Backstairs at the White House (1979)
Behind the scenes at the White House during eight administrations, as told by the people who work there.
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Fantastic!
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
Believe it or not, I just called Borders on a whim, and they actually had a copy. I ran down, bought it, and watched the whole thing that same night. This miniseries was even better than I had remembered. (Of course, I was 9 or so the first time, and watched it with my mommy.) Younger viewers, such as my roommate, have a difficult time looking past the sets, which don't look anything like "The West Wing", but I quickly began to ignore him, and just sat there and soaked it all in.I feel like there could have been a better attempt to clean up the film from the original airing, but it still was absolutely enjoyable.All in all, worth the seven and a half hours I spent in front of the TV last Tuesday night!!
This mini-series made me want to learn more about the history of time covered. This film brought history to life; it gave characteristics and characters to what had only been Presidential names to me before. I would recommend this film to everyone; all ages, all people. I would love to be able to purchase it for my at home collection.
Veteran Television Music Composer Morton Stevens, ("Hawaii Five-O", "Police Woman") wrote an outstanding music score for this fine TV mini-series. It featured a beautiful main title theme that really set the tone for each episode. I join the other comments here in hoping that there will be a video release soon of this wonderful show.
"Backstairs at the White House" is a delicious look at the goings on inside the White House, as well as a few lessons in history. This wonderful series was only aired once to my knowledge, in 1979. This stellar production deserves to be seen again and again, as it is timeless material. Insights into the nature of our past presidents and first ladies as seen through the eyes and experiences of the household staff, offers more unbiased truth than official biographies. The humor, drama and intrigue are all there. I sure hope someone with clout will read these notes and get the message that we want a video of this glorious work.