James Taylor, Wynton Marsalis, and Yo-Yo Ma perform. David and Ginger Hildebrand, members of a reenactment group called the Brigade of the American Revolution, supplied Middlemarch with music. They could be counted on to shoot cannons, do horse charges and battle scenes, and answer questions about everything from muskets to period buttons. Some of these weekend hobbyists were as knowledgeable as scholars, says Blumer. These short, fleeting images give the feeling of action without being a full-blown reenactment, which may have come across as too fake.
People just look different now.
Faces have changed, glasses are common, people are significantly heavier, and beards are more prevalent today. The trick of doing a documentary is to provide entertainment while staying true to the history. TV people and scholars fix on and obsess about different things. He hopes the two fields provide the viewers with a good balance. While the scholarship is critical, the drama of events surrounding the formation of the United States makes a good yarn.