Editorial Review

From the moment the young Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) is stolen from his life and ancestral home in 18th-century Africa and brought under inhumane conditions to be auctioned as a slave in America, a line is begun that leads from this most shameful chapter in U.S. history to the 20th-century author Alex Haley, a Kinte descendant. The late Haley's acclaimed book Read more

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Reviews (74)

A Picture Is Worth A Million Words!
Words alone cannot describe the effect this made for tv movie had on me when I watched the original showing on tv (1977).I was taken aback at how realistically they were allowed to portray this man's (Haley) story, which in effect was the story of the entire Black race and, to a large degree, the White race in this country!For Blacks it was like reliving their history.For Whites it was a serious enlightenment (and in some cases a rude awakening).It managed to open the door for dialogue between the races, and inspired a whole nation to get involved with genealogy too.Most importantly, it inspired most of this nation to say "never again."I have to agree with D. Hammork though in that I'm shocked and appalled at Amazon for leaving LeVar Burton and John Amos (who both played the MAIN character)off of their list of people who STARRED in this movie! This movie launched Burton's career; and John Amos had already been a star in his own right! Please get your act together!

Roots
Take me back to the Motherland...I Cried...I Sighed...I Hoped...Never could I Joke...Insightful Plight of Africans Forced into Slavery, Stripped of Everything, Except Their Hearts...Their Unwavering Faith, and In spite of it All, Overcame Tremendous Obstacles Heaped Upon Them with Grace and Dignity...

Makes you think!
This one stays in your system a while after watching.
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. TV Shows    4. Television   

Editorial Review

After a government-spawned "superflu" wipes out more than 90 percent of the earth's population, the devastated survivors must decide whether to support or resist the advances of a mysterious stranger from way down South (heh-heh) who wishes to claim this new world order for himself. Although the six-hour length makes it nigh-impossible to digest in one sitting, this well-paced adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic magnum opus ranks among the best adaptations of the author's work, with strong performances from Gary Sinise, Miguel Ferrer, and especially Jamey Sheridan as a good-old-boy version of Old Scratch. The opening scene, set to the strains of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," is one of the most chilling things ever shot for television. Director Mick Garris is no stranger to King's world, having also helmed Read more

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Reviews (252)

GREAT STEPHEN KING FILM!
First off, this is a great movie that is one of the best Stephen King adaptations out there. One thing, this is based on the first cut version of the novel that came out many years ago and that is why not all full story is in it. Anyway, if you like good Stephen King adaptations, then this is the way to go.

Disappointing
I read The Stand when I was a teenager and remember being very disappointed after seeing this mini series when it was first aired on television.
Above average movie
I thought this was very well made. Little special effects was needed due to a great plot, script and acting. The music was good for setting the mood for this chilling tale. Laura San Giacomo deserved accolades for her performance as Nadine Cross, the one Randell Flagg chose for his lover. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Horror    2. Horror / Sci-Fi / Fantasy    3. Movie    4. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

The second most-watched miniseries (after Read more

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Reviews (85)

Stupendous!!!
This miniseries is by far the best movie I have ever seen--and I've seen thousands! The acting, writing, directing, music, and design are all perfect. It touched meso deeply--because I could relate to many aspects of the story--that I thought about it for days. It never lost its believability and drew me deeper and deeper into its vortex of romantic suspense. Megee's self-sacrifice--placing Ralph's career above her own needs and desires--was so admirable. And her unfliching faithfulness to him despite her lonliness, if not emptiness, was even more divine than the faithfulness Ralph professed to God. She becomes a true heroine but in a different way, an inner way, than we usually think of heroines.
Breathtaking
This miniseries was one of the formative memories of my adolescence--I remember watching it at 14, absorbed in the story and entranced by Meggie and Ralph. I watched it again as a 34th-birthday present to myself, and it was as moving a story as I remembered. Beautiful!

