John Adams (2008)
For those who need a little more drama in their Revolution. Though the HBO mini-series covers the period from the Boston Massacre to the presidency of Adams’s son, John Quincy, the best bits are undeniably the sparring between Adams (Paul Giamatti) and his hot-headed brother Sam (Danny Houston) about the defense of the British soldiers responsible for the Massacre and the odd couple trip to France undertaken by Adams and Ben Franklin (a show-stealing, Tom Wilkinson) to secure support for the Revolution. “Game of Thrones” fans will enjoy seeing Stannis Baratheon (Stephan Dillane) give a wonderfully moody portrayal of Thomas Jefferson as a bipolar genius.
