Declaration of Independence

With today being the Fourth of July and thus another anniversary of the day the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, I looked up wikipedia for an article about it and found out about this video on YouTube that was produced by Norman Lear and Rob Reiner and co-directed by Frank Capra III who is the grandson of the famous director. Morgan Freeman intros about Jefferson and his wanting to include an anti-slavery passage-despite himself owning some slaves-but decided against it since he knew many of his fellow delegates didn't agree. Then we witness many celebrities reading the document itself in the Philadelphia building it was presented and signed at. Among them: Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Kathy Bates (who reads the most familiar "We hold these truths..."), Whoopi Goldberg, Renee Zellweger, Ming-Na, Winona Ryder, Edward Norton, Kevin Spacey, Graham Greene (who reads one passage related to Native Americans or American Indians as the term would have been at the time), Benicio Del Toro. Quite touching reading from all though considering Mr. Gibson's recent troubles, it was a bit of a surprise to see him there. And John Williams' score from Saving Private Ryan was a nice touch. So on that note, this educational short is highly recommended.

I first saw this at the New York Public Library, where it accompanied an exhibit of several versions of the Declaration of independence. It is an absolutely marvelous video of movie actors and actresses reading the ENTIRE Declaration of Independence. While they would not necessarily be the celebrities I would have selected, they do a commendable job. It was filmed in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, in the actual room where the Declaration was debated and approved.

There is also an introduction by Morgan Freeman that sets the stage well. Of course, he was a great choice.

Truly marvelous. This needs to be available on DVD - the internet version is not high quality.

Highest possible recommendation.