One of my favorite movies was made from one of my favorite musicals and they're both 1776. As you may be aware though, the movie has had a checkered and beleaguered history of being trimmed. For its original release, much material was hacked out including what was arguably the most important song.
Once upon a time, the deleted material was deemed irrevocably lost. Then someone found degraded copies of some of the footage and we had a home video release using much of that. Then someone found original, non-degraded copies of some footage and…well, there have been many versions available. We now appear to have a "definitive," near-perfect restoration.
Interested in the numbers? The original theatrical release ran 142 minutes. The new Blu-ray contains two different versions — a "Director's Cut" that runs 165 and an even longer cut that runs 168. I have not compared them but film scholars are all saying the longest version is the one to watch. They also seem to be unanimously impressed by the quality of the video and the color correcting that has been done on it, plus there are also new commentary tracks, deleted and alternate scenes, screen tests and other supplemental goodies.
Maddeningly, the Amazon listing for this new release gives 142 minutes as the running time. Don't believe that but do use that link to buy it and watch it. Or wait 'til a month from today and watch it on an appropriate day. It's a great movie and it deserves to be seen at its best.