Most likely, it’s an indictment on the historical illiteracy and apathy of the moviegoing public, but Hollywood has made very few movies set in the American Revolution, otherwise known as the US War for Independence. And the ones that have been made have either lacked in historical accuracy, cinematic quality, or both. Here are the three most noteworthy efforts:
The Patriot
In terms of scale and cinematic eye candy, you can’t beat Mel Gibson’s 2000 hit, The Patriot. There was a mesmerizing quality to the film. It was sweeping and captivating, so much that it almost made you miss or overlook the flaws. Yes, there were some serious flaws.
First, the film waves the flag of patriotism without ever giving it any real depth or meaning. It seems that Hollywood just isn’t able to really grasp America’s founding principles. When we’re taken through some of the debates on why the war was being fought, the movie just serves up some cliches about self-government and taxation without representation. Not much of a “Glorious Cause” (George Washington’s words).
The second major flaw stems from the film’s effort to compensate for the preceding one. Since it can’t grasp the cause of the Revolutionary War, it decides to make one — British barbarity. The film treats viewers to the spectacle of British soldiers shooting unarmed Continental prisoners and burning a church down full of women and children. Now, there were atrocities in the American Revolution, and in the film commentaries, even the makers admit the atrocities were on both sides. But The Patriot shows the British committing the worst of them, with the fictionalized Colonel Tavington being the main culprit. Tavington is loosely based on real British Bad Boy Banastre Tarleton. Tarleton was bad. No doubt about that – but burning churches with people inside???? I think not.
Still, for all its flaws, The Patriot is worth your time. And, frankly, it’s the best big-screen film on the Revolution that Hollywood has ever made. (Of course, that’s not saying much, since it’s one of the only ones).
The Crossing – A&E; Television
Not bad for television. The film stars Jeff Daniels (Gettysburg, Dumb and Dumber) as 44-year old George Washington, who is determined to stop running and save the American Revolution. The film chronicles Washington’s desperate and audacious decision in December 1776 to cross the icy Delaware River and attack the fearsome Hessian mercenaries in Trenton. For Washington, failure was not an option. And, thanks in large part to his brilliant strategy and legendary determination, failure didn’t happen.
The movie suffered from a made-for-TV limited budget and, while it accurately captured the desperate situation that Washington’s army was in that cold December of 1776, it failed to garner any inspiration in the American cause for which Washington and the Continentals fought. A truly exciting story must get the audience rooting for and connecting with the characters. This didn’t seem to be the aim of Howard Fast, whose novel the movie is based on. Instead, we get treated to a morally ambiguous cause of “no taxation” dipped into the depression of a long, protracted war in which the “good guys” (if Fast stoops to call the Continentals that) have to engage in very non-good guy like behavior.
The movie also commits a few historical errors. It gives Washington the mouth of a sailor. While I’m sure profanity escaped his mouth occasionally, the man was legendary for his self-discipline and controlled temper. And he expressly forbade cursing in the ranks. This does not come through in The Crossing. The movie also has Alexander Hamilton serving as his aide during the ordeal. Hamilton was, in fact, still an artillery officer and had not yet come to Washington’s notice.
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor – A&E; Television
If you can get past Kelsey Grammer (Frazier) as George Washington, this is a pretty good film. Aidan Quinn (TV’s short-lived The Book of Daniel) plays the anguished American hero turned traitor. Quinn is convincing in his portrait of Arnold, and the movie gives the viewer a good idea of how and why the treason occurred.
The Americans had no greater hero than Benedict Arnold, save for George Washington himself, in the early years of the war. Arnold was the soldier’s general, proving his mettle and bravery time and again in Canada, the Northwest, and in New York. It was Arnold that was most responsible for the American victory at Saratoga. But Arnold faced enormous criticism and made some bitter enemies. And he married a woman with known loyalties to the other side. In fact, the movie makes much of this – forming kind of a love triangle between Arnold, Peggy Shippen, and John Andre’ (the co-conspirator and Shippen’s boyfriend before Arnold came along).
Grammer does a decent job portraying Washington. It’s not really his fault, but I had to discipline myself not to see him as Frazier at a Halloween costume party. Grammer is so “Frazier” that it’s hard to believe him as the Father of our Country.
The Rest of the Bunch
The Battle of Bunker Hill (1911)
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
The Howards of Virginia (1940)
1776 (1982), which is based on the musical of the same name
Johnny Tremain (1957)
John Paul Jones (1959)
Valley Forge (1975) — TV
Revolution (1985)
April Morning (1988) — TV
If you know of any others, feel free to let us know in the discussion forum.
