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John Adams (TV Miniseries)

HBO Classics

John Adams

2008

Tom Hooper

Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Sarah Polley, David Morse ...

7.4

3,686

TV Series. Drama 7 Episodes. Based on David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, 'John Adams' taps into the uncertainty and intensity surrounding the birth of the American republic and its first 50 years. With the fervent support of his wife Abigail (Linney), and through a lifelong political rivalry and friendship with Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), Adams rose to be the leader of the American independence movement, the nation's first ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Alessandra Stanley The New York Times	"'John Adams' is certainly worthy and beautifully made, and it has many masterly touches at the edges, especially Laura Linney as Abigail. But Paul Giamatti is the wrong choice for the hero."	NEU
United Kingdom	Nicole Jackson The Guardian	"Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney are magnificent (...) Hooper's series skilfully combines a lesson in history with great storytelling – and fabulous wigs."	POS
United States	Jill Lepore The New Yorker	"There is much that is wonderful in 'John Adams' (...) Giamatti and Linney brilliantly portray the tenderness, loneliness, and passionate understanding that marked John and Abigail’s half century of marriage."	POS
United States	Tim Goodman SFGATE	"The casting is, on some level, a grave mistake for 'John Adams' (...) So is it Giamatti or Adams himself who will make viewers wish for a swifter and less pedantic version on the History Channel?"	NEG
United Kingdom	Tom Leonard Telegraph	"'John Adams' was politically refreshing (...) [It] kept returning to the facts by emphasising that the war started as a battle for rights rather than independence."	POS
United States	Robert Bianco USA Today	"Giamatti, An odd and seemingly uncomfortable casting choice (...) That magic moment where an actor and character merge simply never happens (...) Luckily, there are compensating virtues (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	David Hinckley New York Daily News	"A triumph (...) Adams' story blows away anything the best TV writer could create (...) It looks fine, and it feels right"	POS
United States	Ken Tucker Entertainment Weekly	"Who says TV doesn’t make history thought-provokingly exciting?"	POS
United States	Troy Patterson Slate	"[Admire] the series' literary pedigree (...) its classy stars (...) its stately art direction and rich costumes (...) Congratulations, HBO, on your great success"	POS

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