Very Good
This movie was a truly great one. I have read the book and I feel that it was great also. I believe one of the reasons why it doesn't go into detail about Justine and Dane's relationship as much as a few people of liked or that there wasn't anything that showed the relationship between Patsy and Jims is because the movie is so long without it. It's around 10 hours long. I think it showed the closeness between Justine and Dane quite well just some people didn't pay attention! Probably just thinking about something to complain about. I for one think that the actors did a great job and sound not too much like they were American. Give them a break. ... Read more

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Reviews (7)

Great Book to Movie adaptation!!!
This film was made at a time when the big networks, in this case CBS, took pride in making tv movies and mini-series.Excellent attention to detail in just about every aspect of this 3 part movies.As the film movies from the 1920's to the 1940's and eventually the 1960's the viewer gets to see the town of Delano Georgia grow and change.It almost seems as though Delano is a real town.The costumes, settings and props for each time setting are well done. Now available on UK DVD!
I have fond memories of this any many more 80's TV mini-series, they really don't make them like this anymore. I remember this being really gripping as you watch the killer get away with it for year right under everyone's noses! A great series and now available in the UK on DVD!

Simply Outstanding
Havenot seen this movie in over 10 years - had been looking for it - I guess not hard enough! In any case - the video is in Great condition, shipped really fast - owner took great care of the movie and I trully thank him for auctioning it. If YOU dont have this movie GET it - no cussing, no blood and guts - just a GREAT MOVIE - ok I'll stop saying great and say SIMPLY OUTSTANDING!!!Read more

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Editorial Review

A remarkably ambitious and engrossing project, this 1978 televisionminiseries ran 26-and-a-half hours, cost a then-enormous $25 million, and involved 4 directors, 5 cinematographers, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 speaking parts. Based on James Michener's panoramic bestseller about the settling of the American West--as reflected in the history of a fictionaltown called Centennial, Colorado--the story begins in the late 18th century and ends with a typical 20th century conflict over land usage.Read more

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Reviews (110)

The best of the West
Please, please, please, put this on DVD.
An American Treasure Lost
All the previous reviews are correct, there is no better saga that tells the tale of the American West - the tragedy of the American Indian (what a beautiful and proud people), the strength of the families crossing the country, the backbone of this nation - good and bad.I have the series taped on VHS from an airing in the 80s.The tapes are dying and no station airs this anymore.I've read the book, my family used to gather around the tv every year (some of the best memories as a family). PLEASE PUT THIS ON DVD AND INTRODUCE IT TO A NEW GENERATION!I'M BUYING!

A Treasure in a Barren Wasteland
Our first child was two years old when Centennial ran on TV.Every night he asked when 'Cential' would be on.Coming from a cultural tradition of hunting, fishing, canoeing and camping, this was a memorable event for him, and as a family we enjoyed quality learning time together.Respect for the environment was reinforced by watching the characters' lives within it.He and his Dad later canoed down the Mississippi, feeling a special kinship with McKeag and Pasquinel.Today, at 30 years of age, he is passing that love of the outdoors on to his own small son.
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Subjects:  1. Movie    2. Television    3. Westerns   

Editorial Review

In 1979, when most literary programs were being produced in the U.K., Boston public television station WGBH decided to produce a homegrown literary classic for its viewers. The result is this thoughtful four-episode adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel Read more

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Reviews (16)

EWW!
Terrible, terrible, terrible, is all I have to say. I watched this with my mother, a college professor and fellow literary aficionado.
Follows Hawthorne's Vision!
This is an excellent video that follows the novel very closely. The movie characters use dialog directly from the book. I use the video as a supplement to our study of anti-transcendentalists in my American Literature class and students remember it years later!

Never would have thought
As I sat in my junior English class reading this book, I never dreamt of the change this film could wrought on my life. Although hampered with a low-budget and low-quality filming of 1979, this movie gave me new meaning to my existence and helped me understand something so pure and true about it. Watch it. Pray, it will do the say for another. ... Read more

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Reviews (12)

Wonderful
I loved this movie.Like so many other Masterpiece Theatre productions, it takes it's time and tells a beautiful story of a young woman who comes to know what love truly is.Bathsheba Everdene is a willful, determined young lady who rejects the infactuation of farmer Gabriel Oak.Shortly afterwards, she inherits a farm and decides to work it herself.Gabriel Oak comes back on the scene and his infactuation for Bathsheba grows into love as he works alongside her.Meanwhile, Bathsheba foolishly flirts with an older local farmer and the consequences of this are far-reaching as he becomes obsessed with marrying her.A third man enters the picture--the dashing Sergeant Troy. Bathsheba thinks she's in love, yet becomes painfully aware that her feelings are more along the line of lust.Bathsheba is irritating at times--stubborn, prideful, unwise--yet she's real.Part of what makes this film so great is the honest and genuine portrayal of the characters, imperfections and all. We also get to see each character grow and develop as a person before the movie ends.In the closing shot of the movie, we see a look of wisdom on Bathsheba's face and we know that she has lived, loved and learned. This film is a keeper--a great story, great performances by the main cast, wonderful scenery, and delightful supporting characters.

