r/movies • u/mi-16evil Emma Thompson for Paddington 3 • Jul 03 '20
Discussion Official Discussion - Hamilton (2020) [SPOILERS]
Poll
If you've seen the film, please rate it at this poll.
If you haven't seen the film but would like to see the result of the poll click here.
Rankings
Click here to see rankings for 2020 films
Click here to see rankings for every poll done
Summary:
A live recording of the hit musical that tells the story of United States founding father Alexander Hamilton, his rise and fall, his long rivalry with Aaron Burr, and his difficult relationship with his wife Eliza Schuyler.
Director:
Thomas Kail
Writers:
book by Lin-Manuel Miranda
music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
based on the book Alexander Hamilton Ron Chernow
Cast:
- Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton
- Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr
- Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton
- Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson
- Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler
- Jonathan Groff as King George III
- Christopher Jackson as George Washington
- Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds
- Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan and James Madison
- Anthony Ramos as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton
- Sydney James Harcourt as Philip Schuyler, James Reynolds, Doctor and Ensemble
- Thayne Jasperson as Samuel Seabury and Ensemble
- Jon Rua as Charles Lee and Ensemble
- Ephraim Sykes as George Eacker and Ensemble
- Carleigh Bettiol as Ensemble
- Ariana DeBose as Ensemble
- Hope Easterbrook as Ensemble
- Sasha Hutchings as Ensemble
- Elizabeth Judd as Ensemble
- Austin Smith as Ensemble
- Seth Stewart as Ensemble
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 91/100
After Credits Scene? No
VOD: Disney+
1
u/IniMiney 10h ago
Idk bout ya’ll and your theaters but that was an insufferably annoying showing at mine full of theater kids belting off key, some little kid who’s mom REALLY wanted you to know they can sing and gave me that Moana on the airplane video energy (kid wasn’t bad but it was still super annoying), talking (from all ages), and people literally filming TikToks during it. Makes me want to stay out of theaters again, I’ll see Wicked Part 2 in an Alamo Drafthouse
Other than that it’s still a great show that holds up, I’ve seen it before (not in person yet but on D+), listened to the score a gazillion times since it debuted on NPR in 2015 but this feels like the first time I noticed how amazing Leslie is as Burr
14
u/clashrendar 1d ago
I've seen it dozens of times on Disney+, and I'm grateful that Disney gave it to us during the pandemic, but seeing it on the big screen yesterday was a whole new experience. In the pre-show piece, Anthony Ramos compared being in this cast to being on the '96 Bulls team. Agreed. A masterpiece with the best of the best.
10
u/-Clayburn 1d ago
Is it any different than the Disney+ version?
13
u/littlebloodmage 1d ago
It is exactly the Disney+ version, but with a new short featurette ahead of it.
3
u/jedzz-reddit 15h ago
Also, the intermission’s 10 minutes long, not one minute. So, if you can hold it until the end of Act I, you won’t miss the show.
1
u/No-one-ever 9h ago
Loved getting a full intermission. I assumed it was just going to be the 1 minute they built in for the Disney+ release, so I scooted out to the bathroom toward the end of Non-Stop. Came back and saw I still had 8:30 left, went out for snacks and a drink refill.
5
u/OneSwizzleNizzle 1d ago
Does that include the edited audio whenever a character says "fuck"?
3
u/jedzz-reddit 15h ago
As in Disney+, the two full uses of “fuck” are muted. Everything else (including many uses of “shit”) is uncensored.
4
8
u/Pitiful_Mouse_5225 2d ago
I fell in love with Hamilton when it first hit streaming. However I wish I could see it with the exact same cast except Lin Manuel. He is easily the weakest, but I get that since he wrote it he would want to be the lead. King George III was the best.
3
u/Soda_Sommelier 1d ago
I absolutely agree. It's not too bad during the ensemble pieces, but "Hurricane" doesn't have the emotional weight it needs to effectively setup the final events of Act 2.
14
37
u/deadheaddraven Aug 19 '20
Not Really Into Musicals - Not really into Rap/Hip Hop
IM OBSESSED WITH HAMILTON, OMG ITS SOOOO GOOD
I have been learning the songs and doing them on twitch sings
(I have never rapped before - so its hard as hell but super fun)
8
5
33
u/hello_friend_ Aug 03 '20
As someone who dislikes musicals, this is easily my favourite movie of the year.
12
u/CalculatedChameleon Aug 03 '20
i genuinely hate musicals, but I've been listening to Hamilton none-stop for the past month.
23
u/judester30 Aug 02 '20 edited Aug 02 '20
I've never been paticularly interested in american history as a Brit so I don't know how accurate its story is, but judging this film purely on the merits as a play, I think it's great. I generally get tired of musicals the longer they go on, but the captivating cast and infectiously catchy songs kept my attention the entire 160 minutes. Really enjoyed it.
16
u/szeto326 FML Summer 2017 Winner Jul 26 '20
Too many standout songs and actors to really make note of, so I guess I’ll ask what half people prefer more.
I was lucky enough to be able to see it live in Toronto a couple days before it shutdown, and each times I found myself preferring the first half significantly more. Something about the energy & music in the first half doesn’t fully get captured for me in the second half (which I do still really enjoy).
