drjgardner

This may be one of the worst documentaries ever made., with so much mis-information it's hard to believe it was made, unless it was some tongue-in-cheek satire that I didn't understand. Let's look at it piece by distorted piece.

According to this 2 part documentary, Jefferson was moral, ethical, wary of politics, a great believer in the power of the people and fearful of monarchies, and true to his "all men are created equal" language. These are the assertions. Here are the facts -

Moral

Jefferson was a slave holder and over time held hundreds of slaves. While in France, Sally Hemings threatened to remain in France and Jefferson promised to free her to get her to return with him. He held his children with Hemmings as slaves and freed them only upon his death.

Jefferson's home in Monticello had a secret room that remained undiscovered for nearly 200 years. Some believe the small, windowless room was used to punish slaves but others believe it was used by Jefferson's mistress, Sally Hemmings.

Jefferson allowed slavery into the Louisiana Territory, with only a one-year ban.

In 1804 Haiti was declared an independent republic, but Jefferson, the slave-holding President, refused to recognize it and imposed an economic embargo on trade.

Ethical

While serving under Washington, Jefferson wrote anonymous letters published in prominent newspapers attacking Washington. Jefferson's subversion got so bad that it strained their relationship. Jefferson refused to attend Washington's funeral and when he later visited widow Martha Washington, in 1891, as part of his presidential campaigning, Martha was reported to say it was the second "most painful occurrence" of her life, apart from Washington's death: she referred to Jefferson as "the most despicable of all mankind."

He also wrote, again anonymously, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 designed to disrupt the government he was serving. The New Hampshire Patriot on December 6, 1798, warned that the resolutions provoked Civil War.

The violence suggested in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions was not Jefferson's only foray into threats of violent actions. Virginia Governor James Monroe threatened to send troops to Washington if Jefferson were denied the Presidency. Jefferson himself, in a letter to Monroe on Feb 15 said " the day such an act passed (a coalition giving the vote to Adams) the middle states would arm, & that no such usurpation even for a single day should be submitted to (bold added)."

Man of the People

Jefferson's plan for a public university was one in which only selected individuals would enter and in this way he would foster an elite or what he called a "national aristocracy." Franklin also promoted a university, but one open to everyone.

Afraid of Monarchies

The program claims Jefferson was opposed to Washington's monarchical attitude and behavior. But Jefferson was far more the monarch than Washington ever was.

Jefferson conducted the Louisiana Purchase in secret and never sought the approval of Congress. Jefferson wanted to convert the vast territory into an agricultural base where slavery would flourish, thus insuring the balance of power would remain in the South. For this reason, he acted in secrecy, as getting Congress to vote in favor of expanding slavery was doubtful.

In January 1803 Jefferson sent a secret message to Congress asking for $2,500 to fund the Lewis and Clark expedition, referring to it as "extending the external commerce of the United States," which is was not. For the new lands to foster slavery they required the kinds of soil and weather for large plantations. Lewis and Clark would provide that information, and that information might be used by Jefferson for a foray into land speculation.

Not a Politician

During the debates on the Constitution, behind the back of his good friend James Madison, Jefferson wrote secret letters to delegates urging them not to ratify the Constitution until the Bill of Rights was assured. Ironically, Madison and Jefferson teamed together, in secret, to write articles in The National Gazette using the pseudonyms "Helvidius" and "Pacificus" to attack Federalist principles put forward by Alexander Hamilton, Washington's Secretary of the Treasury.

When he was Adam's Vice-President, Jefferson wrote letters attacking Adams' policies and referring to his administration as a "reign of witches." He also used intermediaries (e.g., James Callender) to do his dirty work.

OK. This isn't a history lesson and I'm sure this is enough to convince you that the documentary fails to deliver a two-sided view of Jefferson.

OK. So it's rare for a sequel to match or exceed the original, with only a few exceptions (e.g., Godfather 2, Aliens 2), but this one is unusually worse than the original which was pretty good. There are several reasons, but the main one is that it's boring. They spent sooooooooo much time on the minute elements of the robbery, take this time to go to the bathroom or get some caffeine soda.

Problem 2 - there are no surprises, as there were in the first one. Anything that even remotely might be considered a surprise is so well telegraphed it's not a surprise.

Problem 3. Butler has no team backing him. Team vs Team was important to the original. It's completely missing here.

Problem 4. A key pivot point (involving the mafia) near the end of the film has no justification for being possible.

I could go on, but you get the point. I wouldn't even watxh this on TV.

How is it possible that "The Great" didn't win more awards that it received? The performances, costumes, and locations are simply superior beyond belief. Nicholas Hoult as Peter the "not so great" is so damned good he is beyond description. His performance is so good it dwarfs people who do a fantastic job, including Phoebe Fox as Marial (who sets a standard for best supporting actress), Delina Bromilow as Aunt Elizabeth (sexy and motherly at the same time!) Douglas Hodge as the General, Adam Godley as the Archbishop, Gwilym Lee as the BFF, and Charity Wakefield as George. There are so many more I hate to stop here. It's a wonderful cast and an almost perfect series, with the possible exception of direction and camera work that were certainly good, but not up to the standard set by the actors.