The Crossing (TV 2000)

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

Director:

Robert Harmon

Writers:

Howard Fast (novel), Howard Fast (teleplay)

Stars:

Jeff Daniels, Roger Rees, Sebastian Roché

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Kris Holden-Ried	...	Capt. Heineman (as Kristen Holden-Ried)
Chris Williamson	...	Officer

Storyline

In 1776, less than six months after the Declaraton of Independence, the Continental Army, under the command of General George Washington, was on the brink of utter defeat. Low on men, cannons and supplies, Washington decides to risk everything on one last desperately daring attack on the town of Trenton where over 1000 of the feared Hessian mercenaries are garrisoned. However to do that, the army must cross the Delaware to a seemingly hopeless battle that would turn out to be more successful than Washington ever dreamed of.

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Plot Keywords:

george washington | defeat | mercenary | battle | cannon | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

George Washington: Sieg über die hessischen Söldner

Filming Locations:

Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

A&E Television Networks, Chris/Rose Productions, Columbia TriStar Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

The weather, as portrayed, does not match the severe conditions during the actual battle. When the attack on Trenton began, it was a near whiteout blizzard - a factor which allowed the Revolutionaries to approach the town unobserved.

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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?

User Reviews

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.