Product Details

• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: June 29, 2004
• Run Time: 360 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BITU3E
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,374 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Looking for an overview of the American Revolution akin to Ken Burns's The Civil War? Look no further! Liberty! The American Revolution successfully takes a unique, detailed peek into the 25 years of events that led to the establishment of the United States of America. The British are not painted as rigid "bad guys," nor the colonists as the rebellious "good guys." Instead, it correlates the complicated struggle between Britain and the American colonies to a stern mother and her teenage child longing for independence. Beginning after the French and Indian War (1763), Liberty! kicks off with the issue of taxation, the colonies' revolt, a declaration of independence, war with the British, eventual victory, and the establishment of a country and constitution unlike any in the history of mankind. The men and women involved are portrayed by actors and actresses reciting original documents, letters, and articles from the times. Well-edited, these soliloquies create an interesting feeling of conversation and continuity, almost as though you are getting a firsthand account of the events as they unravel. Though there are good battle descriptions (particularly Gen. Washington crossing the Delaware, Gen. Burgoyne at Saratoga, and Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown), the emphasis of Liberty! is on policy, events leading to war, deteriorating relationships, and ongoing governing challenges rather then actual military strategy. Nonetheless, this documentary is as exciting and interesting as any historical movie you will likely see, and a lot more accurate. --Rob Bracco

Product Description

"Liberty! The American Revolution" is a dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation. The George Foster Peabody award-winning series brings the people, events, and ideas of the revolution to life through dramatic reenactments performed by a distinguished cast.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 88 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Spinnin' yarns from the fabric of truth March 14, 2001

By tropic_of_criticism

Format:VHS Tape

Perhaps better than any other filmed expedition into the Revolutionary past, LIBERTY! explains the WHY of the American uprising. Others have faulted it for being militarily incomplete, but this is its principle strength, in my view. Far too often, history is comprised of the accounts of battles. Here, though, the producers chose to focus on the dream of liberty more than its attainment. To be sure, important battles get their due, but the emphasis here is on a war won more through propaganda and promises than by musket and steel.

The producers are out to tell a story as much as the truth, and so know they have to start at the beginning. Many accounts of the times seem to skip glibly over the predominant happiness with British rule that most colonists felt, but not LIBERTY! Instead, it goes to great lengths to put viewers back in colonial America, so they can understand how improbable it was that the people of the time would've imagined themselves divorced from England. Unlike many accounts, LIBERTY! Is unafraid to take the opposing British viewpoint, and to include British historians. This documentary, indeed, sees the arguments from all sides, and shows just how reluctance turned to resolve. More to the point, it shows both sides as equally hotheaded and responsible for the war.

Indeed, the commitment to explain the conflict in human terms is so prevalent in this work, that actors hired to play various key figures propel the basic storyline as much as the narrator. Best of all, every word these actors speak comes from a documented primary source. Choosing to have the figures themselves partially tell the story adds great personal interest while moving the drama of the larger conflict swiftly along. Particularly noteworthy is the emphasis on the John and Abagail Adams relationship, which was fortunately well documented by their own letter writing. Their correspondence is one of the great diaries of the time, and lends much to an understanding of the decisions made. The great thing about including such a complete primary source in a history is that viewers get a real sense of what it was like to be unsure that the Revolution would succeed, or what shape the new nation would take.

In fact, it is precisely the decision to look at the events as a rocky rebellion rather than a revered revloution which makes LIBERTY! the pre-eminent documentary on the subject.

111 of 120 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good...but lacking July 16, 2007

By Robert Copeland

Format:DVD

This collection was well researched and well made. The actors portraying the major players of the Revolution were very believable. The set is what it is; a great to start scratching your Revolutionary itch. However, it is glaringly lacking in some areas. For one, the complete brushing over of the entire Philadelphia Campaign. The only battle that even received mention was Brandywine. The rest of the action around Philadelphia went unmentioned, including the infamous winter at Valley Forge. The war in the South could have been more thoroughly addressed, also. Much like the History Channels "American Revolution" these video collections are entertaining and provide some fillers and portraits of human interest but the true Revolutionary enthusiast will come away disappointed. Keep your noses in the books for indepth treatment of this time period.

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The best I could find February 7, 2009

By Richard C. Burrows

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having spent a good deal of time watching the various DVDs telling the story of the American Revolution, I was definitely most excited by this one. Not everything gets in there, but that's also what helps it to move right along in an intriguing, coherent way that keeps at a high level my interest, excitement and appreciation of what the founders accomplished. I want this DVD set to have in order to loan it far and wide, as I believe there is no longer sufficient awareness of the greatness of what happened in "our revolution."
It's true that "The History Channel Presents the Revolution" is more complete; but it also gets cumbersome--even confusing--in places, AND it completely leaves out the (to me) highly significant role that Thomas Paine played in moving the common man toward supporting the revolution. (I understand how some of his later writings irked the "fundamental religionists"--his religious ideas being much closer to those of Thomas Jefferson than those of the typical colonialist; but I also wonder if it's not current-day fundamentalist views that have kept Paine out of such historical portrayals and out of the praise due him as one of our crucial Founding Fathers.)
The DVD "Founding Fathers" is a good supplement; but it's "Liberty" that really captures my enthusiasm. Let me urge you to buy it to watch and loan on every 4th of July -- as an act of Patriotism !!