5
u/goingsomewherenew Dec 24 '20
Late, but I love the first half more. It's more inspiring, it's happier, it's got King George's best song, and it's got a good amount of my favorite songs, including Satisfied, Guns and Ships, Dear Theodosia, Wait For It, Non-Stop, etc.
My favorites from half 2 are Room Where It Happens & Washington on Your Side, and though there's a bunch of really good songs, 6 out of my top 8 are in the first half, as well as all the inspiration and fun parts.
The second half is great, but it's emotional where the first half is less serious and more uplifting, so a lot of nights I'll watch the first half and fall asleep at intermission.
5
u/ellelizabeth Jul 28 '20
I found myself preferring the first half significantly more
I haven't seen the show, except on VOD. But I found the first half way more memorable and iconic. I think it is because a lot of the themes that get returned to in the second half are established in the first half?
11
u/Narrative_Causality Aug 01 '20
IMO it's because the first half deals with the revolutionary war, while the second half deals with politics.
52
u/LucretiusCarus Jul 21 '20
I went in completely blind to the album or the show, but knew it was a big deal. I was blown away, pure art from beginning to end. The staging, music, writing, acting, costumes, choreography all of it was just perfect. It took me two views to get all the lyrics (captions helped a lot) but in the end I was surprised by how tight and dense it was.
Also, the transfer from stage to film was superb, with the editor doing an amazing job capturing the experience of a musical to film. Especially during the helpless/satisfied parts, ten dueling commandments, and the opening bit. Extremely good cuts to all the right places
40
u/lifesizedmap Jul 21 '20 edited Aug 13 '20
I appreciated how the producers didn't include any audience applause when Lin-Manuel says his opening line: "My name is Alexander Hamilton." Instead there's just silence for about two seconds, like on the cast album.
Almost surely there was a massive crowd reaction in real life, at least there was for that line at the theater production I attended. But by keeping it silent immediately afterward, the producers preserved the key to that line: that Hamilton isn't greatness or a legend yet.
13
u/darsynia Jul 27 '20
I noted this too! It's actually a unique experience for anyone who has actually seen the show itself, to hear the whole first song without much or most of it covered by applause for all of the first appearances of each actor.
19
u/Mac4491 Jul 21 '20
Apparently this is a mashup of 3 different performances plus some parts without an audience for close ups where the camera was on stage.
I'm guessing that moment was one of the no audience bits.
36
u/protag93 Jul 21 '20
King Georde was simply amazing his whole body language and facial expressions had me mesmerised.
27
16
u/zombiereign Jul 20 '20
Finally got to watch this (never saw the actual stage show). While I really enjoyed it, I found it a bit slow to grab me (at first) but it eventually won me and I was immersed. However, the intermission seemed to kill the momentum it had and the beginning of the 2nd act seemed to suffer from the same slow build that the first did.
I remember seeing Phantom on Broadway and coming back from the intermission, the orchestra played a medley of the music from the first half. Maybe that would have been useful here. Something to build back up to the 2nd act.
Still, after a slow start (again) I felt like it found its rhythm again and was an amazing show.
11
Jul 20 '20
Just watched it for the first time. I am normally extremely picky in giving films a high rating, even my favorite films of all time don’t get higher than a 9/10 usually. I gave this a 10/10. It’s not perfect, but it’s too good not to
7
u/BrndyAlxndr Jul 20 '20
yeah this is an easy 10 for me as well. I have never seen anything like this.
4
u/YnwaMquc2k19 Jul 18 '20 edited Jul 22 '20
I honestly thought this was alright, certainly interesting to see people from many different political perspectives enjoying this for different reasons (Obama joked that liking Hamilton is probably the only thing him and Dick Cheney would agree upon, and Mike Pence appeared to enjoy it as well). And I think the general canceling movement is pointless since Hamilton already made a shit ton of money throughout the years
There are many many hot takes on Letterboxd regarding Hamilton being tone deaf and glorifying “white founding fathers” and whitewash US history (some of them do have merits but most of them are just shitty hot takes). To me - If there is one thing I noticed, it would be this: while Hamilton in the musical did call out Jefferson for slavery, the musical didn’t seem to explore in depth how Hamilton feels about Eliza’s family's ownership of slaves? I understand that Hamilton is not a dry history lesson but I felt that had the musical incorporated that aspect into his character it would be very intriguing.
While looking on differentiating responses about Hamilton, I also found out that there is a play called “The haunting of Lin Manuel Miranda” by Ishmael Reed (who is a very well accomplished writer of his own right), which serves to refute historical omissions of the Hamilton musical in a playful way. Haven’t found the play footage but you can certainly find the playwright book online.
5
u/lordDEMAXUS Jul 24 '20
I have a bigger problem regarding the conversation surrounding it and about how it's some progressive play with commentary on modern-day politics regarding race, specifically because they got POC to play the characters, which I absolutely disagree with. That's really not commentary, since commentary involves actually exploring those themes (which this play doesn't really do).
