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A More Perfect Union

Dove review.

This is a great history lesson in the forming of our Constitution of the United States. The re-enactments are superb and the actor who portrays George Washington (Michael Maguire) even resembles him! This program was either filmed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia or they sure came up with a fantastic re-creation of the Hall.

A large part of the conflict which arises is a disagreement over whether larger states such as Pennsylvania and New York should have more representation while the smaller states want it to be identical, one representative from each state, regardless of size. James Madison believes true democracy means the people are represented and he believes larger states need more than one representative so as to reflect the wishes of the people. The principles of democracy and liberty are debated, sometimes heatedly in the film. This DVD would make a wonderful tool to help school children learn about this country’s history.

There is one scene which prevents us from awarding our Dove Seal to the movie for all ages; we have chosen to award it for ages twelve plus. In the one scene, at 13:58 into the film, a man is shot and his face is pretty bloody. It is a brief scene but graphic. This is the only scene which reflects strong violence.

The Articles of Confederation, the government’s checks and balance system, consisting of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches, and also the Congress and Senate are set up. In addition, the film features a debate on the importation of slaves and the realization of some that, although many agree that slavery is wrong, it will take time to abolish it. The right of freedom of religion is also featured in the movie.

This film had the potential to be a dry re-enactment, but I believe the filmmakers manage to capture an interesting re-enactment of this historical period, due to a good script, capable actors, and excellent direction. So, again, we award our Dove Seal to the movie for ages twelve and above. This great film features history in its making!

Dove Rating Details

Some strong disagreements between the delegates; a man is shot in the face and the scene is brief but the man's face is very bloody.

A few scenes of wine with a meal.

An inspirational scene of Washington praying; freedom of religion is discussed as is slavery and true democracy.

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A more perfect union.

Directed by Peter N. Johnson

America Becomes a Nation

Become an eyewitness to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This stirring 2-hour film will bring the Founding Fathers to life as you witness the struggles and the miracles that produced the Constitution of the United States and the freest nation on earth. Filmed on location at Independence Hall; Williamsburg, Virginia; and other historical sites, it dramatically chronicles how America became a nation. It is exciting drama of the best kind-fact, rather than fiction. "It brings the history books to life," writes one reviewer. "Dramatically moving, and visually handsome," says another. Officially recognized by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, who cited the film as being "of exceptional merit."

Craig Wasson Michael McGuire Morgan White Bruce Newbold Lael Woodbury Fredd Wayne James Walsh James Arrington J. Scott Bronson Michael Flynn Rick Macy Roderick Cook Marvin Payne H.E.D. Redford Wayne Brennan Derryl Yeager Max Golightly Jesse Bennett Oscar Rowland Alan Nash Richard Dutcher Harlow Marks Vince O'Neil Douglas Seale Ivan Crosland Scott Wilkinson Beverly Rowland Michael Ruud David Jensen

Director Director

Peter N. Johnson

Writer Writer

Composer composer.

Kurt Bestor

Drama History

Releases by Date

07 jan 1989, releases by country.

111 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

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The book was better. My textbook. My textbook was better.

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It sounds like someone literally took a textbook and divided it into scenes and then made BYU faculty act in it. It's just so lazy. The drafting of the constitution is an interesting story!! There are characters who are fighting for justice and equality and I think there are some interesting characters and something that is very important to us. But...they turned out this. My professor made us watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and it was really good. This...was not. I ask for a little consistency Professor Pope.

I wish we could just watch 12 Angry Men to talk about the exact same things. Gosh dang I love that movie.

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I wished they had stuck with the original ending:

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I think the movie would’ve been more impactful if they kept it in 🤷‍♂️

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Where was the post credits War of 1812 teaser the ACU will never take off.

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A More Perfect Union (1989)

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America Becomes a Nation

Become an eyewitness to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This stirring 2-hour film will bring the Founding Fathers to life as you witness the struggles and the miracles that produced the Constitution of the United States and the freest nation on earth. Filmed on location at Independence Hall; Williamsburg, Virginia; and other historical sites, it dramatically chronicles how America became a nation. It is exciting drama of the best kind-fact, rather than fiction. "It brings the history books to life," writes one reviewer. "Dramatically moving, and visually handsome," says another. Officially recognized by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, who cited the film as being "of exceptional merit."

