The film provides an interesting portrayal of Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton.
For this blogging session, I would like you to give your reaction to the movie. Do you think that it was a realistic film? Did it do an adequate job of teaching history? Or was it mostly just entertainment? Did you enjoy the film? Do you think that films like this are appropriate for an American history class?
I also want to know what you learned about the crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton. Do you feel like you understand the events better having seen the film? Why was this such an important event? What did the outcome of the battle mean to Washington's beleaguered army?
This blogging session will remain open throughout this week. After commenting, come back later and see what has been added since you were here.
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20 comments:
The film was very realistic, and I found it obvious that the producers had tried to make it as historically accurate as possible. They did this by including extra information before the credits and not making everyone have an American accent. Also, I found the movie to be an accurate portrayal of the hardships faced by George Washington and his men. It didn't make their suffering appear any less than it must have been, and included many minor details that made the movie even more believable, such as tatters on their clothing. I thought that the acting was very well done, though not quite as well as the John Adams movie. However, I felt that what small amount of gore there was in the movie was very exaggerated. It's hard to focus on the historical aspects of an event when you're looking away because someone just got stabbed in the stomach by a bayonet.
The events of the crossing of the Delaware were easier to understand after I saw this movie, similar to how the Boston Massacre was clearer after watching the John Adams film. The movie mostly focused on events before and after the crossing, and I found the scenes detailing the actual event to be very brief. The Battle of Trenton was portrayed well, and I was able to learn more about how unprepared the Hessians were for an attack of this kind, and how quickly the battle was actually over. Also, I thought they had cool mustaches. This event changed the path of the war because it convinced the colonists that they were able to effectively combat some of the world's best fighters and win. It also boosted the morale of the troops after their difficult winter and increased the amount of people who joined, helping the Continental Army gain valuable soldiers.
In conclusion, this movie was very well-acted and produced, and taught many important facts about the crossing of the Delaware and Battle of Trenton.
The film was only a bit realistic. Even though the producers might have tried to make the film as historically accurate as possible, as Kathryn has said, I think the some of the actors were terrible. For example, the person playing George Washington was always so grumpy! Also, I think they over-exaggerated the they scene of the movie when some of the American militia men attacked some of the Hessians. Overall, the movie was good, but they could have done better. After watching that film, I feel like I understand the Battle of Trenton and the events that surround it a bit better. They did an excellent job of showing the hardships that Washington's men faced.
It was a very important event in many ways. Since Washington's army had not been victorious in the past few battles, people had started to lose hope in this battle for independence. Even Congress didn't try to help as much as they should have because they were also losing hope in this army. The number of men in Washington's army decreased as the weather, battles, and fatigue took them. Many of the men started to doubt Washington's command, but some still were very faithful of him. After the Battle of Trenton, everyone regained hope and supported the fight for independence again. Even though it might have not made a significant difference, it was very important in bringing people's hopes back up.
I enjoyed the movie a lot and I think it was suitable for a history class. It helped me see why it was so important in history, like how it was the first attack by the Continental Army. I disagree with Kathryn's opinion about the gore because it kept me interested. Seriously who wants to watch no name actors talk in fake accents it would have been pretty lame to me. I think the battle was shown very well. The victory was very important to the army because they had lost all of their battles before that, but to be able to make the ,best soldiers in the world at the time, Hessians to surrender to them I'm sure it helped their morale a lot.
The movie was fine. I didn't enjoy it as much as the John Adams film, because I thought it was overly dramatic and a bit cheesy. I don't mean they should have made it light and funny, because that's not at all how the history was, but I think they tried to make it too serious. For example, Washington was always staring off into the distance in the most normal of circumstances, and instead of just talking he had to talk as quietly and dramatic as possible. I think it was good to show in class though, because reading about a battle and actually visualizing it are two very different things. The part where the Hessians and Americans are fighting was rather gruesome, but it's not like they could show them skipping off together into the sunset. In that case, I think it was better to be more serious than less serious. I definitely wasn't expecting the movie to end right after the battle, but I'm glad they included the extra information about the people and battle before they ended it. One thing I think the movie really did well on was focusing on Washington, and the relationships he had between other people--whether it be another general, the enemy, or his own men. To really understand battles and history, we have to know the people surrounding it, and so I felt that was portrayed nicely in the movie. You can't go over every little fact in class, and so I thought the movie was helpful and worth watching in class because it filled in on some points that weren't as clear for me.
