http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/biggrin.gif">

Why haven't you dropped a clue before now?

: )

I love this movie, too. But I love the musical itself. I directed this musical in Naples, Italy, in spring of 1976. My John Adams was performed by a British naval commander! He was brilliant.

For an orchestra, I had the Navy band attached to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Europe. The band was augmented by three violinists, a cellist and something else from a local conservatory.

They were "awesome."

My set was crappy! But the costumes and actors were dazzling. To this day, I like to think of it as "1776" in Concert!

Until reading your -- and other -- comments, I had never encountered beings who felt the same way I do about this show. But, alas, while I recognize ever reference you guys make, they don't spring to mind as readily for me as they do for you.

: )

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/Forum1/HTML/001776.html" TARGET=_blank>This is 1776.

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http://www.geocities.com/Kyle_Beatty/scene.html" TARGET=_blank>How Silver Age Titles are born.

I wonder what's become of that red-headed tombstone...

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http://www.geocities.com/Kyle_Beatty/scene.html" TARGET=_blank>How Silver Age Titles are born.

Ron! The "1776" stage set is a pretty simple one, isn't it? What was wrong with the one that you had to work with?

Jefferson! YOU aren't red-headed? http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/biggrin.gif">

Both stage productions that I saw boasted truly fabulous costumes. I suppose that's one of the hallmarks of this particular show.

That reminds me, I still have to give you a VHS dub of the laser!

aside from "singin in the rain", 1776 was the only musical i could ever sit through and enjoy no matter how many times it ran.

i'd love to play franklin someday. he had some of the best lines in the whole show.
"don't worry, john, the history books'll clean it up..."

wonderful!

Oooooh, how I love to chew scenery!
(Except for yours, Ron... http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/biggrin.gif"> )

"That reminds me, I still have to give you a VHS dub of the laser!"

Eric! I TOLD you that I'd be delighted to PAY you for it!

[This message has been edited by Chris Kinsinger (edited 04 May 2001).]

My own "1776" history began at age 10 when in 1979 I saw the movie the first time on TV. Even in the cut version, it managed to be spread to two parts over two days on the local station. Therein followed my getting the Broadway LP and my puzzlement over why there were songs and verses there that weren't in the movie (was TV just always cutting it down, I thought?). Getting that LP fostered one bit of naievte in me, because since "1776" featured almost its entire Broadway cast right down to supporting roles, it made me take for granted the idea that a movie version of a musical should retain their stage casts. Of course we now know that "1776" is the unique exception when it comes to this.

I have seen three different stage productions over the years. 1988-Paper Mill Playhouse in NJ which suffered from very poor performances in Franklin and Jefferson. 1996-A wonderful northern New Jersey regional production in Morristown, not far from George Washington's Headquarters. 1997-The Broadway revival with Brent Spiner which was fine, though since I saw it performed in the small Roundabout Theater, the less full orchestrations were less appealing.

The discovery of the cut sequences and their inclusion on the LD release was one of the most thrilling experiences for me. After hearing the full versions of the songs from the Broadway cast LP and CD so many times, to finally *see* William Daniels singing the next two verses of "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve" was pure magic. By the time we got to seeing "Cool Considerate Men" for the first time, I was in heaven. That's one expensive laser disc I never felt I was gypped on!

NP: Superman (RSNO rerecording)

If the camera negative for the cut scenes has been found now, that's great to know! That just goes to show that if the right kind of search is undertaken, eventually all this fascinating missing footage for many films has to emerge someday somewhere.

Unless, of course, it's been destroyed! Don't forget that Jack Warner ordered all of the excized footage from 1776 to be destroyed, but thankfully it was saved.

Mr. Caps, I bow to you, good sir!
When I learned that your precious LD was available, I slammed my hundred bucks on the table faster than you can say "Rum!" It's still the best money I ever spent on home vid! That disc set was spun more times than any other in my collection! It was my treasure! Sadly, when both of my LD players broke down, and I spent tons of money trying to have them repaired properly, my love affair with the LD was over. Then DVD arrived, and I reluctantly sold my collection at eBay. I look forward to having this masterpiece once more!

Hey Eric--do you not think that Mr. Hunt knows full well why Ms. Danner and not Ms. Buckley was cast and he was just being diplomatic? Certainly he was far more diplomatic re Jack Warner than any of us has been!

quote:

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Originally posted by Eric Paddon:
let's also not forget how fortunate we should be that at a time when Broadway shows were no longer getting made into movies, "1776" managed to sneak in under that wire. A lot of "1776's" contemporaries in Broadway were not so fortunate with "Promises, Promises" (the best musical from the year before) planned but never made for instance.

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As I recall, 20th Century-Fox bought the film rights to this Burt Bacharach musical. Was it based on "The Apartment" or some other film from the early 60s?

Anyway, it may have been the failure of Bacharach's "Lost Horizon" -- not to mention the success of the totally overhauled "Cabaret" -- that spelled the doom of that film. "Man of La Mancha" going bust as film didn't help, either (although I love Rosethal's treatment of the score!).