Liberty!
Encyclopedia
Liberty! The American Revolution is a six-hour documentary
miniseries
about the Revolutionary War
—and the instigating factors—that brought about the United States
' independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain
—that first aired in 1997.
The episodes were introduced by Forrest Sawyer
and narrated by Edward Herrmann
. A number of eminent actor
s were featured in the film, including Roger Rees
, Philip Seymour Hoffman
, Terrence Mann
, Colm Feore
, and Donna Murphy
.
The six hour-long episodes are:
Liberty! was produced for Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) by Twin Cities Public Television
(TPT), and won a George Foster Peabody Award. The directors were Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, who also collaborated on the later TPT production Benjamin Franklin
. A soundtrack album was produced by Mark O'Connor
, similarly titled Liberty!
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
about the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
—and the instigating factors—that brought about the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
—that first aired in 1997.
The episodes were introduced by Forrest Sawyer
Forrest Sawyer
Forrest Sawyer is an American broadcast journalist. Sawyer worked 11 years with ABC News, where he frequently anchored ABC World News Tonight and Nightline and reported for all ABC News broadcasts...
and narrated by Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann
Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
. A number of eminent actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s were featured in the film, including Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
, Terrence Mann
Terrence Mann
Terrence Vaughan Mann is an American actor, director, singer, songwriter and dancer who has been prominent on the Broadway stage for the past three decades...
, Colm Feore
Colm Feore
Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
, and Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy is an American stage, film, television actress and singer.Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens...
.
The six hour-long episodes are:
- 1. "The Reluctant Revolutionaries" 1763-1774
- 2. "Blows Must Decide" 1774-1776
- 3. "The Times That Try Men's Souls" 1776-1777
- 4. "Oh Fatal Ambition" 1777-1778
- 5. "The World Turned Upside Down" 1778-1783
- 6. "Are We to Be a Nation?" 1783-1788
Liberty! was produced for Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) by Twin Cities Public Television
Twin Cities Public Television
Twin Cities Public Television is a non-profit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Twin Cities' two Public Broadcasting Service member Public television stations, KTCA-TV and KTCI-TV...
(TPT), and won a George Foster Peabody Award. The directors were Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, who also collaborated on the later TPT production Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (documentary)
Benjamin Franklin is a 2002 American documentary film which premiered November 19–20, 2002. The film was produced by Twin Cities Public Television of Minneapolis-St. Paul....
. A soundtrack album was produced by Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor is an American bluegrass, jazz, country and classical violinist fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition...
, similarly titled Liberty!
Liberty! (album)
Liberty! is an album by Mark O'Connor, which comprises his soundtrack to the six part PBS series Liberty!. The album is composed mostly of period songs arranged by O'Connor, with the exception of "Freedom" and the theme for the series, written by O'Connor, entitled "Song of the Liberty Bell".-Track...
.