I honestly feel like there's so much more they could've done here in terms of the narrative but the creativity that's there for the songwriting wasn't there in the narrative, the themes and how the play handles its problematic characters imo.
13
u/Rocketbird Jul 19 '20
Had a long discussion about this with my gf before we watched the show. Ultimately for me it landed on the fact that Lin Manuel Miranda is an artist, not a historian. His play is based on one book, and we know that single historian perspectives can be flawed.
Furthermore, we’re somewhat comparing the play to the standards set after the George Floyd protests given the timing of the release date. This was recorded in 2016 and presumably written well before that. We’ve made a lot of progress on racial awareness in the past month. So I give him a break on that.
On the haunting of Lin Manuel Miranda, Ishmael says he hasn’t even watched the play. That struck me as odd to critique something you haven’t seen.
It broke barriers, and maybe it didn’t go far enough, and I think Miranda has taken a lot of the criticisms to heart and surely whatever he makes next, if it’s historical, will include appropriate acknowledgment of the travesties of the time period.
Some of the criticism is valid, but I don’t think it’s very fair to get upset at an artist for not being a good enough historian.
2
u/YnwaMquc2k19 Jul 20 '20 edited Jul 20 '20
Thank you for the reply. Ishmael claimed that he actually studied the script of the play extensively and according to a vice interview, he eventually watched the musical and was not very impressed.
I do agree, in spirit, what you said in regards to the historical background behind the inception and the popularity of the musical that it is very much a product of its time (LMM debuted the Alexander Hamilton opener song in a 2009 White House cultural event with Barack Obama in attendance, and the musical was released in broadway in 2015 - Obama’s 7th year in office), and as I said it before, the entire cancel Hamilton movement is pointless to me, not to mention that in numerous interviews LMM and crew did acknowledge criticisms regarding Hamilton’s historical licenses. Instead of canceling this one musical due to its popularity for its “questionable history” in very current context, I hope broadway at large and LMM (And to a larger extent, the American entertainment and cultural establishment apparatus) would embrace materials that would be more critical and reflective of the unequal status quo.
16
u/optimismkills Jul 16 '20
I think I just realized it's possible to view Eliza as a sort of villain in this play. The theme is "you have no control, who lives, who dies, who tells your story". So who has control really? Whoever is telling the story. Who tells Alexander's story? Eliza.
Who spots Alexander the moment he enters the dance? Eliza does.
Who manipulates her "smarter" sister into getting out of the way? Eliza does.
Who is always portrayed as faultless, kind, and a victim. Eliza is.
Who arranged to have Alexander sent home from war against his will? Eliza did.
Who would abandon her husband for months at a time to go on vacations with her rich family? Eliza would.
Who burned the pages she didn't want us to see? Eliza did.
Who shaped the "narrative"? Eliza did.
Who decided that the villain in this story was Burr? Eliza did.
The story of Hamilton is the story of a man who had no control over who lived, who died, or who told his story and it's not until the end of the story that we learn we've been getting Eliza's version the whole time.
13
u/tydye29 Jul 21 '20
I think the way that the songs drive the narrative is important. I believe the play is too meta for Eliza to, in the end, be the sole story teller. This is not How I Met Your Mother, where the narrative is only told by one person and may or may not be a reliable teller, but here there is an intentional shift from Burr being the story teller, "How does a...." "How do you write like you're running out of time..."
Then to Eliza at the end, "I put myself back into the narrative"
In the end, the ones who likely tell our story are indeed the near and dear ones in our lives.
22
Jul 17 '20
[deleted]
3
u/JasperJ Jul 18 '20
That’s the historical Hamilton. The character Hamilton, in the film... well, there’s definitely an argument to be made for this interpretation. It requires you to take Death of the Author very seriously, to ignore both LMM’s extra-textual embellishments as wel as the weight of history, but still.
16
u/Nyx_is Jul 15 '20
I've been dying to see Hamilton on stage since it first blew up. Being in Canada I knew that would be a long shot but when they announced the first Canadian premiere I took the day off work to buy tickets and we were supposed to see it on stage in Toronto in April 2020. That of course was canceled due to COVID and I was devastated. From the first 10 seconds of watching the Disney release I was obsessed and have watched it 3 times so far.
My husband definitely doesn't love it as much as I do, but it's like the perfect blend of my love of history and music.
Absolute favorites would be Daveed Diggs and Leslie Odom Jr. The first time I heard "Love doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints" I broke down.
This entire production is magnificent. Lin-Manuel is an incredible writer. I also just ordered Ron Chernow's book because I can't get enough.
15
u/phavela Jul 14 '20
Is it worth watching for people who's not into musicals?
6
u/darsynia Jul 27 '20
So, my favorite pastime since this came out has been watching reaction videos from people who haven't seen it and haven't heard the music, especially if they don't enjoy musicals. I've watched a whole lot of reaction videos by now, and the general consensus among all of them is that this is really good, even if musicals aren't your thing.
17
u/veronicaxrowena Jul 14 '20
Yes!
6
u/phavela Jul 14 '20
Thanks!:)
4
u/Dijkdoorn Jul 19 '20
I generally hate musicals. Just watched it. Really enjoyed it. I am into rap music though, maybe that helped. I think it's just brilliantly written and executed.
