The Crossing

Good performances, relatively accurate.

It is very difficult to translate history to modern audiences. People of the past do not speak the same cultural language as modern Americans, or, to be more precise, modern Americans have difficulty understanding the motivations of their countrymen of 50, or 100, or 200 years ago."The Crossing" is an excellent film. I mean that it excels in many respects, but not all. When I first heard that Jeff Daniels, of "Dumb and Dumber" infamy, was to play Washington, I slapped my forehead and groaned for history. Hollywood, once again, I thought, would fabricate history--replete with [standard] characters, stooges, faithful sidekicks and villainous bad guys (ala "The Patriot")--rather than make an honest attempt at what we know as the facts.I was wrong. Howard Fast wrote the novel and the screenplay. He is the same fellow who gave us "April Morning" and "Citizen Tom Paine", among other fiction classics of America's early Revolutionary history. Fast became a socialist, but always revered the spirit and determination of the Founders, which, perhaps, is why he became a socialist. I do not agree with his later political leanings, but I share his respect for the revolutionaries who made America and know we would share a hatred of the tyranny they opposed.Is this film flawed? It certainly is to the extent noted [....] The screenplay is not accurate in many particulars (Fast was not fastidious in this regard). However, it captures as few films have the spirit of the Revolution, the desperation of the times and the greatness of Washington. Daniels did a superb job, with the strong script, of showing why Washington was the leader he was.This is an entertaining and informative film for adults, but I think its chief value is as an excellent introduction to America's first hero and the long odds against which the people who made America labored. Their success was a miracle.If you are looking for a good film to excite your kids about America and her beginnings, pull out a map, show them the Delaware River and "Washington's Crossing" just north of Philadelphia and watch "The Crossing" with them.

Jeff Daniels had brought to life previously a great figure in American history by his masterful job as Joshua Chamberlain in 'Gettysburg'. In 'The Crossing' he takes on a even larger icon from the American past and pretty much knocks it out of the park. George Washington has always been one of my favorite historical characters, I think pretty highly of him. I think that he and his men were the glue that held the American Revolution together. Washington could have been a dictator but wasn't. His character and devotion to country are the stuff legends are made of.'The Crossing' finds Washington at a critical time when he is at low ebb after the humbling defeats around New York. The war effort is portrayed in a very unromantic life. This was a war that America lost more battles than it won. But Washington at Christmas 1776 had a ace up his sleeve and the rest as they say is history. Daniels dazzles as Washington and portrays him as a very human character and shows his great temper that Washington usually kept under wraps. His dry humor is also a nice touch. I also like the bringing to life of the nearly forgotten John Glover ,by Sebastian Roché, and the true bravery of his men and what they sacrificed for the cause without their efforts little would have been possible. Roger Rees also does a nice job as Washington's friend Hugh Mercer. Mercer was one of the ancestors of George S. Patton of World War II fame, for a little trivia.The film captures the cold of winter well and is a DVD to watch in December-January when the leaves have fallen off the trees and you have a warm crackling fire inside. This film captures that tough winter well and the spirit of the men who remained and the great leader who led them in one great roll of the dice. I wish more films were made about our Revolution.The DVD has good picture and sound plus an interesting little 'making of' the film as an extra.Highly recommended!

In the "making of" featurette on this DVD, actor Jeff Daniels observed that a lot of us don't really know very much about the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, that's probably true, and it's a shame. This film is, in addition to being a strong film in its own right, a good entry point for learning more about American history. A lot of us probably don't realize how close to complete failure the American Revolution came. This film expertly captures the sense of desperation felt by General Washington and the Continental Army at a time in which they had not yet won a single battle, and depicts a particular moment in which, arguably, the entire course of human history shifted.Perhaps the film's greatest strength is the performance by Jeff Daniels as George Washington. To most of us, our first President is a larger-than-life character, and we know little of the human being. Daniels' performance in this film somehow manages to show us Washington's human side without losing the sense of grandeur behind his almost mythological status. The remainder of the cast, while not the primary focus of the film, similarly turned in excellent performances that make this film a pleasure to watch.Of course, this was a TV movie and not a major Hollywood production, so the production value and special effects were somewhat limited. That having been said, I was impressed by how good the production did look on the whole.While I encourage watching this film as a way to start thinking about American history, it's worth noting that, though it's true to history overall, the filmmakers did take a number of dramatic licenses. While I think these are forgivable on the whole in order to aid modern viewers' understanding of historic events within a short couple of hours, history buffs may occasionally be disappointed.Overall, I highly recommend this film. It's a good way to spend a couple hours of your time and hopefully it will give you reason to reflect on our history.

Great movie !

Jeff Daniels was excellent in the lead role

Der Film beschäftigt sich mit Washingtons berühmten Übergang über den Delaware und der anschließenden Schlacht bei Trenton gegen die Hessen, am 26. Dezember 1776.Leider ist dieser Film mit soviel Pathos versehen, dass er dadurch teilweise sehr anstrengend wird.Viele hitzige Wortgefechte, viele Überzeugungsreden in denen es um den Kampf für die gerechte Sache geht...aber viel mehr ist es auch nicht.Die kampfhandlungen selbst sind sehr simpel dargestellt und der gefürchtete Gegner wirkt total schwach und machtlos.Der Film ist weitgehend auf englisch und für einen Nichtdeutschen wirken die deutschen Befehle und Dialoge der "Hessen" sicherlich überzeugend. Wenn man allerdings der deutschen Sprache mächtig ist, dann sind diese Kommandos, Befehle und Dialoge doch sehr anstrengend...und oftmals in ihrem Inhalt sinnlos.

I was in the movie as an xtra. Hassin soldier. Watching how they filmed this with its effects was awesome. So bought 2 dvds as a keep sake . Howard

Wrong DVD format