In my opinion, this was a well portrayed movie. Most parts seemed very realistic; as if that was how they actually happened. Some parts, on the other hand, not as much. Like Sarah and Robin said, some of the acting could be improved. I thought that it did adequately teach history, though, because it was able to incorporate even the smallest of details. They could show what was happening instead of writing down lengthy paragraphs of what was occurring like the past readings we've had. I think films like this are very appropriate to show to American history classes. It offers another alternative of learning. I think the movie did help me better understand the crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton. These events gave the Americans hope and let them know that they still had a chance. Overall, I enjoyed this movie and it increased my knowledge on the events.
Overall, I found this movie to be fairly realistic. I thought the many hardships the Continental Army faced throughout the Revolutionary War were portrayed excellently. The information in this film about the crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton really helped me to gain a better understanding of why these events were so pivotal in history. Like Robin and Sarah, I feel the movie did an exceptional job in providing details about George Washington, and relationships he maintained with other people. The Crossing also included sufficient facts about the actual Battle of Trenton, but I think it could've been a bit more detailed. The John Adams movie wasn't quite as dramatic as this one, but the information was historically accurate in both. All in all, I enjoyed this film and thought it was a very good choice to show it in an American history class.
The crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton was such an influential event for many reasons. The Continental Army had faced numerous crushing defeats before the Battle of Trenton. Many were loosing all hope of winning the war for independence. The Continental Congress was beginning to loose trust in the army, and had fallen behind in supplying food, money and clothing for them. Washington's bold move across the Delaware River and the victory at the Battle of Trenton helped to ensure that hope was not lost after all. It gave colonists a reason to continue fighting, and to stay confident in their military leader, George Washington. For these reasons, the crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton was one of the most significant events in the Revolutionary War.
- Rachel Corry
I did not enjoy this movie at all. Although I personally thought it was sorta funny to see them trying so hard. For instance the battle scene was a riot!! Men in tights trying so hard to look fierce and determine whilst no stabbing themselves in the eye? Hilarious! To Kathryn's point about the gore, I can't agree because as far as special effects go they were about equivilant with ghostbusters. Also before viewing this movie I had seen Dumb and Dumber, a ridiculous movie about two idiots. Personally I find it hard to take a General serious when I've seen him driving a dog van. Historically though, I found it accurate if poorly portrayed.
I thought this movie was an overall acceptable representation of the Battle of trenton. I thought that some parts of the movies could have used better acting or dialogue. It did, however, portray George Washington better because it did not show him as someone who has no flaws, but as someone who was very stubborn, but still a very good leader. I think it was mostly entertainment because it had lots of darker humor added in to make it more appealing. I enjoyed the film because it was filled with action and events that keep the audience in tune. That is why it was less historic than a typical documentary. I thought it was appropriate for history class because it gave important historical information. I feel like I learned more about the perspective of the battle from the people involved in the movie. This was such an important event because it cut off the large Hessian Army from serving the British anymore. It also renewed the confidence in the revolution. The outcome of the battle renewed hope for the army.
I agree with Kathryn. The gore was unnessary, seeing as the movie was supposed to be educational, and not a blood bath. It did, however, give the audience a good idea of how it felt to be on a battlefield. The gore did take out of the facts that should have been portrayed more in the movie.
The film was very realistic. It did not portray Washington as being perfect or as majestic during the crossing like the painting of him standing at the front of the boat. It also showed why some people didn't like the Continental Army, like in the scene where they took possession of the man's boats to cross the Delaware. It did a good job of showing what really happened during the time before and during the battle. The actor, however, did not look anything like what I think George Washington would have looked like. Films like these do help students get interested in history.
I now understand the importance of the Battle of Trenton and the decision to cross the Delaware much better. This was the first victory for the Americans and they didn't even loose a man. This was perfect for moral and to eventually get other countries to join the American cause. This victory would encourage people to join the army and they were able to get resources from the Hessian camp.
I enjoyed watching the in class. This is mainly because I think of my self as a visual learner. Seeing the video was an affective way of helping me understand what happened. Although thats true, I do agree that the movie was very dramatic. At random moments in the film the actors would look off into the distance at the littlest things. I was impressed at how realistic the movie was. In my opinion the movie followed the historical recordings of what really happened. Some of the actors really were terrible though. As I said earlier, George Washington always seemed that no matter what happened he was always mad at something! But I know understand the Battle of Trenton much better.
