John Adams Details

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A masterpiece. . .

Drama at its absolute best, be it television or cinema, and one of the finest achievements in any medium to emerge from the USA or anywhere else.

A story about people -- yes, it's American history, but fer Gawd's sake, does that mean its appeal is restricted? Of course not -- and their lives and times, 'John Adams' sticks closely to the Pulitzer Prize winning book and is all the better for its faithfulness and intelligence.

It's impossible to over-praise screenwriter Kirk Ellis or the director (or the DoP: fantastic stuff here) whilst words fail where the lead performances are concerned: Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney are outstanding, a screen duo of mesmeric quality.

What's especially wonderful about 'John Adams' is its remorseless, relentless and unfailing hook: you have to know what happened, as episode by episode it builds with a flawless momentum.

Like the book, it eschews fiction in preference for fact, and if the ending seems just too dramatic, think again: this is exactly how an era came to an end.

Moving, magnificent, and astonishing in its range and detail, 'John Adams' is a 110% masterpiece, unmissable for anyone who values cinematic drama (and make no mistake, this is cinema: it's just that its 9-hour running time would never have allowed a theatrical release) and writing, acting, direction, and music score of the absolute highest quality.

Excellent

For anyone with an interest in learning more about American history (and I am a novice, married to an American, so needed to get up to speed) this is fantastic, although a little long winded at times