The Crossing (2000) (TV)

Director:

Robert Harmon

Writers (WGA):

Howard Fast (novel)
Howard Fast (teleplay)

Release Date:

10 January 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Plot:

A dramatization of George Washington's perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the British forces at Trenton.

Plot Keywords:

George Washington | Patriot | American Revolution | Rebel | Military

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins

Cast

Jeff Daniels	...	Gen. George Washington
Roger Rees	...	Gen. Hugh Mercer
Sebastian Roché	...	Col. John Glover
Steven McCarthy	...	Alexander Hamilton
John Henry Canavan	...	Gen. Henry Knox
Ned Vukovic	...	Gen. William 'Lord' Stirling
David Ferry	...	Gen. Nathaniel Greene
Nigel Bennett	...	Gen. Horatio Gates
Karl Pruner	...	Gen. Sullivan
Duncan McLeod	...	Williams
Andrew Kraulis	...	Billy
Kelly Harms	...	Tommy
Jonathan Watton	...	Cadman
Kristen Holden-Ried	...	Capt. Heineman
Chris Williamson	...	Officer

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Germany:12 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Alberta, Canada

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

Also among the American wounded at Trenton was George Washington's cousin, William Washington who would later distinguish himself at the Battle of Cowpens.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Alexander Hamilton is shown as part of Washington's staff during the Battle of Trenton. Hamilton was an artillery officer during the battle and would not become a part of Washington's staff until after the Battle of Princeton, several weeks later.

Quotes:

Gen. George Washington: [after explaining his plan to Glover] Can you do it?
Col. John Glover: No, but I will.
Gen. George Washington: Now what the devil is that supposed to mean?

Simply superb

This movie was simply superb. Howard Fast consistently writes excellent fast-moving scripts that film themselves. The movies rarely do justice to history while "The Crossing" succeeded, but this movie can be enjoyed purely as entertainment, a terrific action thriller. Not only did Jeff Daniels fully live up to his role as Father of his Country, but the entire cast was uniformly excellent. Seriously, this movie truly conveyed a sense of what it means to sacrifice and to fight for freedom.

I'd also like to mention the excellent work of Sebastian Roche, who gets my award as the most versatile actor with accents since Meryl Streep. Believe it or not, Roche's biography has him born in Paris, France. Yet in "The Crossing" he plays a Maine Yankee. In Merlin, he played Sir Gawain. In "Liberty", the documentary on the Revolution, he played the Marquis de Lafayette. Although his performance was thoroughly captivating and sometimes moving, I thought his French accent for Lafayette, a genuine hero after all, was so over the top that it verged on being offensive. I couldn't help but enjoy it, but wondered if I would take so kindly to it if I was French. If Roche is French, I sincerely commend him for playing the role with a true sense of humor. His work is so good that I hope he gets his breakout role.

P.S. If you want to see another great performance, check out Philip Seymour Hoffman as Captain Joseph Plumb Martin in "Liberty." He got plenty of kudos in "Magnolia" and did a good job in "Scent of a Woman." When I saw him getting raves in "Magnolia", I was not surprised and very pleased. Let me just add that in "Liberty," there are a lot of terrific performances that may never be acknowledged, but make that documentary one of the best, most-moving in terms of emotional impact that I have ever seen.