Peter N. Johnson

Top Billed Cast

Craig Wasson

James Madison

Michael McGuire

George Washington

Morgan White

George Mason

Bruce Newbold

Edmund Randolph

Lael Woodbury

George Wythe

Fredd Wayne

Benjamin Franklin

James Walsh

James Wilson

James Arrington

Gouverneur Morris

J. Scott Bronson

Robert Morris

Full Cast & Crew

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A More Perfect Union

Stephen and Ari Sheinkin's "A More Perfect Union" is an amiable shaggy-dog comedy about four aimless, over-educated twentysomethings who decide to secede from the United States and declare their rented house an independent nation. Filmed in Austin on an extremely modest budget, rough-edged pic is a natural for the fest circuit and may do respectable business in college-town bookings.

By Joe Leydon

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Stephen and Ari Sheinkin’s “A More Perfect Union” is an amiable shaggy-dog comedy about four aimless, over-educated twentysomethings who decide to secede from the United States and declare their rented house an independent nation. Filmed in Austin on an extremely modest budget, rough-edged pic is a natural for the fest circuit and may do respectable business in college-town bookings.

By unfortunate coincidence, the opening scene is strikingly similar to the beginning of “Shallow Grave.” Three smart-alecky, self-satisfied roommates are looking for a fourth person to share the rent, and are sarcastically unimpressed while interviewing a dimwitted prospect. The scene is funny enough, but goes on too long.

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“Perfect Union” picks up considerably with the introduction of AK (Ben Pascoe), a former child actor on a once-popular TV sitcom. AK has grown up to be a rebellious and wisecracking Generation X-er who makes his first appearance in a coffeehouse by smashing the cellular phone of a well-dressed yuppie. That sort of spirit immediately endears him to the three roommates.

Popular on Variety

AK soon joins the household,which includes Browning (Adam Wilhite), a would-be lawyer who works at the county clerk’s office; Stephan (Robert Cyrus Ryland), an underemployed clerk at an Austin historical museum; and Stu (Michael Dalmon), a sardonic know-it-all who never leaves their rented house.

Much of the pic is given over to their amusing but sincere discussions (which sound a lot like frat-house bull sessions) about how to put their revolutionary theories into practice.

All four roomies passionately agree that they should shatter the “slacker” image of self-absorbed Generation X-ers who wallow in their own indolence. Trouble is, they aren’t quite motivated enough to get beyond the planning stages of a revolution.

Brothers Stephen and Ari Sheinkin, performing as writers, editors and co-directors for their debut feature, rely heavily on the polished performances of their four leads to ease the pic through a few dead spots.

Episodic in structure and frequently funny in its extended dialogue riffs, “Perfect Union” often plays like a promising pilot for an MTV sitcom, entertaining and engaging in a low-key fashion.

Pic feels forced only when the roommates decide to kidnap and humiliate the gym teacher (Donald Sneed) who tormented Stephan during his high school days. This triggers an unsatisfying conclusion that is both contrived and anticlimactic.

Tech qualities are average for this level of low-budget filmmaking. Soundtrack features several numbers by noted Austin bands.

(Comedy -- Color)

• Production: A Sheinkin Bros. production. Produced by David McCann. Directed, written, editedby Stephen and Ari Sheinkin.
• Crew: Camera (color), Adam Joseph; production design, Susan Weinthaler, Keith Donnelly; sound, Brian Shulman; associate producer, Mateo S. Barnstone. Reviewed at South by Southwest Film & Media Conference, Austin, Texas, March 10, 1995. Running time: 105 min.
• With: Browning ... Adam Wilhite AK ... Ben Pascoe Stu ... Michael Dalmon Stephan ... Robert Cyrus Ryland Mr. Teedy ... Donald Sneed

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Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union

Former president Barack Obama is not interviewed during the five hours of Peter Kunhardt ’s HBO docuseries “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union.” The two-term president is instead shown speaking from the past: in old news features, from behind a podium, or at a barbershop, ragging on a constituent’s shoes. But this documentary is not about Obama explaining himself, and in its best passages, it is not about overtly praising him. Rather, it’s about analyzing his essential strategy in becoming a symbol as the first Black president, knowingly having to carry the conversation of race to each campaign stop and then to the White House. Be not bored by the docuseries’ gummy title; “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union” is a comprehensive and compelling analysis of a particularly vital aspect of Obama’s legacy. 

