Having just returned from Philadelphia a week ago and and seeing a lot of sites from our Nations history, I was filled in amazement how much I thought I knew that I really didn't.
The whole time I kept remembering this movie and the miscast of Al Pacino as the main character. It's not that Al couldn't pull it off, it's just there weren't many Italians fighting the war for our independence!
Still, Being a huge fan of Hugh Hudson, I can't help to think that this movie had some accuracy-It didn't.
And that is the biggest fault of the production. Using the English country side for filming was not proper. For one, the hills of Pennsylvania are as green as any. These landscapes in the film look to be from the deepest barren parts of North Yorkshire near the moors. And if you haven't been on the moors, you have to try and visualize a cold and damp barren but very fertile land where the elements have won over the years and no man cares to farm or live.
There is another very gross error and that is concerning Valley Forge. In the movie we are treated with a portrayal of the Battle of Valley Forge, only in real life, there was NO battle! Valley Forge was an encampment where at the beginning of our fight for independence we camped and trained our soldiers during a very cold and dreary winter. There was little food, (Which in the movie, it shows several scenes as if the were doing OK) very little room for one to shelter themselves away from the cold and other elements (Al Pacino and his characters son. "Ned" had their own cozzy little bungalow which was ripe for a Al and Natasha love scene which never got to happen)And very long and hard hours of training. (We didn't get to see Al getting his feet dirty in that department did we?)
In the end, give Hudson a big thumbs up for cinematography, but he should have nailed that anyway, he's great at it. So why then wasn't a little more time spent on coming up with a better screenplay?
It is probably better left said forgotten like this movie has become since it was released in 1985.
The whole time I kept remembering this movie and the miscast of Al Pacino as the main character. It's not that Al couldn't pull it off, it's just there weren't many Italians fighting the war for our independence!
Still, Being a huge fan of Hugh Hudson, I can't help to think that this movie had some accuracy-It didn't.
And that is the biggest fault of the production. Using the English country side for filming was not proper. For one, the hills of Pennsylvania are as green as any. These landscapes in the film look to be from the deepest barren parts of North Yorkshire near the moors. And if you haven't been on the moors, you have to try and visualize a cold and damp barren but very fertile land where the elements have won over the years and no man cares to farm or live.
There is another very gross error and that is concerning Valley Forge. In the movie we are treated with a portrayal of the Battle of Valley Forge, only in real life, there was NO battle! Valley Forge was an encampment where at the beginning of our fight for independence we camped and trained our soldiers during a very cold and dreary winter. There was little food, (Which in the movie, it shows several scenes as if the were doing OK) very little room for one to shelter themselves away from the cold and other elements (Al Pacino and his characters son. "Ned" had their own cozzy little bungalow which was ripe for a Al and Natasha love scene which never got to happen)And very long and hard hours of training. (We didn't get to see Al getting his feet dirty in that department did we?)
In the end, give Hudson a big thumbs up for cinematography, but he should have nailed that anyway, he's great at it. So why then wasn't a little more time spent on coming up with a better screenplay?
It is probably better left said forgotten like this movie has become since it was released in 1985.