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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786300268975 Format: Color, NTSC ISBN: 6300268977 Label: Warner Home Video Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Warner Home Video Release Date: May 03, 1993 Running Time: 573 minutes Sales Rank: 8875 Studio: Warner Home Video Theatrical Release Date: January 23, 1977
Amazon.com essential video: 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 Roots was adapted into this six-volume television miniseries, which was a widely watched phenomenon in 1977. The programs cover several generations in the antebellum South and end with the story of "Chicken" George, a freed slave played by Ben Vereen whose family feels the agony of entrenched racism and learns to fight it. Between the lives of Kunta and George, we meet a number of memorable characters, black and white, and learn much about the emotional and physical torments of slavery, from beatings and rapes to the forced separation of spouses and families. Nothing like this had ever confronted so many mainstream Americans when the series was originally broadcast, and the extent to which the country was nudged a degree or two toward enlightenment was instantly obvious. Roots still has that ability to open one's eyes, and engage an audience in a sweeping, memorable drama at the same time. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - THE NATION'S ROOTS AS WELL!!
Perhaps the most famous TV miniseries of all time. Played for eight straight evenings in January of 1977. The country practically came to a halt during that time slot every evening. Over 130 million views tuned in to watch this amazing story of Alex Haley's family's roots and history. It has been translated into 28 languages since. While the story and technology may seem a little outdated today (how can it not?), this is one story worth watching to gain a better understanding our country's history and where we have come from. In many ways it is the story of our nation from the days of slavery through ... Read More
Rating: - Sound is deciving
Roots, what can one say about the grestest even in television history? But, if you are like me and have a surround sound systen DON'T purchase the 30th Anneversay edition. I only get audio out of the center speaker and it sounds like I am using a tin can for a speaker. Afriad that it may be my system I put in another DVD (Blade) and the sound was fantastic as usual. If anyone else has experienced this issue please let me know.
Rating: - Wish my kids had longer attention spans...
I remember gathering with my college roommates every Sunday to see the next program of this weekly series. I wanted to share it with my kids because it had such a profound impact on my generation. It sure looks like it was filmed in the 70's! Unfortunately, except for recognizing OJ Simpson, and Lamar from Star Trek, they weren't that interested. It's good for them though.
Rating: - Highly recommend but I have a couple of suggestions
I was a month short of 9 years of age when Roots was first broadcast on TV. Til only recently I had never ever seen it. I heard a lot about it but never actually sat down to watch it. I was recently at our town library and decided to take volume 1 home. I was somewhat excited about it as I sat down to watch.
In the first volume I found the idealization of Kunta Kinte's tribe and, except for the Ed Asner character, most white characters were 1 dimensional, to be a little too difficult to swallow.
However I continue to watch.
Rating: - Best TV Miniseries Of All Time
"Roots" traces the family history of writer Alex Haley back to the late 1700's when his African ancestor, Kunta Kinte, was brought here as a slave. The show goes on to tell the stories of Kuntas's daughter, Kizzy, grandson, Chicken George, and great-grandson, Tom Harvey, as they courageously struggled to survive the brutalties of slavery in the American South.
The acting is outstanding and the characters are truly inspirational. It can sometimes veer in melodrama, as way typical of other TV miniseries at this time. But I was impressed by just how high quality this series was in most aspects. For ... Read More
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