Hamilton is a 2020 American musical drama film written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Thomas Kail. The film is a recording of Miranda's Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn is inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow. The film stars Miranda in the titular role of Treasury Secretary and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, along with the original Broadway cast of the musical.

Hamilton was released on July 3, 2020 on Disney+ by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.^[2][3] The film was acclaimed by critics for its visuals, performances, and direction.

Synopsis

Hamilton is the story of the unlikely Founding Father determined to make his mark on the new nation as hungry and ambitious as he is. From b------ orphan to Washington's right-hand man, rebel to war hero, a loving husband caught in the country's first sex scandal, to the Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy. George Washington, Eliza Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Hamilton's lifelong friend/foil Aaron Burr all make their mark in this astonishing new musical exploration of a political mastermind.

Cast

• Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton
• Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr
• Philippa Soo as Eliza Hamilton
• Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler
• Christopher Jackson as George Washington
• Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson
• Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan / James Madison
• Anthony Ramos as John Laurens / Philip Hamilton
• Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds
• Jonathan Groff as King George III

Ensemble

• Carleigh Bettiol
• Ariana DeBose (The Bullet)
• Sydney James Harcourt (Philip Schuyler / James Reynolds / Doctor)
• Sascha Hutchings
• Thayne Jesperson (Samuel Seabury)
• Jon Rua (Charles Lee)
• Elizabeth Judd
• Hope Easterbrook
• Seth Stewart
• Austin Smith
• Ephraim Sykes (George Eacker)

Songs

Act I

• "Alexander Hamilton" – Burr, Laurens, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Eliza, Washington, and Company
• "Aaron Burr, Sir" – Hamilton, Burr, Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan
• "My Shot" – Hamilton, Laurens, Lafayette, Mulligan, Burr, and Company
• "The Story of Tonight" – Hamilton, Laurens, Mulligan, Lafayette, and Company
• "The Schuyler Sisters" – Angelica, Eliza, Peggy, Burr, and Company
• "Farmer Refuted" – Seabury, Hamilton, Burr, and Company
• "You'll Be Back" – King George III and Company
• "Right Hand Man" – Washington, Hamilton, Burr, and Company
• "A Winter's Ball" – Burr, Hamilton, and Company
• "Helpless" – Eliza and Company
• "Satisfied" – Angelica and Company
• "The Story of Tonight (Reprise)" – Laurens, Mulligan, Lafayette, Hamilton, and Burr
• "Wait for It" – Burr and Company
• "Stay Alive" – Hamilton, Washington, Laurens, Lafayette, Mulligan, Lee, Eliza, Angelica, and Company
• "Ten Duel Commandments" – Laurens, Hamilton, Lee, Burr, and Company
• "Meet Me Inside" – Hamilton, Burr, Laurens, Washington, and Company
• "That Would Be Enough" – Eliza and Hamilton
• "Guns and Ships" – Burr, Lafayette, Washington, and Company
• "History Has Its Eyes on You" – Washington, Hamilton, and Company
• "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" – Hamilton, Lafayette, Laurens, Mulligan, Washington, and Company
• "What Comes Next?" – King George III
• "Dear Theodosia" – Burr and Hamilton
• "Tomorrow There'll Be More of Us (Laurens Interlude)" – Laurens, Eliza, and Hamilton
• "Non-Stop" – Burr, Hamilton, Angelica, Eliza, Washington, and Company

Act II

• "What'd I Miss" – Jefferson, Burr, Madison, and Company
• "Cabinet Battle #1" – Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison
• "Take a Break" – Eliza, Philip, Hamilton, and Angelica
• "Say No to This" – Maria Reynolds, Burr, Hamilton, James Reynolds, and Company
• "The Room Where It Happens" – Burr, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and Company
• "Schuyler Defeated" – Philip, Eliza, Hamilton, and Burr
• "Cabinet Battle #2" – Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison
• "Washington on Your Side" – Burr, Jefferson, Madison, and Company
• "One Last Time" – Washington, Hamilton, and Company
• "I Know Him" – King George III
• "The Adams Administration" – Burr, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, and Company
• "We Know" – Hamilton, Jefferson, Burr, and Madison
• "Hurricane" – Hamilton and Company
• "The Reynolds Pamphlet" – Jefferson, Madison, Burr, Hamilton, Angelica, James Reynolds, and Company
• "Burn" – Eliza
• "Blow Us All Away" – Philip, Martha, Dolly, Eacker, Hamilton, and Company
• "Stay Alive (Reprise)" – Hamilton, Philip, Eliza, and Company
• "It's Quiet Uptown" – Angelica, Hamilton, Eliza, and Company
• "The Election of 1800" – Jefferson, Madison, Burr, Hamilton, and Company
• "Your Obedient Servant" – Burr, Hamilton, and Company
• "Best of Wives and Best of Women" – Eliza and Hamilton
• "The World Was Wide Enough" – Burr, Hamilton, and Company
• "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" – Eliza and Company

Credits

• "My Shot (Rise Up Remix)" - The Roots feat. Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz, and Nate Ruess
• "Dear Theodosia (instrumental)" - The Band
• "Exit Music" - The Band

Production

On February 3, 2020, it was announced that Walt Disney Studios had acquired the worldwide distribution rights for the film for $75 million.^[2] The film is produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeffrey Seller and Thomas Kail.

Filming

The film is edited together from three performances of Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City in 2016 with the original principal Broadway cast members (minus Emmy Raver-Lampman and Betsy Struxness), combined with a few "setup shots" recorded without the audience present.^[2] This footage, shot by RadicalMedia, was originally filmed to be spliced into the 2016 documentary, Hamilton's America.

Release

Initially, it was announced that the film would be theatrically released on October 15, 2021, and then added to Disney+ at a later date.^[4] However, on May 12, 2020, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it was announced that it would be exclusively released on Disney+ July 3, 2020, one day before Independence Day in America.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Hamilton holds an approval rating of 98% and an average rating of 9.1/10, based on 202 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "Look around, look around at how beautifully Hamilton shines beyond Broadway - and at how marvelously Thomas Kail captures the stage show's infectious energy."^[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[6]

Video

Trivia

• This is the first Disney+ original film to receive a PG-13 rating by the MPA; unlike all of the previous Disney+ original films, which were either rated G or PG.
  • Thus, it is also Disney's first non-theatrical film to be designated that rating; all of the previous Walt Disney Pictures films designated that rating were theatrical.
  • Regarding the profanity in the show, Miranda said on Twitter that most instances of f-bombs are censored, with the exception of "Say No to This", which is left intact (even though in the song, the first two letters of the word are said and is left unfinished) with the quote "That was my wife you decided to -". Miranda said he was allowed only one f-bomb to qualify for a PG-13 rating and a second use is an automatic R rating,^[7] adding, jokingly, "I literally gave two f**ks so the kids could see it."^[8] It was repeated later in "We Know" where Jefferson subs it with "WHAT!"
• Jonathan Groff had already left the show by the time of filming, but returned especially for the shoot.
• This is the second Disney+ original film not to use the Disney+ Original logo after Artemis Fowl, due to it being slated for a theatrical release.
• The opening logo for this movie is very similar to the 2011 logo; however, different music plays and not immediately. The fireworks are timed to the music and so is the glowing arc. In the opening and closing logos, the sparkle sounds that play during and after the arc forming are not present.
• This was slated as the "most adult" media on Disney+ before The Beatles: Get Back was released.
• The opening logo is the tune of "The Ten Duel Commandments", with reminders from King George III.
• The shoot takes place in June of 2016.

Gallery

References

External links

• Hamilton (2020 film) on Wikipedia