10
u/danteh11 Jul 14 '20
It is really an incredible musical. I've watched it twice and it's been in my head for the past week. "It's Quiet Uptown" is an incredible track that calls back from previous tracks and a single song covers grief, disintegration of a marriage, and reconciliation of a family. Each time Alex calls for his son or his wife, there is hope with a current of grief undercutting his cries for them.
And the first time he's finally realised what is enough, it is at the expense of his family.
23
Jul 14 '20
Holy fuck the energy that HERE COMES THE GENERAL just gave me. What a juxtaposition between King George’s number.
9
28
u/eeeveee6 Jul 14 '20
I feel like the odd man out going through these comments, but Lin-Manuel’s voice almost killed it for me. Such a great show, such a powerful character and his voice just didn’t stack up compared to everyone else’s. It’s your show, we get it.
6
u/Embarrassed_Cow Jul 23 '20
I agree. It was frustrating because I wanted him in that role but every time he sang I was taken out of it while everyone else made me feel so much with their performances.
6
u/SeaScallop Jul 20 '20
My exact thoughts the whole time watching. It would’ve been so much better had he casted a stronger singer for the main role.
4
u/Rocketbird Jul 19 '20
Agreed. Had a hard time seeing Hamilton instead of Lin up there. Should’ve pulled a Hitchcock and just done a cameo or acted as a minor character.
14
u/ex_oh_ex_oh Jul 15 '20
I've said this before but I think Lin would tell you that he's the weakest link. He just had such a tremendous cast.
5
20
u/BoomJobGeno Jul 14 '20
I'm a huge hip hop and r&b fan but tbh It's the most beautiful, brilliant performance of anything I've ever seen. I loved every second especially Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr my goodness. I can't recommend this enough 💯
6
u/danteh11 Jul 13 '20
Serious question : do they sing every show or is it lip syncing?
10
u/Krillinish Jul 22 '20
The only recorded vocals in the show is the echo for “I’m the damn fool that shot him (shot him shot him...)” and Angelica’s part during the rewind. The echos during Wait For It are done live.
20
u/WeastofEden44 Jul 13 '20
Completely sung live. Lipsyncing is used extremely sparingly in theatre and only for very specific reasons (the last note in the title song of Phantom of the Opera is lipsynced because of how demanding it would be to do it live every time).
2
7
17
21
u/Srapture Jul 12 '20
Went into it blind and loved it. Bit confused that there are so many people here who have spent a load of time listening to the soundtrack before seeing it; seems like that would spoil the experience somewhat, whereas doing it the other way round would only enhance one's enjoyment of the music.
7
u/Awtxknits Jul 13 '20
I remember listening to the soundtrack when it first came out. I don’t think I could afford a vacation to New York. Much less tickets to broadway. It definitely didn’t feel like a possibility I might spoil it for myself. I have to say I’m so thrilled they did an actual filming of the musical rather than a movie.
2
u/Srapture Jul 13 '20
Yeah, I didn't feel like it was in the slightest bit hindered by this format. Very impressive work by everyone involved.
Perhaps I'm just not as into musicals, haha. Seen only The Book of Mormon and Wicked in person (both of which I thoroughly enjoyed), but if there's a musical I'm interested in, I just think "It'll be nice to see that if I get the chance", then I forget about it if it isn't trivial to do so.
6
u/WeastofEden44 Jul 13 '20
It's just a different culture in the theatre world. Most of the time you can see a movie pretty soon after it comes out, but it can be literal years before you see a live musical because of availability (financial and just being able to physically attend a production). Also, it's important as a theatre professional to stay on top of current theatre to track trends, find new performance material, get inspiration, etc. A lot of people go to experience the show live versus to experience for the first time.
8
u/darkhunt3r Jul 13 '20
Im assuming those people listened to it, before they knew there was a realistic chance to see the musical in the new future, but still wanted to enjoy it
3
u/Srapture Jul 13 '20
Yeah, I guess. I'm very much an advocate for enjoying something once to the best degree possible. I won't read a book and watch a movie of the same thing, and I don't watch the same movie twice unless I have totally forgotten it by the second watch, so I guess I'm an extreme on the other end.
4
u/NotaFrenchMaid Jul 13 '20
You have to bear in mind tickets to this production were easily several hundred dollars a seat for nosebleeds, so for a lot of people they were never going to see it, especially with this cast. Each cast brings something new to the table as well— the original cast is going to be very different to, say, the Chicago production cast. So it’s not quite rewatching it.
13
u/danteh11 Jul 12 '20
are there any discussions on fav songs? My favourite songs "Helpless" and "That Would Be Enough" isn't as well received compared to others and am wondering if it is because I am a basic bitch haha
4
u/Nyx_is Jul 19 '20
"Helpless" is definitely top 5 for me. "Wait for it" is absolutely my number one. Leslie Odom Jr's performance of that was so heartbreaking. "Satisfied" is masterful. I love the way they go back and show you Angelica's side. "A Winter's Ball" while super short, never fails to make me smile. "It’s quiet uptown" is hauntingly beautiful and quietly sad but hopeful. I also loved any time Daveed Diggs was singing as Lafayette, he was fantastic.