Even more impressed after I read the book!
I happened to catch this when it first played on TV.It impressed me so much that I decided that I needed to read the book.Usually,I get more and more disillusioned with a movie after I read the book.On the contrary ,with this one,I was so impressed with what they kept in and how they so respectfully kept the feeling of the book.
Too good just to rent!
I hardly every want to see a movie enought times to buy it.But this is an exception.The story, the characters, the portrayals, the cinematography all combine to make a wonderful production.You will fall in love with these English country people, and you see the characters' nobility as well as their flaws.Don't even bother to see the 1967 version.I saw it and hated it, and probably wouldn't have seen this one except I caught it a few minutes in and didn't see the title at first.It's so far above the 1967 one it's almost like 2 different stories!In the 1967 one, you can't see why Bathsheba would have anything to to with any of her suitors, much less become so obsessed with Troy.But in this one, you can see merits in them all.But of course, Gabriel is the one we all fall in love with.It's a beautiful, beautiful movie. ... Read more

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Reviews (9)

Chiefs
My father helped set up the stage, and also appeared in this movie, alot of my grandmothers things were used in this movie, several of which I have.I am looking for a vhs of the movie as my father passed away in Oct. of this year and we can't find the copy of the original vhs he had.It was a great old fashion movie.

Old South Gives Way to the New South
This film is set in a small Georgia town, involves a little kid who grows up to be Governor of the State, and develops a social conscience that takes him away from the segregationist ways that prevailed during his childhood.Remind you of anyone?Jimmy Carter comes to mind.The parallels are not exact, but I think they are there.
Excellent mystery and social commentary!
I first saw this miniseries when I was 13 years old and I can still watch it over and over!It's a great story about a series of murders in ficticious Delano Georgia that span a 40+ year period and the three police chiefs who work to solve them.The series begins in the early 1920s and the first chief is Will Henry Lee (Wayne Rogers), an easygoing and fair minded family man who is respected by Delano's white and black communities.Lee comes close to solving the case until something unfortunate happens (no spoilers here). The series fast forwards to 1945 at the end of WWII and the next chief is Sonny Butts (Brad Davis), a despicable racist who is appointed when the previous chief dies of a sudden heart attack.Butts is hardly qualified to be chief but is apparently put in his position to keep Delano's black community in line.His wishes to solve the murders pales in comparison to his obsession with doing away with Marshall Peters (Danny Glover), a black businessman who is also the unofficial leader of Delano's black community.Butts also comes close to solving the case until he too is thwarted.
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Reviews (7)

Producers, Where'sA New Release on DVD?
Okay.WHY is this excellent miniseries NOT currently produced, and WHY NOT on DVD?Executives, wake up, get up and get it done!

ROOTS...An Exciting Birth of Emotions
I believe a review worth reading should include a brief description of the person giving their thoughts.To me,this helps a great deal in deciding how much credibility I will give a person's thinking. roots
Roots is a exellent movie! Is the next generation the same? ... Read more

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Reviews (6)

Still Prime!
Get ready to enjoy another installment of the enthralling police crime drama that highlights the talent of Helen Mirren. This deeply disturbing tale of homeless boy prostitutes brings out the dark side of police investigation--at all ranks!

