These are the Times

Thomas Paine, though prominent in two Revolutions and almost hanged for attempting to raise a third, is grown in our day, somewhat dim. He incurred the bitter hostility of three men not generally united: Pitt, Robespierre, and Washington. Of these the first two sought his death, while the third carefully abstained from measures designed to save his life. Pitt and Washington hated him because he was a democrat; Robespierre, because he opposed the execution of the King and the Reign of Terror. Trevor Griffiths' thrilling screenplay carries Tom Paine from persecution in England, to the American War of Independence, to Revolutionary France, mixing politics, love and war. as a consequence, Tom Paine's light shines brighter as his bi-centenary approaches.