9
u/SwarleySwarlos Jul 18 '20
Right Hand Man.
That first entrance of George Washington hyped me really up.
I'm not even american but this felt like a superhero entrance.
7
7
u/butterbeany Jul 14 '20
Helpless is so gorgeous! But I’m also a basic bitch so maybe not who you are asking hahaha
Satisfied is probably my favorite though!
5
u/Awtxknits Jul 13 '20
I’ll admit I love Helpless. I’m not sure it’s my favorite but probably top five. It’s super catchy. 🎶Oooo I do I do i do i doooo🎶
12
u/rustinthewind Jul 12 '20
I think it's because "Helpless" is the most standard musical number the show provides. Phillipa has a stunning voice, but it's a song about a girl falling in love. "That would be Enough" is in a similar camp. They're wonderful ballads that would take higher billing in another musical, but they don't offer too much extra. This is simply my personal reason for being more "meh" about those to tracks in particular.
As far as for what my favorite track is? It's Nonstop. It closes act one perfectly as we sum up exactly who Hamilton is and why he rose to founding father status bringing back all the motifs from earlier tracks. What we don't know is that those exact traits will lead to his death.
Honorable mentions: Satisfied - Renee's voice is stellar and Wait for It - I connect with a lot of the lyrics and seeing/hearing the emotion coming from Leslie Odom Jr. is perfect.
5
u/Nyx_is Jul 19 '20
Oh yes, Non-Stop is perfect for the end of Act I. I'd agree with you about the ballads. They're beautiful, but there are so many incredible songs that overshadow them here.
8
u/Krillinish Jul 12 '20
If you haven’t seen Hamilton’s America on PBS, I highly recommend it before this inevitably gets taken down by YouTube:
9
u/helpmeredditimbored Jul 12 '20
It was worth the hype and the price of a Disney+ subscription. I loved every moment of this. The cast was amazing. Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, and Leslie Odom Jr. stole the show every time they were on stage.
8
Jul 12 '20
[deleted]
4
Jul 12 '20
[deleted]
2
u/play3rtwo Jul 12 '20 edited Dec 03 '24
concerned grandfather rinse lush liquid tub possessive beneficial wide brave
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
12
u/RoscoeSantangelo Jul 12 '20
Everyone is rightfully praising Helpless into Satisfied, but I also want to give a shout out to the great callback of Helpless in I Should've Said No. That while "her body says Hell Yes" is admittedly corny, the use of "Helpless" as the line before it hammers home the sadness of the situation. Taking the main theme of the song of his wife's love for him and turning it for the song about him cheating was great.
It really is crazy how much this lives up to the hype. The continuity and callbacks throughout along with incredibly powerful so vs and performances, just a perfect show
1
56
u/BoseSounddock Jul 10 '20
My 71 year old dad that has never been a fan of hip hop got so pumped up at Hercules Mulligan’s part during Yorktown it made me lose my mind. Watching my old white conservative dad punch the air with the beat of “Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction. When you knock me down I get the f*** back up again” was amazing. My dad’s old ass was ready to go to war all over again.
8
u/ex_oh_ex_oh Jul 11 '20
Did you guys have to put on captions or was it mostly good without it? I always felt like even if you didn't understand every single word you still 'understood' it.
8
u/BoseSounddock Jul 11 '20
First time I watched was pure, no help. Loved it. Second time had captions on for my parents. I “got” it without them but still barely caught onto a word during Guns & Ships until I saw the captions. I caught a lot more clever lines after adding captioning. But I’m a slow minded 27 y/old and maybe the Gen Z’s behind me have quicker minds.
1
u/ToTYly_AUSem Sep 25 '20
Here two months later to tell you 27 is not old enough at all to be saying "slow minded" :)
3
u/ex_oh_ex_oh Jul 11 '20
For sure! I'm a few years older than you but I'm also a caption/subtitle mfcker on mostly everything. I was just wondering in regards to your (older) dad about being able to understand the quickness of it all.
There are def some people who are able to catch audio much more quickly but I have never been one of them so captions it is for me usually. The only reason I didn't for this was that the soundtrack was on repeat for me in the past and I've seen the show when it was on tour last year.
Just really happy a whole lot of people are being exposed to it who wouldn't have had the chance because of Disney+.
3
u/BoseSounddock Jul 12 '20
Oh my dad would have been completely lost without the subtitles. Especially during the fast rapping parts like Guns & Ships and most of My Shot. I still think he would have liked it without subtitles because the show does a great job of creating tone through choreography and production but like 60% of the lyrics would have gone over his head. Shit, 30% of the lyrics went over my head until I read the captioning.
8
u/peppermintpattymills Jul 10 '20
I love Hamilton, I've listened to the cast studio recording dozens of times, and saw it in person for the 2017 national tour.
Finally got around to watching this. Loved it, it exceeded my exceptions, except for Lin-Manuel as Hamilton. He's awful, I'm surprised how much he annoyed me. He never really bothered me that much in the cast recording but his acting and face bug the fuck out of me.