The only one to buy after the first.
The only Prime Suspect installment (other than the original) to be authored by Lynda La Plante, Prime Suspect 3 once again displays the hallmarks of La Plante's journalistic research base for creating fictional characters.In this case, "rent boys" are the fuel: young male prostitutes/street kids, and in particular one heartbreaking interview where a rent boy had told La Plante that he couldn't have AIDS, because he was only 15. Better acting than television usually offers
Happy day! All of the Prime Suspect movies have made it to DVD. Read more

Subjects:  1. Movie    2. Mystery / Suspense / Thriller    3. TV Shows    4. Television   

Editorial Review

This handsome made-for-television British-American coproduction uses the longer format of the two-part film to explore the characters of Thomas Hardy's novel with an easy pace. After her mother sends her to distant, moneyed relatives, Tess, played by the striking Justine Waddell, grows from naive but willful young British beauty to determined mother to sad martyr. At the hands of "cousin" Alec (the darkly charming Jason Flemyng), a womanizing, self-centered dandy, Tess begins her lessons on the social double standard, made all the more difficult given her own demanding personal code. A blond, blue-eyed, and beautiful gentleman farmer appropriately named Angel (Oliver Milburn) seems to offer Tess her salvation, but her past hovers over her like a curse and even now threatens her happiness. Director Ian Sharp's handsome presentation makes the most of the picaresque British countryside, an often beautiful, sometimes chilly, and at times inhospitable and unfriendly world. If this interpretation is not as gripping as Roman Polanski's 1979 film Read more

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Reviews (48)

"And there I met a man named Alec...Alec D'Urberville..."
I became obsessed with this movie during my senior year of high school - we watched it in English class, which took an entire week. We never read the book for that class, but I read it soon after, and I believe this adaptation is mostly faithful.
The heartwrenching story of a girl whose true enemy was fate.
The loss of one's pride while the accentuation of one's innocence is the irony that made "Tess of the D'Urbivilles" one of the boldest and most honest novels to come out of the 19th century. Thomas Hardy's novel about a girl who is disgraced by the society that destroyed her is compelling and controversal, and in my eyes, difficult to transport onto the screen. Yet somehow, this adaptation of the Hardy classic, though different in some ways, is successful in bringing out the travesty, tragedy, and short-lived passion of a girl whose pride is ripped away from her bit by bit, yet through it all remains pure and innocent.
One of the best and most touching stories
The story of Tess of the d'Urbervilles is one of the best stories I've read, the movie is excellent, one of the best I've seen and is you are a Justine Waddell fan you'll love it even more. As another reviewer suggested the other two movies like Women in White, and Wives and daughters are brilliant as well.
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Editorial Review

Originally broadcast in April and May of 1998, the epic miniseries Read more

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Reviews (206)

Holds up well years later
I watched and loved the series when it originally came out on VHS. A chance to meet Neil Armstrong and John Glenn this year prompted me to take another look. I consider this work the best mini-series of all time, which is perhaps biased, as I have read extensively about the space program and have been a big fan since attending a ticker-tape parade for John Glenn as a young boy.
Correction on Aspect Ratio
Some customers have complained that this version has been chopped from the original.This is untrue.
Majesty and Triumph
I will try to keep this short and sweet.
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Editorial Review

A television treasure from the 1990s, the Read more

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Reviews (25)

Great DVD set.
This is one of Hallmark best efforts. I just love these movies; I've watched them several times. They're great movies for the entire family. I would recommend these movies to everyone.

Pretty awful, unlike the book
Sarah Plain and Tall, the book, is beautifully written. It's Hallmark "Made for TV" movie adaption does not live up to it's book's glory. I am not impressed with this movie. My little girl, whom I homeschool, watched this movie and said that she hated it because, "They [the children] didn't look like they did in my head!" The two others weren't any better. I am extremely dissapointed with the casting. The worst part about it is that it's not told from Caleb and Anna's point of view, which is what makes the book what it is. I have to say this to anyone who's thinking about seeing these movies, DON'T!!

Good not great
I thought Sarah, Plain and Tall was excellent.Skylark was great.Winter's End seemed to have a less-than-great script writer and/or director.It might have been worthwhile to look for different actors for the kids, although I liked seeing them, they were better actors as children.The movie was filled with too many cliches, and the "passionate" scenes between father and grandfather seemed very out-of-place, not too convincing.Too bad, because it is decent family entertainment. ... Read more

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Reviews (2)

Great Educational Tool
We watched this film in a college Holocaust course and it covered all aspects of the Holocaust:perpetrators, bystanders, partisans, mentally handicapped, ghettos, concentration camps, and more.I highly recommend this movie even though it is long.All the students in my class couldn't wait to come to class to see what would happen next.Some very good actors not mentioned above such as James Woods and Merryl Streep.