Included in this documentary are the many large building blocks from his crystallization as a Black icon (racist birther madness; “Key & Peele”‘s Obama anger translator; a terrible attempt by the New Yorker at right-wing parody, “terrorist fist jabs,” it’s all here). In many ways, it’s like the narrative, chronological companion to what Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote about in his Obama essays for The Atlantic , which later was collected in the indispensable book We Were Eight Years in Power . Coates appears in the documentary, along with other heavyweights like Cornel West, Jelani Cobb , the Reverend Al Sharpton , the late Representative John Lewis , and more. Like Coates’ book, Kunhardt’s film brightly illuminates how essential the discussion of Obama’s handling of race is to American culture as a whole, especially when it was no accident that every president before him was a white man.  

Kunhardt breaks the story into three feature-length parts but makes sure that we first recognize Barack Obama as a former kid from Hawaii, who then became an activist in college, studied at Harvard Law, and began a political career in Chicago. In 100 minutes, he vividly colors the Obama origin story with different life chapters while providing a tangible sense of how someone like him would eventually run for president. Like the best of celebrity memoirs ( Steve Martin ’s Born Standing Up comes to mind), “Obama” always keeps visible the tether that connects the future president to his original communities, his family, his hard work. The investment of this documentary in being so detailed with backstory pays off huge, in that you don’t simply see President Obama when he speaks on the 2008 campaign trail, but a smart college kid whose audience just got bigger and bigger. Even more so, you don’t see a symbol but a man who constantly navigated identity issues in the public eye. 

This first part also plants the ideas that will repeat throughout Obama’s ascendancy—his having to face numerous cringe-worthy questions from white reporters about his Blackness, or ingratiating himself to the Black community while not alienating white voters. Kunhardt’s docuseries presents this history in a fashion as current as standing on a tightrope. The disastrous moments, like his administration throwing Shirley Sherrod under the bus for a viral video that was doctored to be simply inflammatory, especially highlight the flawed work Obama took on. Kunhardt’s docuseries also gives space to people like Sherrod, or Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright (who suffered a similar treatment from right-wing editing), to give their side of the story, even if it does not always make Obama look good. 

The series truly hits its groove in part two, in that it nails what this documentary is very good at and applies it to Obama’s historic and tense 2008 campaign. “Obama” is best as its own extensive critical essay, one that goes through different moments with commentator analysis; there’s an intellectual thrill in retracing specific moments of the campaign related to race, like how Obama’s words of unity softened the existence of white privilege, only for Cornel West to succinctly point out why it was so wrong. It is thrilling, too, to see the countless Americans inspired by him, empowered by his words and dedication. 

And what this talking-head, retrospective docuseries lacks in style, it largely makes up for with abundant ideas and focused pacing, touching upon major moves in the campaign, one after another. They ring here even more like a demographic-focused strategy (like when certain Obama family members are mentioned during the campaign), but the documentary provides necessary layers and overall context. It also makes one further appreciate Obama’s public endurance and composure in the face of racism in its many forms and volumes. It is unquestionable when Obama administration senior advisor Valerie Jarrett describes him as “a still water that runs deep.”  

“Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union” flags a bit in its third and final part, in which each presidential term is given approximately an hour. The lens of race is applied, but the same analytical eye behind it, which truly gives the doc its purpose, weakens. In presenting the second term, Kunhardt retraces the grave events of the murder of Trayvon Martin or the shooting at the Charleston Church in South Carolina but gears its ideas toward recognizing his emotional openness and his empathy. (A passage about the terrible massacre at Sandy Hook is painful and seems unnecessary.) Obama’s compassion and willingness to shed a tear at the podium is a colossal trait, but in this docuseries’ analysis, they play out like flat arguments as to why we should like Obama. 

There should be more documentaries about presidencies like “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union,” though I’m certain not many others could (mostly) justify a similar running time. Kunhardt’s docuseries is of a school of thought we need more from, that criticism can enrich one’s honest appreciation of a political figure and that a total, unquestioning allegiance creates a false relationship. Actual patriotism thrives with this nuance; so, too, does documentary filmmaking. 

Now playing on HBO; part two airs tonight, and part three will air tomorrow night. 

