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| Actors: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney
Studio: HBO
Category: DVD
List Price: $59.99
Buy New: $32.99
You Save: $27.00 (45%)
New (42) Used (15) Collectible (1) from $32.99
Rating:  380 reviews
Sales Rank: 10
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number Of Discs: 3
Running Time: 501 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.8 x 1
MPN: 1000038820
UPC: 883929020065
EAN: 0883929020065
ASIN: B000WGWQG8
Theatrical Release Date: March 16, 2008
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED Buy with Confidence Our items are fully guaranteed
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 311-315 of 380
 Exquisite look at a founding father. June 14, 2008
Joy (Burbank, CA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I had the good fortune to view John Adams the HBO miniseries as it played on HBO. As an elementary school teacher and a long time lover of the story of our nation's birth, I have seen and read a number of fictionalized accounts of our 2nd President. My favorite has always been the musical 1776 but this treatment may very well have surpassed even that. It is so rich and many-layered. It shows the grit and the difficulty of life for our founding fathers and mothers. It portrays characters we often think of as larger-than-life heroes as real, flawed men.
Paul Giamatti is John Adams. He is the idealistic, bullish young man who defends a group of British soldiers because it is the right thing to do. He is the husband and lover of Abigail (played enchantingly by Laura Linney). He is the father, the statesman, the revolutionary, the world traveller, the dissilusioned Vice President and the hopeful but ultimately somewhat ineffective President. He portrays all the facets of John Adams so that I forgot I was watching Paul Giamatti and saw only John Adams.
This is a carefully, lovingly crafted piece of filmmaking. See it!
Absolutely one of my all-time favorite movies June 13, 2008
Norma P. Williams (Virginia)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
After watching the movie on HBO I had to purchase the book. I couldn't wait until John Adams came out on DVD. One of my favorite things about the movie is the music, so I was thrilled that the soundtrack was made available as well. I highly recommend this series. Paul Giamatti deserves an award for his portrayal of John Adams; I was really impressed with him!
HOLY COW JON ADDAMS@!!!!!!!!!! June 13, 2008
J. Royall (Dallas TX)
1 out of 14 found this review helpful
This the story on DVD of Jomn Addams who was the presadint and was the most powerfull man in the WORLD and fought in the sivel wars and beat the Brittish (or Red Cotes for you history bufs) and was a lawyer and travel to france and but didn't speak french but was friends with Tomas Jefferson who invented electristy. This is a powerfull story and movie which was acted very powerful by Paul Gimmuati who plays Jon Addams. Even though Paul doesn't play lots of diferent roles in the movie like the GREAT EDIE MURFEY does in him movies, Paul instead focus his energy on only one role, and does it good!
Lauren Linnenny plays the great Mrs Jon Addams and think she's all smart and try to keep up with her husband but history and science show that a woman back in the olden times wasn't as smart as a MAN face facts it's a fact don't blame me I didn't make it up don't shoot the messger it's just science anyway Mrs. Jon Addams is in the movie allot which take time away from important movie plots like the sivel war and the signing of the Declaratun on Indepencense and the boston mascara. There was some cool senes where they was at war and it started to get like Band from Brothers there for a minute but they never really showed much warring which is a GYP and a RIPOFF come on dawg you know they were fightin a war why not show it more for pete sakes its the sivel WAR you know there was more fights than ONE histry PROVE that in histry books if the writer ever pick up a histry book he would know that.
Then Jon Addams goes to France where they all wear makeup (even the DUDES, dude!) and he hated it in Frace because he was a true american not like that TRATOR Tomas Jeferson who sleep with slaves and was a trator!!! But they still are good friends anyway even tho one of them is a presidint and one of them is a terrist go figure it was before Sept 11 so who knew!!!!
I recomend this movie for you to watch and give it FIVE STARS even though it is a ripoff and there is not enough war and guns and esplosions and olden times cannons. It's LONG though so be prepare to watch this for allmost THREE HOURS because there were three epsodes. If you like history and don't get offended by the past which ain't allways PC then this the movie show for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Masterpiece too close to the heart June 12, 2008
Siskoray
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am sad to say that I have not read the book and currently unable to due to personal reasons, but would one day love to enjoy that privilege as David McCullough is by far this Century's most influential, important, and provocative historians in my opinion and it is also in my opinion that anything with his pen should become required reading at least in our public schools possibly replacing some of the tired and repetitive history books of today if not within our colleges and universities.