THE HOLOCAUST
I watched this on network tv when it premiered. It's even harder to watch it today. With twenty years of ethnic cleansings, and smaller holocausts under our belts, one of the major themes of the story holds even truer. If we aren't very very careful any of us can become a killer. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Similar to the equally excellent Read more

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Reviews (110)

breath of fresh air after the gwyneth paltrow hollywood version
excellent casting, true to Austen's genius, no cheese, entertaining, beckingsale nearly perfect--much better than both the low-budget bbc one and the high-budget hollywood one
An excellent peak into Jane Austen's world
I've just watched both movie versions of Emma, and this film is far and away the better of the two.If you truly want to see Jane Austen's characters as she intended them, then get this film.The setting and costuming is gorgeous, and the actors play the characters as they read in the original novel.If you'd prefer a Hollywood version with weak men and dinghy women, get the Gweneth Paltrow version.

Not quite Miss Jane's Emma
With Kate Beckinsale in the lead, this should have been a whale of a movie, especially if Ms. Beckinsale was allowed to bring some of her persona from Cold Comfort Farm in which she played a more Emma-like character there than she was allowed to do here. Beckinsale's Emma was overly moody and had none of the light cheerfulness of Austen's Emma (or Ms. Paltrow's for that matter). Mark Stong is not Jeremey Northrup but he is VERY good. Unfortunately, this movie never establishes that Mr. Knightly is a daily presence in the Woodhouse household (i.e., compare with the Northrup-Paltrow version), which is critical to understanding the relationship between Mr. Knightly and Emma. Indeed, their love for each other is nearly a shocker in this version coming in its last 10 minutes. If you are an Emma fan, you may find this film a disappointment. In general, I prefer Ms. Beckinsale over Ms. Paltrow but Ms. Paltrow's film is a better Reader's Digest adaptation of this lengthly and rich novel. I wonder if modern movie/DVD audiences have the patience for a longer 4 and 6 hour versions of this novel akin to what has been done for Pride & Prejudice by the BBC and A&E, respectively. Indeed, the latest 2-hour version of P&P by Hollywood is a bare skeleton of that incredible story. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comedies    2. Drama    3. Feature Film-drama    4. Movie   

Editorial Review

Determined to ruin the upper-class Fairley family who wronged her, Emma Harte (Jenny Seagrove) aims to become one of the richest women in the world. Although anachronistic for a woman born around 1890, it is exhilarating to watch her think and act like a contemporary woman with the benefits of late-20th-century feminism. In just over five hours, this Emmy-nominated version of Barbara Taylor Bradford's bestselling novel Read more

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Reviews (20)

a pretty good mini-series
but the all the male casts, except Liam Neeson and those older ones, were too weak and wimpy, even that devilish older brother, although with a vicious face, still looked like a wimp. the other problem we've found out was that we knew its a pretty good movie, but from the very beginning to the very end, my wife and i never shed a drop of tear or felt emotionally touched or moved by the heroine and the story. it's a fine movie but not great, because the storyline was so ordinary and had been told thousand times already.
A fun 5 hours
I had seen this on TV and owned the VHS tape - the DVD is terrific.The period detail is great.

Fantastic
I think that Woman of Substance and Hold the Dream are the most fantastic movies I have seen, they are incredible, the actors the storyline everything about them is just absolutely fantastic!!!!! ... Read more

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Editorial Review

At one point during Read more

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Reviews (17)

A Lush, Engaging Production
Like so many, I had been waiting a long time for this 1999 BBC miniseries to come out on DVD, and I am happy to announce that it was worth the wait.
Splendid
This is a wonderful production, a sweeping saga indeed of the rise and fall of a noble family..
A little long
Started out very good and kept you interested, but I think somewhere along the way it lost something.It took me to long to watch.Costumes and sets were great, but got boring towards the end. ... Read more

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Reviews (59)

Intelligent, unforgettable, unmatched
I saw this series as a child, and it profoundly influenced my life, making me an eager historian and costumer ever after. Just a year or so ago, my brother gave this series to me as a gift, and it is even better than I remembered it.