Hamilton (Disney+) Movie Review & Comments

I loath musicals and loath rap even more so it's not exacly aimed at me lol
 
Ive been lucky enough to see this on Broadway and in the Westend.

Like Wicked before it there is a reason its the most celebrated musical of its era.

We gave the Disney+ version a whirl last night and it does a really good job of showing off the production.

Was Wicked really that celebrated? It didn't do much for me, the plot felt horribly contrived and the songs are pretty mediocre. For me the best musical of the past few years was Mary Poppins, and before that, the Book of Mormon.
 
Marmite. There that's my opinion. Watched it for 15 mins but had to switch off. Some people will love it but I hated every excruciating minute of it. I'm so glad I didn't waste hundreds of pounds on tickets to watch it at the theatre. Think I'll enjoy Frozen II though !!! :laugh::laugh:
 
Was Wicked really that celebrated? It didn't do much for me, the plot felt horribly contrived and the songs are pretty mediocre. For me the best musical of the past few years was Mary Poppins, and before that, the Book of Mormon.


I'm a big fan of the book of Mormon (one of the few shows I've seen twice) but i don't think it can be compared as being on the same level of cultural success as Wicked or Hamilton.

Wicked has won 10 Tony awards and a Grammy and a Olivier Award. Its continued to be nominated for something every year since 2003.

Its ran for 17 years continuously and very successfully - certainly in its first 10 years it was one of those shows that the tickets where difficult to get - not just for an opening period.

Its had a significant amount of cultural 'cut through' with its music used in multiple tv shows and multiples parodies its also due to be made as a film. Like Hamilton its lead star has gone on film success

Its taken over $1 Billion on Broadway alone.

I mean 🤷‍♂️ I'm not saying it was the Beatles but in terms of theatre productions its kind of a big deal.
 
I watched 15 minutes and it made me reminisce fondly of that time I stubbed my foot so hard I broke my middle toe and lost three entire toenails.

As some have already noted – not for everyone.
 
Well a bunch of open minded sorts in here I see...

Let me be up-front here: The musical styling in Hamilton are definitely not the ones you'd find in my music library. At all. But good god do they work here! Superb performances pretty much across the board, genuine comedy in the middle of mostly very dark times, really well done choreography (pay attention to that rotating stage set, some of what they're doing is exceptional) and I'm struggling to think of a musical that covers such a long period of someone's life so well. That's one of the big advantages to going more hip-hop, makes packing in information that bit easier. Oh, and the TV version may just be a touch of genius as this is a show that definitely rewards repeat watching.

I've got to mention the visuals too. In a word: fantastic! Now I'm very, very far from a professional AV reviewer so take this with a pinch of salt but thought detail was really good, camera work was pretty much bang on and black levels are staggering. The best way I can describe it is it reminded me of the promo material they tend to use in-store to advertise OLED and LED's with really good local dimming. Pure inky black with nicely lit performers gives a great presentation, especially as you never seem to lose the background set detail when you should see it.

One last thought on the show itself: It's got a fascinating place in history and its message has changed thanks to the changes in the world around it. Nowhere is this better shown than the line: "Immigrants... we get the job done!". Originally a throw away comedy line it's become a very powerful moment in the show. Certainly watching it now in 2020 is likely to have a very different impact than doing so in 2015. Hopefully in another five years we've recaptured some of the more optimistic vibe from the early days of the shows' life.
 
Watched this Friday night with the family and really enjoyed it. Best musical I have watched for a while! 10/10!
 
Absolutely adored this - I'm certainly not a rap fan but that doesn't make the slightest difference as I found it enthralling and exhilarating. On several occasions, it left me with a big grin on my face and goosebumps on my arms. Incredible.

And, as @BOFH_UK mentions, it looks absolutely stunning in HDR, even on my modest TV.
 
Lovely heart-felt review; thanks Kumari. I was apprehensive about this, especially given the hype. I am a fan of musical theatre and have enjoyed other filmed stage productions (i.e. Les Mis with Alfie Boe, Miss Saigon with Eva Noblezada and Phantom with Ramin Karimloo).

Despite its popularity, I knew nothing about the premise or even songs beforehand. To me, it felt disruptive with a novel approach to storytelling. The success is remarkable and whilst not to everyone's tastes (I know several people that despise Hamilton), if it continues to draw interest in theatre and even history (i.e. encouraging the audience to research about the historical events), then I think that Hamilton has done its job.

The reprises help elevate the songs to earworm status (at least to me). Subsequently, I have had the album on during the day but find that it's not really background music; given the lyrics, I think it is best enjoyed with my full concentration.