That being said, this masterpiece within a mini-series is simply magnificent. The actors that were chosen for this are incredible and reflect the true spirit of the great heroes upon whose shoulder we stand upon today.
Much of what is salvaged and known about John Adams comes from the many correspondences between him and his wife Abigail, played by Laura Linney, who is revealed as his most important and revered confidant and the only person in the entire world who truly knew him and could give him his much needed courage and confidence in the daily face of tyranny, corruption, and deception most of which came from people who called themselves his friends and allies.
[NEXT PARAGRAPH MAY CONTAIN POSSIBLE SPOILERS]
Both Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney express convincingly the love that John and Abigail Adams had for each other and the true nature of which John had truly needed from his wife in order to face his trials. While Abigail indeed offered her gentle and loving embrace to an often fragile and uncertain man, her honesty despite the cost of his pride often saved John from many near fatal mistakes from which had he proceeded without her counsel would not have been able to return from. Thus making it very clear that whether near of far, this important bond despite at times separated by thousands of miles of oceans, was in many ways responsible for keeping our fledgling country together.
And John Adams himself as revealed by David McCullough made me identify with a common everyday man who gets dropped into the middle of something that ends up at times to be much bigger than he is, or at least, bigger that he is ready for. There were so many times that I had to simply stop the Tivo and wait a day to watch it again, that's how well the character was played that I truly identified with this man and the trials he faced, especially when he had to face them alone.
Personally, I believe this story as portrayed is one of the best American stories every delivered. I say this only because I personally believe, from what I took away, that it is truly a story about America and what it means to be an American. Simply it defines loyalty, not to any government or person, but to an ideal, to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
 A personal profile and history, without overall coherence and drama June 11, 2008
Kenneth D. Gartrell (Boston, MA USA)
15 out of 70 found this review helpful
This is an over-hyped series. It tells the personal stories of John and Abigail Adams very well and in considerable detail. However, overall the series does not live up the promotions as an action-packed, tension-filled drama of the birth of the nation and the first years of the Republic.
A true virtue of the series is that it is not chocked full of vulgar language. So, it is possible for HBO to do work that is not excessively pandering to the lowest common denominator. Still the presentation lacks coherence from one segment to the other and from one episode to the other. It may be good personal history but it is not good entertainment.
The central problem with this series is that it covers far too much time using far to little film for far too much personal detail. It is devoid of overall theme, flow and action. In fact, if you have seen the 30 second ad for the series on MSNBC, you have seen all the action in the entire series.
The cinema, sets and costumes are worthy. The actors work well in their roles but the whole story line is disjointed and often creates hardly more than a series of moments of pregnant silence. I guess that makes it authentic in portraying the New England character, but that should not take ten hours or so to communicate. Besides, all we need is Thornton Wilder for that dark task.
A careful psychological study of the Adam's family life could be forgiven if the big ideas of the times were more in play. We get a glimpse, but only a fleeting glimpse, of some of the most dramatic events of Western History. This is a screenplay for the head, but not for the spirit. It conveys the idea of a rather common man thrust into a series of rather uncommon roles. I assume this director is dramatically inspired by Stanley and Blanche, but not by Paine and Rousseau.
Unless you hang on every word written about the private lives of the founding fathers, spend your time more wisely if you are looking for an overall sense of the American Revolution. You will not find the fire in the belly and the smoke in the air. You will get a rather gloomy feeling of an age dark with self doubt, but you will not be inspired by the visions of independence and rebellion.
The depictions of the creation of the Declaration of Independence, for example, would have you believe that Thomas Jefferson was insecure and that the rest of the delegates had little to contribute. You are to believe the sagacious Franklin and the venerable Adams rescued the self-doubting Hamlet-like Jefferson from the pettiness and venality of all the others.
As a glorification of John Adams and his personal prejudices the series works. Yet it does little justice to Hamilton and others, while failing as a depiction of the genius of the age and the flowering of the Enlightenment.
The production sacrifices the whole story for the episodic details of the person of John Adams. That is certainly a permissible topic, just not wholly accurate as to the big picture, and not entertaining in the way the promotion leads one to believe it will be.
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