On Thursday, July 16, the Rockbridge Historical Society’s monthly “Revolutionary Films” series narrows the cinematic lens, and broadly refracts it, through a ‘kaleidoscope’ of different filmed representations of George Washington.
Starting at 6 p.m. in the Rockbridge Regional Library, RHS will show an hour’s worth of selected scenes from feature films, documentaries, miniseries – even two songs from a musical – followed by comments from local historians to frame group conversation. Collectively, this video playlist will be curated to compare and contrast different stages of Washington’s career, as well as his shifting relationships with peers and rivals, that variously highlight different personality traits and styles of leadership.
This free event is timed to complement the premiere community screening of the biopic “Young Washington” that RHS arranged at the State Theater last weekend. Two scenes excerpted from that film, paired with actor/ director interviews, will echo and extend those encounters, while encouraging others to watch it in full, as distributors add more screens nationally after two strong opening weekends.
Inviting additional suggestions and “votes from the crowd,” the clips will draw from long-form chronicles such as Ken Burns’ new 12-hour PBS documentary “The American Revolution” (2025) and the History Channel’s three-part docudrama, “Washington” (2020), which inventively interweaves scripted dramatizations and historians’ commentary. Washington also plays supporting if pivotal roles in HBO’s acclaimed sevenepisode miniseries, “John Adams” (2008), and Disney’s live recording of the Broadway hit, “Hamilton” (2015). Jeff Daniels’ popular portrayal of the Continental Army’s Commander-in-Chief in “The Crossing” (A&E, 2000) provides a narrative complement to the young colonial officer’s service during the French and Indian War in the four-hour series, “The War that Made America” (PBS, 2006), a precedent counterpoint to those same formative years represented in “Young Washington.”
For an even broader historical arc of visual comparisons, an image gallery of 18th- and 19th-century portraits and statues will invite art historical perspectives – spotlighting several representations right here in Lexington – that have shaped how Washington is seen in both popular culture and public memory.
Group conversation will be moderated by RHS Executive Director Eric Wilson, after opening comments by local social and military historians.
For trailers and video teasers, see RHS Instagram and Facebook pages.