I watched Hamilton projected and thought that it looked and sounded great. So much so that I'll be giving it a second viewing shortly. Left me feeling pumped and wanting to party like it's 1776. ;-)
 
Watched on Friday with the wife & daughter, wife left the room after 10 mins, daughter & I were too invested to notice she had left, thought it was absolutely brilliant
 
Well a bunch of open minded sorts in here I see...

Let me be up-front here: The musical styling in Hamilton are definitely not the ones you'd find in my music library. At all. But good god do they work here! Superb performances pretty much across the board, genuine comedy in the middle of mostly very dark times, really well done choreography (pay attention to that rotating stage set, some of what they're doing is exceptional) and I'm struggling to think of a musical that covers such a long period of someone's life so well. That's one of the big advantages to going more hip-hop, makes packing in information that bit easier. Oh, and the TV version may just be a touch of genius as this is a show that definitely rewards repeat watching.

I've got to mention the visuals too. In a word: fantastic! Now I'm very, very far from a professional AV reviewer so take this with a pinch of salt but thought detail was really good, camera work was pretty much bang on and black levels are staggering. The best way I can describe it is it reminded me of the promo material they tend to use in-store to advertise OLED and LED's with really good local dimming. Pure inky black with nicely lit performers gives a great presentation, especially as you never seem to lose the background set detail when you should see it.

One last thought on the show itself: It's got a fascinating place in history and its message has changed thanks to the changes in the world around it. Nowhere is this better shown than the line: "Immigrants... we get the job done!". Originally a throw away comedy line it's become a very powerful moment in the show. Certainly watching it now in 2020 is likely to have a very different impact than doing so in 2015. Hopefully in another five years we've recaptured some of the more optimistic vibe from the early days of the shows' life.
Could not agree any more...absolutely loved it. Brilliantly done with exceptional camera work.....and what a fantastic story superbly told. I can't wait to watch it again. The cast were so good especially Daveed Digs as Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson...some comments on here have been very derogatory in my opinion....This was pure class from start to finish.
 
We were pretty happy watching it! Felt like a breath of fresh air in lock down.

Couple of gripes for us - 1. Found is really difficult understanding the rap elements on quite a few occasions. 2. We were watching on a 160" screen so would have preferred to be placed statically in the stalls and have the musical played out as if we were "there" rather than all the different camera angles.

Now really curious to find more plays to watch!
 
We were pretty happy watching it! Felt like a breath of fresh air in lock down.

Couple of gripes for us - 1. Found is really difficult understanding the rap elements on quite a few occasions. 2. We were watching on a 160" screen so would have preferred to be placed statically in the stalls and have the musical played out as if we were "there" rather than all the different camera angles.

Now really curious to find more plays to watch!
Phantom of the Opera is pretty good on Bluray...
 
I was initially put off by the 'rap music' comments so fast forwarded to about 14 mins and watched it for a few minutes until the end of the King George III song and thought it was so good that I had to rewind and watch it from the beginning. Still found the rap awkward to follow but that didn't detract from the enjoyment of the full show - simply astounding.

Just started to watch it for the 2nd time and was amazed that I hardly even noticed the rap this time around even to the point where I thought I hadn't gone back to the beginning.

All in all, one of the best uses of my TV watching efforts in a long time.
 
Just started to watch it for the 2nd time and was amazed that I hardly even noticed the rap this time around even to the point where I thought I hadn't gone back to the beginning.

One you've watched it once and understood who's who (not to mention that the intro rap reprises in various forms throughout) it's so much more easy to grasp. Watch or listen to it (the soundtrack is more or less the whole show) a few times and you'll be trying to rap along with the particularly speedy My Shot...
 
Just ordered the Kindle book and Audio Book to get some detailed background especially with regard to the prestigious oratory skills that some of them had (e.g. George Washington's farewell speech [I think]). Not to start a political argument but I have a hard time seeing Trump doing something similar (in both tone and content and delivery and ....)
 
Musically, it's not the sort of thing I am usually into at all. But it's a great production, with a thoroughly engaging story (I knew nothing about Alexander Hamilton prior to this).

I don't think it's a spoiler to say the the British are very much the bad guys of the piece. So if you find that problematic - best not to watch.

The 4K UHD production, wide colour gamut, Dolby Atmos sound and DolbyVision make this an outstanding event to watch and listen to.

I thought it captured the sense of a theatrical musical performance really well. It does this without keeping the camera at a fix position all the time.

Dolby Atmos is very effective, one of the best presentations of the format that I have heard from a streaming service.

I watched this on Disney+ (via an Amazon 4K Fire TV).

Regards,
James.
 
I watched this the other night. Or should I say I watched 20 mins, thought about turning it off but gave it another 15 - and latest just over the half hour. I found it difficult to follow. Maybe it was the rap music. Maybe it was because I was watching a filmed stage performance. And I love Moulin Rouge.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom