it used than I did when I drove it off the lot. The sales tax has gone up. The fees have gone up. Every conceivable tax that is on the books is being looked at for an increase by Sacramento. And on top of this the California politicians want to raise them more because they don't feel they've taken enough from our wallets.
And I'm sorry, but did I say anything about Democrats or Republicans? You happen to be the one making this partisan, I didn't mention any party. Go back and look if you know how to read. You clearly didn't understand what I was talking about last time. I think they both parties are lousy, one just happens to be lousier than the other. It appears you have some chip on your shoulder, I do believe.
Stop labeling people as Republicans simply because they don't like paying an ever increasing amount of what they work for to a government that didn't do a damn thing to earn it and hasn't got a record to prove they can do any better with more money than I can by spending it on my family.
I wonder what wonderful things you'll read between the lines on what I said in this one.
Perhaps I mentioned Global Warming is a product of Al Gore's wet dream? Was that in there somewhere. Sheesh.
OK, John Locke. You stop paying taxes.
In exchange, the government stops giving you roads, parks, firefighters, police, prisons, mental institutions, FDIC/NCUA protection, Social Security, unemployment insurance, COBRA, FEMA, FDA, SIPC, and national defense. You can voluntarily stop using the government-provided GPS satellite network by throwing out your GPS.
You'll get to inspect your own food, regulate your own drugs, and restore your own financial health if your bank or brokerage goes bust. You, and you alone, will protect your family from crooks, insane people, fires and natural disaster.
Enjoy your 1776 lifestyle.
... Do you think the Federal Reserve should be audited and accountable to the congress, or be more of a free agent to regulate and centrally plan the economy on its own?
The Federal Reserve is today a creature of the guvmint, the large banks, and Goldman Sachs. (That last is redundant, since GS is a large bank. But GS has more tentacles at the levers of financial power than most of our institutions.)
My preference would be for the guvmint (congress) to have more control of the Federal Reserve.
But my preference would also be for corporations not to be considered "people" by SCOTUS with rights of privacy and speech and the ability to give huge political donations.
Because without those things being reversed, we're going to go right on being a corporatist state, (i.e., most parts of government serving the corporate interest.) And so the "government" having more "oversight" of the Federal Reserve wouldn't necessarily do that much good.
Others, of course, may differ without my outlook. As always, I vote for the candidates that are closest to what I think is good (and I always vote). This doesn't mean I cast my ballot for the "good" candidate, but for the "less bad" one.
That's the way it works in this grand democracy of ours.
"... differ WITH my outlook."
Adding: there was a time I thought congress having more input and oversight of the Federal Reserve would have been a bad idea.
Over the last year, I've changed my mind. Now I think "more input and oversight" would be a good thing. (Not "complete oversight," must "more.")
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