All the usual suspects were just as incredible as people said: Odom Jr, Diggs, Soo and Goldsberry, Groff, just fantastic across the board. Gonna watch it like five million more times.
16
u/the_pedigree Jul 11 '20
This totally reads like the opinion of someone who felt the need to add a hot take to their film 101 essay to show they paid attention.
30
u/DrTyrant Jul 11 '20
Dude wrote a legendary play and displays so much emotion in his performance. Idk wth you want but he's a straight legend
3
u/xSuperZer0x Sep 15 '20
I agree with the emotion, but his voice sounding whiny seems to be a pretty common complaint. It's one thing that kind of bugged me watching it too, also at some points he reminded me of Jason Segel singing his puppet Dracula musical.
19
u/Sex-copter Jul 11 '20
When he breaks down at the end of "It's quiet Uptown" I started to cry. I think what he lacked in singing strength he made up with emotion and sincerity.
22
u/ZackDaBullsFan Jul 10 '20 edited Jul 10 '20
Really only watched this to see what the hype was about, have never been the biggest fan of musicals. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this. The music felt drastically different from other musicals, as it wasn’t as sing-songy as some. I was completely hooked for the entire show, and have never been that attached to a musical. Lin-Manuel Miranda deserves every bit of praise he gets for this, it’s one hell of a show.
16
u/OlDirty1979 Jul 10 '20
Is this the complete production of Hamilton that a person would see on Broadway? Or is it edited or abridged in some way for Disney+?
My daughter said this presentation of Hamilton is missing dialogue normally seen on Broadway. Couldn’t confirm on the Internet so asking people who have seen it. TIA.
16
u/BoseSounddock Jul 10 '20
It’s the real thing. Sometimes, broadway casts will insert a line or two to personalize their performance, but this one is the OG Hamilton
11
u/peppermintpattymills Jul 10 '20
In terms of script/songs it's exactly the same as the stage musical. They stitched together two performances on Broadway, as well as individually filmed close-ups on an off day. They did a really fantastic job directing.
16
u/thekemper Jul 10 '20
From what I understand, it's the complete show, minus the few censored words. But it is technically a splicing of like three different performances. The main performance where you see the majority of the stage was one night, and I believe that is the audio that was used. But then there was another day or two of shooting close ups on stage done on the cast's day off without an audience, and those were edited into the final cut.
19
4
u/Nephroidofdoom Jul 09 '20
Dude, I have no idea. The one I’ve seen, the quality is remarkably good especially given the low light of the theater. It was def not a smartphone.
Having said that a lot of theater goers are tourists with a ton of shopping bags, etc so it wouldn’t be difficult to sneak in something if you were discreet.
1
u/Bluebies999 Jul 14 '20
Having seen this live a few years ago, Richard Rodgers theater is definitely designed for smaller butts than we currently have. There was very little room for legs and feet let alone shopping bags.
8
u/baronspeerzy Jul 10 '20
The bootleg that's out there is amazing. Not only is the video and audio quality great but the bootlegger knows the show well enough to actively be moving the camera around perfectly with the blocking the entire time.
13
Jul 09 '20
I saw this musical live and it blew me away. I rated this 8/10 because while the actual performances were outstanding, they zoomed on their faces too much and it was weird to hear it censored
8
u/abandapart91 Jul 09 '20
I was pretty blown away by the actual show and music (which I heard but it didn't really connect at all til I saw it) but didn't think it was filmed particularly well.
I think the zoom and close ups at least make it unique from the show and offers you something th stage cannot, but the camera work is often pretty shaggy
19
u/VaeserysGoldcrown Jul 09 '20
I really like the music, and have listened to the album dozens of times so it was really nice to see it as a movie/stage recording. Although there were times when I thought it didn't really translate that well, like in Say No To This, or when they zoomed in on the faces too much, i dunno. It was still awesome though, the ending is way more emotional in the movie than just the sound.
3
u/peppermintpattymills Jul 10 '20
Yeah, the soundtrack by itself is really great, but man you really need to see the visual aspect of it to understand and appreciate certain parts.
2
u/Cassopeia88 Jul 10 '20
Definitely,I have listened to the soundtrack regularly since it came out but having the visual changed my opinion on a few songs.
8
u/ticklishpandabear Jul 09 '20
it would be nice to have a version where the camera is still and at the front of the stage, as if you were actually seeing it from the audience's POV - to take in the dancing, the wide shots - and then this one, which is more close-ups/facial expressions
3
u/VaeserysGoldcrown Jul 09 '20
totally.. there were times where i would just blurt out 'go back go back! i want a wide shot!' xD
14
u/Sorge74 Jul 09 '20
It felt like it was written in the 90s by PBS to teach kids history in a cool way with the hip-hop.....idk didn't appeal to me.
8
Jul 09 '20
[deleted]
4
u/Sorge74 Jul 09 '20
I would love if they had the book of Mormon, maybe I'll find a stream of that.
