American version (hear me out)

Hmmmm,would you call it a "reimagining" or an "inspired by" movie? :P

A British version would probably work better since you could do it in Hampton Court or something like that where there is a lot of history to go through.

The idea of an American version is intriguing. The question would be where it would be filmed. If you are suggesting a movie filmed in one take. like this one, location is the issue. American history isn't terribly centrally located and not too many buildings encapsulate all, or even most, of our history. CSPAN did a tour of Tocqueville's works that ranged from France to New York to Michigan to Tennessee and many places in between.

I think that an American version would by necessity need to be filmed indoors and out. This makes for a logistical challenge, which is somewhat ironic given your second link. There is the issue of the Steadicam and its limitations, most specifically batteries. As in Russian Ark, hundreds of extras would need to be staged in strategic locations. Distance is an issue, but it could be overcome somewhat by having the observers get in and out of period specific carriages with different characters, which would also allow for small conversations giving details about history. But even with carriages covering small distances, these distances would need to be as minimal as possible.

Where in America can we have your outsider, Tocqueville being an excellent suggestion, walk and ride and see a slice of our history?

The Smithsonian is an obvious choice, but not much history actually took place within its walls. Also, it comprises several buildings that would not lend themselves to a one take film. Additionally, I doubt they would close it for filming.

After thinking about this, and I do thank you for the enjoyable diversion, I can come up with a suggestion:

Fredericksburg, Virginia. It started as a Native American village, transitioned to to bustling Colonial city with an active port, hosted one of the biggest military disasters in human history during the Civil War, and turned into a small southern town boasting a women's college (although it does have male students now.) Tocqueville could speak with George Washington, James Monroe, Thomas Jefferson, Walt Whitman, Clara Barton, Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln as well as a multitude of others. He could witness the sale of enslaved African-Americans on a block that still exists. He could even refresh himself at a drug store soda counter in Goolrick's.

My apologies for the long reply. But thank you again for the diversion.

Interesting idea, but I think a vast majority of Americans only look at our own history through popular cultural lenses and don't have the depth to focus deeply into the past. That's why most history documentaries are relegated to public television and the university system, while Hollywood-made historical dramas are infested with plot-lines more focused on good vs. bad or some whirlwind romance.