Nick Allen is the former Senior Editor at RogerEbert.com and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

• Peter Kunhardt

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A More Perfect Union (1989)

111min - English

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Become an eyewitness to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This stirring 2-hour film will bring the Founding Fathers to life as you witness the struggles and the miracles that produced the Constitution of the United States and the freest nation on earth. Filmed on location at Independence Hall; Williamsburg, Virginia; and other historical sites, it dramatically chronicles how America became a nation. It is exciting drama of the best kind-fact, rather than fiction. "It brings the history books to life," writes one reviewer. "Dramatically moving, and visually handsome," says another. Officially recognized by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, who cited the film as being "of exceptional merit."

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A More Perfect Union: America Becomes a Nation

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Detailed Description America, 1786 Official Recognized by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution Ten years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. England wages a new war of unfair trade and tariffs. Bickering and jealousy fracture the once united states. But a handful of brilliant men, James Madison, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin, lead a political battle to create a new form of government, one that will establish the standard of self-government to the world. A More Perfect Union: America Becomes A Nation is the first comprehensive recreation of those stirring, heated debates during the sweltering summer of 1787. Filmed on location at Independence Hall, Williamsburg, Virgina, and other historical sites, it dramatically chronicles how America became a nation and established those underlying principles that guard our freedoms today.

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• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.88 ounces
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000LLULI4
• #12,152 in DVD

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A More Perfect Union (1989) Stream and Watch Online

Watch 'a more perfect union' online.

Fancy watching ' A More Perfect Union ' on your TV, phone, or tablet? Searching for a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or view the Peter N. Johnson-directed movie via subscription can be a challenge, so we here at Moviefone want to help you out. We've listed a number of streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription alternatives - along with the availability of 'A More Perfect Union' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into the various whats and wheres of how you can watch 'A More Perfect Union' right now, here are some finer points about the history flick. Released January 7th, 1989, 'A More Perfect Union' stars Craig Wasson , Michael McGuire , Morgan White , Bruce Newbold The movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 51 min, and received a user score of 68 (out of 100) on TMDb, which compiled reviews from 3 top users. Interested in knowing what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "Become an eyewitness to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This stirring 2-hour film will bring the Founding Fathers to life as you witness the struggles and the miracles that produced the Constitution of the United States and the freest nation on earth. Filmed on location at Independence Hall; Williamsburg, Virginia; and other historical sites, it dramatically chronicles how America became a nation. It is exciting drama of the best kind-fact, rather than fiction. "It brings the history books to life," writes one reviewer. "Dramatically moving, and visually handsome," says another. Officially recognized by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, who cited the film as being "of exceptional merit."" 'A More Perfect Union' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on Amazon Video .

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Hbo’s ‘obama: in pursuit of a more perfect union’: tv review.

Peter Kunhardt's three-part documentary examines Barack Obama's rise to the presidency and the role race played in shaping his political identity, achievements and legacy.

By Daniel Fienberg

Daniel Fienberg

Chief Television Critic

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In a world of shoddy rhetoric and bad faith arguments, few observations are shoddier and made in worse faith than the one that says the election of Barack Obama as 44th president of the United States marked the end of America’s legacy of systemic racism or proved that such systemic racism either never existed or existed only in the distant past. It’s an argument that pundits and politicians whip out as “proof” that reparations are unnecessary or that critical race theory is evil.

It’s an argument that’s systemically (see what I did there?) but inefficiently eviscerated in HBO’s three-part, six-hour documentary Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union . Of course, nobody who would ever make that argument is going to watch a single second of a three-part, six-hour HBO documentary about Barack Obama, and nobody with an interest in seeing that argument eviscerated is going to feel like they learned all that much from Peter Kunhardt’s approach here, which is half a provocative and complicated exploration of the role of race in Obama’s political career and half a poorly sourced, by-the-numbers, generic biography.

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Airdate: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3 Director: Peter Kunhardt

That first mode makes for an interesting and sometimes provocative documentary. The second is perplexingly distracting and unnecessary. And you can’t get one without the other.

The first two installments of In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union fall mostly into that second category. After opening with Obama’s March 2008 Philadelphia speech on race, in which he used the preamble to the Constitution and the burgeoning controversies surrounding Jeremiah Wright to pivot into a wide-reaching address about the many racially tinged conversations floating around his campaign, the first part of the documentary follows Obama from childhood to his decision to run for president. The second is built around the 2008 presidential campaign and his election. After two very linear and point-by-point chapters, the third part then looks, in an almost amorphous blur, at the complicated legacy of the Obama presidency, its successes and failures and the subsequent backlash that was spearheaded by Donald Trump and led to his ascension.

