The Adams Chronicles (1976/Acorn Media DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C- Episodes: B
Taking
advantage of the release of the cable John
Adams with Paul Giamatti in the title role, the ambitious 1976 Mini-Series The Adams Chronicles splits the role of
John Quincy Adams between David Birney in early adulthood and William Daniels
for the rest of his years. John Adams is
played by George Grizzard. A PBS production,
it offer 13 hour-long shows and is among the most ambitious productions of its time. It holds up very well, especially thanks to
the writing and dialogue in particular.
Each show
has a different director and writer credit, though we suspect there were
meetings and coordination, none of which is here in any supplement. Too bad no commentary tracks were made. We first meet Adams trying to become a
lawyer, meeting a prestigious lawyer (John Houseman) who gives him his first
break. For there, the rest is history
and the series covers four generations of the man, his family, his personal
life and his influence. Best of all, it
is always interesting and is uneven at worst.
I did not
recognize most of the actors, though you may notice Wesley Addy, Richard Cox,
Jeffrey Jones, Christopher Lloyd, Nicholas Pryor, Michael Tolan, Charles Siebert,
Nancy Marchand and Katharine Houghton may seem familiar. There is a certain pride here in the history,
story and at a time in American history in 1976 that was timely in matching the
original American Revolution. It is an
energy that informs everything all the way to the acting and now that history
is repeating itself in the worst ways as this set arrives, should spark a while
new interest in it.
The 1.33
X 1 image was shot on analog NTSC color videotape and shows its age in
softness, even with the styled look and detail is a problem throughout. However, it is consistent and has its own
atmosphere and density, something missing from most High Definition
shoots. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono also
shows its age, here a bit quieter than it should be. I wonder if some more cleaning up of the
original/remaining audio sources would yield improvements, but it is
passable. The only extra is a booklet
included inside the case, with historical information, a family tree and on
high quality paper. Acorn knows how to
do these things right.
- Nicholas Sheffo