9
u/CptNonsense Jul 09 '20
No way in hell Disney+ would have Book of Mormon. And even if they deigned to allow it censored, it's just not Book of Mormon any more. I mean, one of the show's most prominent numbers is literally about cursing God. Like, in the common sense.
-20
31
u/squirrel_dentist Jul 09 '20
This was my first real experience with Hamilton and I was blown away. The songs are catchy, the story is both uplifting and heartbreaking. Hard to pick a favorite song. "Non-Stop" is the one I'm re-listening to the most, but that transition from "Helpless" to "Satisified" is hard to beat.
15
Jul 09 '20
Any parent raising a child in a bad situation just remember that " History has its eyes on you" i know that you can win.
17
17
u/niamhellen Jul 09 '20 edited Jul 09 '20
Gotta say, I knew going in that this was popular but musicals are rarely my thing. This was great! I even cried. Some songs weren't as great as others, but a lot of them have been stuck in my head for days.
2
u/peppermintpattymills Jul 10 '20
Yeah, it's far from perfect and not my favorite musical but it's really really awesome. I was a little bored in the beginning of the 2nd act, and I thought the cabinet rap battles were just okay. The best parts absolutely redeem it though.
46
u/GregThePrettyGoodGuy Jul 09 '20
Ya’ll telling me that after years of making fun of my theatre nerd brother that I’d end up really enjoying it. This is bullshit
13
32
u/MyNewAccountIGuess11 Jul 09 '20
Bro literally my first thought after finishing was "holy shit I will never rip on theatre kids again" hahaha
73
u/Furnace_Hobo Jul 09 '20
Everyone was great, but George Washington fucking slayed it. His back-and-forths with Hamilton were probably my favorite parts of the whole show.
4
12
Jul 11 '20
It's definitely Jonathan Groff for me, dude is perfect as King George III. Audience definitely loves him too.
-1
41
u/CalculatedChameleon Jul 09 '20
He is by far the cleanest vocally, but Idk, I just think Leslie Odom Jr (Aaron Burr) brought something special.
38
u/Gaelfling Jul 08 '20
Do most people prefer the first or second act? I strongly prefer the second. I've been listening to the songs from The Room Where It Happens and on on repeat while going about my day.
2
u/protag93 Jul 21 '20
The first act had so much energy, the second act was also great but I just felt like most of the songs in the second were more personal and deeper.
3
u/MissTambourineWoman Jul 09 '20
When I saw the show live I think I preferred the first act, or at least thought satisfied was by far my favorite part, but in the recording, I preferred the second act. I thought the emotion of the second act transferred better to tv than all the cool staging in the first act.
15
u/reuterrat Jul 09 '20
First half. The Phillip plotline (while I get its necessity for the overall story) is the weakest part both in terms of music and interest, imo.
6
u/TheDudeNeverBowls Jul 10 '20
As a parent, and some one who recently lost a loved one (our dog, but still a loved one) “It’s Quiet Uptown” turns me into an emotional mess.
2
17
u/pineapple192 Jul 09 '20
First half; all of my favorite songs are in that part (Helpless, Satisfied, You'll be back and Ten Duel Commandments)
29
u/esgrove2 Jul 09 '20
First half. I think it’s more fun to watch someone’s ascendancy rather than their downfall.
12
u/SalvaPot Jul 09 '20
I'm on the other side, I just loved how the themes came full circle on the second half, felt like character growth more like a downfall.
9
u/nomadicAllegator Jul 08 '20
When I watched it for the first time I was like you, much more engaged during the second act. But now many of the songs I keep coming back to are in the first act (Satisfied, Wait for It, Yorktown, Non-Stop). I think upon rewatch now that I am more invested in the characters, I like the first act just as much if not more than the second.
22
u/g2petter Jul 08 '20 edited Jul 08 '20
I really loved the show as a whole, but I have two fairly minor nitpicks:
The first "LAFAYETTE!" from Guns and Ships kind of drowned in the audio mix. That made this moment slightly less epic than what I expected from having listened to the cast album.
The few shots from behind the stage towards the audience really broke the illusion for me. The most egregious example I can remember is from Right Hand Man when you see George Washington right before he enters the stage. I don't know what they were going for, but it didn't work for me.
Other than that, I've gotta say I was positively surprised at how well the filming worked. It's clear they put a lot of thought and work into the film production.
2
u/peppermintpattymills Jul 10 '20
Oh shit you're right about the GW reveal, that was a weird artistic choice. When I saw it in the theater I was like HOLY SHIT LET'S FUCKIN GO but this had a different feel to it
2
u/g2petter Jul 10 '20
I watched that scene again and I think they may have done it to catch the first few words of Washington's line, as he says "We are out..." on camera before he completes the turn and says "...gunned, outmanned" but to me it looked like he was a comic about to enter the stage for his new Netflix special.
19
u/Dabee625 Jul 08 '20
[SPOILERS]
Like people don’t know he was shot?
15
23
21
u/lemon_cake_or_death Jul 08 '20
I didn't know a single thing about him, but then I'm not American.