So many pieces of Obama’s biography are familiar because, well, he has written and talked about them extensively. As essential as it is to understand the impact of his biracial parentage and his childhood stops in Hawaii and Indonesia, chances are pretty good that if you care about those things you already know about them, and you won’t find anything even slightly new here.

On the basic biographical side, Kunhardt’s access is simply thin. Other than the ex-president’s half-sister, who makes a couple of brief appearances, nobody named Obama actually appears in the doc. It’s bizarre how heavily the first two episodes rely on one or two major Barack Obama interviews with other people. A couple of 60 Minutes interviews from early phases of his career are so close to the spine of this documentary that you may find yourself wishing you could just go watch (or rewatch) those interviews instead. A few Obama friends show up, offering mostly simple stories with so little personality or detail that none will need to worry about any post-interview awkwardness at their next Obama dinner party.

Though the people closest to Obama stick to party lines about his youthful brilliance and how it manifested itself at every stage of his development, the documentary isn’t pure hagiography. The most interesting parts, then, involve people who might not have been close enough to Obama to speak here with a complete filter, or people discussing the few topics that haven’t been endlessly reported over the past 20 years.

You can tell that Illinois’ Rep. Bobby Rush, for example, is still hurt that Obama ran against him in a congressional primary, and also that he’s a little cocky about handing Obama his lone electoral defeat. He’s not going to come out and cackle about it, but you can tell. Rush is central to the documentary’s depiction of Obama’s ambition. You can tell, too, that pastor Wright, probably the most interesting of the documentary’s talking heads, is still frustrated and hurt by Obama’s need to distance himself during the 2008 campaign. Although he doesn’t express his pain explicitly, enough is evident to illustrate the choices Obama made as he was defining himself for different segments of America.

It’s impressive how well Shirley Sherrod, fired by the Obama administration in a knee-jerk reaction to a blatantly doctored video disseminated by Andrew Breitbart, keeps her feelings of betrayal inside. But those feelings are just visible enough to show the ways the Obama presidency was often derailed by the same people who point to the Obama presidency as evidence that all’s hunky-dory with America.

Whether everything is still too historically close for reflection or whether they’re too personally close to Obama’s legacy, talking heads like David Axelrod and speechwriter Jon Favreau have a weird lack of insight on broader topics. You could remove them from the documentary without losing anything of substance, especially when it comes to the more provocative racial topics, where I preferred the more prickly musings of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Ta-Nehisi Coates , Cornel West and Jelani Cobb, one of the documentary’s executive producers. They offer various shades of pragmatism when it comes to the debate over what Obama had to do and had to be in order to be elected, and where his administration was an inspiration and where it was compromised.

Give me two hours of those figures grappling, instead of six hours where you have to wade through platitudes and generalities and third-hand “how Barack met Michelle” mythologizing. Without Obama’s participation, without the participation of most of the key political figures in his sphere, without a single oppositional voice either from the left in his early years or the adversarial right in later years, this was never going to be a “definitive” life-of-Obama documentary anyway. So I wish there had been more careful thematic curating. It’s the clash between optimism and American reality that sometimes emerges here that’s worth watching and learning from.

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• Cast & crew

A More Perfect Union

Henry, Stella and little Haley Berg are a happy family. But no family is perfect. When Henry contracts Covid-19 while on trial for stealing files from the government, his absence from his fa... Read all Henry, Stella and little Haley Berg are a happy family. But no family is perfect. When Henry contracts Covid-19 while on trial for stealing files from the government, his absence from his family becomes too loud for Stella to ignore. Stella strains under the stress of raising the... Read all Henry, Stella and little Haley Berg are a happy family. But no family is perfect. When Henry contracts Covid-19 while on trial for stealing files from the government, his absence from his family becomes too loud for Stella to ignore. Stella strains under the stress of raising their child alone during quarantine, battling her fraying mental health, and guilty conscienc... Read all

• Blaize Hall
• George Wyner
• Elyse Mirto
• 1 Critic review

Top cast 21

• Caroline Lewis

• Rosemary Sentelio

• Paulette Berg

• Michelle Edelman

• Martin Sentelio

• Bartender …

• Dr. Camika Lewis

• Bailiff Curtz
• Henry Berg …

• Senator Jenkins

• Stella Berg

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• United States
• North Hills, California, USA (Stella and Henry's House)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $500,000 (estimated)

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