I thought this was a great movie to show. It was very realistic and gave an understanding to its audience of what the war was like. It clearly illustrates the situations that we have learned about. For examle, Washington crossing the river, and Washington deciding to sneak over to take the Hessians. This movie wasn't much different from any learned facts in class. Just like in our books, Washington was a good leader and made bold decisions. In the movie, Washington isn't as bold as he is in the famous picture of him in his boat cossing the Delaware. And in arguement with the people who think the violence was unneccassary, it is essential that that is included because without the blood and gore, this is not realistic and isn't giving us an idea of the actual situation.
I liked this movie. I was very interested when people were getting killed and there was blood, because I did'nt think there would be so much violence. But then again, it is the Revolution. Overall, I thought the film was very intriguing and made you think more about what went down on those days. I remember much more information from watching the movie than i would have from reading something or trying to take notes on it. The movie was very accurate and made you feel like you were still in the time period. I'm surprised at how they made it look so realistic. I'm hoping we will watch more movies like on on other topics in order to realax, and learn more efficiently and more better overall.
I do think this movie was realistic – very realistic at that. However, my opinion towards whether or not it did an adequate job of teaching history or it being labeled as entertainment may be considered contradicting. You see, I felt as though it did indeed do a great job at teaching history, since like Grace, I am a visual learner. Yet, sometimes I felt it leaned more on the entertainment side than the history side; mainly because of the battlefield scenes. The gore was so redundant. The blood, killings, etc was beyond unnecessary, considering the fact it’s supposed to be an educational movie…Half of the audience refused to looking anyways. Of course, this may of not have been the intention when making the movie. They may have been trying to portray how crazy it truly was on the battlefield, like Casey stated earlier. I enjoyed the film, believe it or not, primarily because of how much I learned while viewing it. Reading about it was kind of tedious. Reading about history bores me, so being able to see it in a movie did help and I was able to register the information into my mind much better. Like several people have already said; I feel the movie did a superior job in provided details about George Washington, and relationships he held with other people. Adding on to my previous point; this film taught me more about the Battle of Trenton (obviously.) After seeing this, I actually am able to comprehend the importance of the Battle. I mean, this was the Americans’ very first victory! It even influenced others to join the army…
- Malak Khaleq
This movie wasn't bad. It did a mediocre job portraying the battle of Trenton, and I'm not saying this in a bad way. It was just like any other history movie; gave us a visual representation of what the moment was to supposedly look like. No doubt that I agree with Malak on the visual education to entertainment factor. It did seem to amuse me more, rather than to have me focus on the facts and education. Beginning at the point where the two men assaulted the guardhouse, it turned more into a "hey, attack these guys, then we'll proceed to attack some more guys" type of thing. I was still satisfied with it, and am glad that you played it to the class.
Movie gets 7/10.
I believe the movie was very realistic. I believe all the actors played their act well and the places were depicted pretty nice. The movie also very good at showing how hard it was to part of the Continental Army. I disagree with Kathryn and Casey. The gore of war is not unrealistic. I believe all the gory scenes in the movie were just fine in depicting how it really was. Moving to the second question, the biggest thing I learned was how long it took to actually cross the Delaware river. For one, I thought they did attack at night. It was a real surprise when I saw that they attacked in the day. Also I didn't know a lot about Colonel Glover. While seeing how important he was in this battle, he became my favorite character. Over all, The Crossing was a great film!
In my opinion this film was realistic. I think that this video did a good job on teaching what had happened during history. I think that videos are best at teaching visual learners, since everyone learns differently. I think that the film not only did a good job on explaining history, but it also kept the audience interested, which is a good feature when teaching, so that the audience stays focused. I think that this video is good for showing in class, since it is a good teaching method.
In my opinion, the film was very realistic and even though the movie was very entertaining, at the same time it was historically accurate and taught me a lot about this subject. Although this movie is very serious they did job of making it somewhat humorous, which I believe they might have been a little bit. I disagree with Sarah that the actors were terrible, I believe that they acted in the way that I would view them. I thought that this was a very good film. The crossing of Delaware was influential because it gave the Continental Army hope. It also showed that the soldiers trusted General Washington. The outcome of the war showed much promise.
In my opinion, I found the movie very realistic and historically accurate. I enjoyed this movie and it taught me a lot about the Battle of Trenton. I think that the crossing of the Delaware River was a major turning point in the war because not only did it give the Continental Army hope, but it also proved that they were strong enough and that they were good enough to beat and outsmart the British Army.
In my opinion, I found the movie very realistic and historically accurate. I enjoyed this movie and it taught me a lot about the Battle of Trenton. I think that the crossing of the Delaware River was a major turning point in the war because not only did it give the Continental Army hope, but it also proved that they were strong enough and that they were good enough to beat and outsmart the British Army.
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