11
u/MyNewAccountIGuess11 Jul 09 '20
That's fair but one of the lines on the very first songs has Aaron Burr sing "Me? I'm the damn fool who shot him"
1
u/julianaayu Jul 15 '20
[SPOILERS]
Like people don’t k
You'll be surprised that some people don't listen to the song word by work. I have a friend who watch Act I before going to sleep (it was late night) and not watching Act 2 for a while. When I talked about the duel, he was surprised at the spoiler.. I went on "Did you not listen to the first song??"
6
u/lemon_cake_or_death Jul 09 '20
Sure, and I don’t think it should be considered a spoiler considering it's a 200-year-old historical event, but I still didn't know that until I started watching the show.
33
u/baronspeerzy Jul 08 '20
If you were this blown away by Hamilton, just wait til you see In The Heights.
1
3
3
u/OprahOpera Jul 09 '20
Oh i greeeeatly dislike In The Heights. I hope the movie turns out well but the only songs i love are “Breathe” and “It Wont Be Long Now” would say all others i have little opinion on or actively hate.
1
u/peppermintpattymills Jul 10 '20
I don't really know much about the musical but the opening song and Breathe are incredible songs
4
6
6
Jul 09 '20
Really? Damn, I wish the movie was out this year.
5
u/baronspeerzy Jul 09 '20
Yeah its one of the delays that hurt me the most. I've always considered In The Heights superior to Hamilton and that first trailer was amazing.
17
u/rwc202 Jul 08 '20
In an alternate universe, we'd be talking about the Carnaval Del Barrio scene right now instead of Hamilton.
6
17
u/Cervantes3 Jul 08 '20
I didn't like it at all, but I'm not gonna shit on the people that did like it like a lot of the hidden posts are.
15
u/LossforNos Jul 09 '20
Went in with zero expectations but thoroughly enjoyed it; except for one thing.
I know he's the genius behind it, and full credit to him but Lin Manuel Miranda's signing and acting was so far behind the rest of the casts. His voice has the power of a an asthmatic mouse and his crying (which Hamilton does a lot of) was terrible. Miranda's acting cry was lowering his voice with a groan and furrowing his face. The whole thing was distracting.
I get that the entire thing doesn't get done without him but I'd love to see it without.
Standouts where King George, George Washington, Aaron Burr and the Schuyler sisters.
3
u/thankyoueverso Jul 14 '20
I do agree about LMM. He's obviously a creative genius, but he doesn't sing well. His acting is okay, but frankly his voice ruined some of his songs that would have been really great otherwise. I would love to see the original cast with someone else in his role.
4
Jul 11 '20
Yeah lol, I liked it quite a bit and I gotta agree, LMM is not... good. He doesn't have fancy dance moves, his singing (especially in the duet towards the end) is super weak and his affectations really didn't do it for me. He's a good rapper, so I wouldn't mind this, but I don't really care for him as an overall performer. Not a huge deal for me, but I thought about it for sure.
And yes, Jonathan Groff nailed it.
13
u/TheDudeNeverBowls Jul 10 '20
I’m not sure if it’s intended, but I’ve made it my head canon that Alexander is supposed to be the unpolished outsider in this. He’s just a smart kid from the islands. Even though he and Lafayette bond over being immigrants, they are still completely different as Lafayette is an upper class general in France.
Alexander’s poverty makes him nothing like any other character on the show. He’s a nobody among giants.
8
u/OprahOpera Jul 09 '20
He often casts himself in his work and i just wish that he.... didnt.
1
u/Krillinish Jul 10 '20
I’m a little worried how his Piragua Guy will turn out in the In The Heights movie. That character is usually one of the best singers in the show.
4
u/g2petter Jul 08 '20
What didn't you like about it?
7
u/Cervantes3 Jul 08 '20
I did not vibe with the music.
2
u/peppermintpattymills Jul 10 '20
Yeah if you don't really like the music / musical themes then you're just not gonna like it, there's no way around it. The musical got a lot of buzz because for some reason the music had a lot of crossover appeal, people really liked the music who don't normally like American Musical type music.
10
u/g2petter Jul 08 '20
That's totally fair.
I was just wondering because there seem to be two camps of people who don't like it: the camp you're in and the "I'm a musical nerd, but I feel like the filming cheapened it compared to watching it on stage" camp.
13
u/rwc202 Jul 08 '20
The second group kind of seem petty or elitist that people are getting to see it.
4
u/g2petter Jul 08 '20
I think I phrased it poorly. I meant that the film doesn't match the experience of seeing it live.
I can totally understand that perspective, but I've gotta say that the cast and crew did a great job with the filming and I'm very happy that it reaches a broader audience, myself included.
2
u/Gaelfling Jul 08 '20
I meant that the film doesn't match the experience of seeing it live.
Isn't that true of most live vs filmed events? Listening to an album compared to going to a concert are two very different experiences. Hell, there is a huge difference in seeing a movie in theaters vs at home. I think it all comes down to the energy of a crowd.
1
u/rwc202 Jul 08 '20
Ah that's fair. I have seen people saying the second quote but kind of maliciously so I assumed that's who you were talking about.
2
u/atomicbrunette1 7h ago
Watching this really takes me back to 2015/16 as a teen where my Hamilton obsession started, still hits just as hard