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| Roots (Four-Disc 30th Anniversary Edition) | 
 enlarge | Directors: David Greene, Gilbert Moses, John Erman, Marvin J. Chomsky
Actors: Levar Burton, Olivia Cole, Ben Vereen, Vic Morrow, Ji-tu Cumbuka
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $59.98
Buy New: $26.62
You Save: $33.36 (56%)
New (53) Used (15) Collectible (1) from $23.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  162 reviews
Sales Rank: 1828
Format: Box Set, Color, Full Screen, Ntsc, Subtitled
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 4
Running Time: 573
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: WARD114485D
UPC: 085391144854
EAN: 0085391144854
ASIN: B000NA21S6
Theatrical Release Date: January 23, 1977
Release Date: May 22, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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
Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/09/2007 Run time: 573 minutes Rating: Nr
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| Customer Reviews: Read 157 more reviews...
 THE NATION'S ROOTS AS WELL!! October 25, 2008
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 the great struggles for freedom for all. Kunta Kinte is the main character who was captured and forced into slavery as a young man and brought to America. Perhaps the most poignant moment in the movie is where he has refused to give up his African name and be called Toby, the name his master has given him. He is beaten until, finally, he verbally says his name is Toby. While he may no longer be Kunta Kinte on the outside, he retains his African identity inside and longs to be free to be himself. He tries to pass that heritage down to the next generation. Although slavery obviously plays a major role in the story, it is first and foremost a story of family and what gets passed down from generation to generation. I understand the request for family records from archive sources skyrocketed after the series played. Haley spent over 12 years researching his family's roots before writing the best-selling book that was the basis for the movie. The movie rights were actually purchased before the book was finished and the screenplay was written and finished at the same time as the book. It is a 12 hour investment of your time but something you will not regret. You don't need to watch it all at once-spread it out. Get some friends together. Enjoy. www.lusreviews.blogspot.com
Sound is deciving October 15, 2008
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.
Wish my kids had longer attention spans... October 14, 2008
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.
Highly recommend but I have a couple of suggestions October 8, 2008
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.
In the subsequent volumes as Kunta grew up, married and raised Kizzy, the writing of the characters began to show some depth. Frankly in those episodes I was pleased that not all white people were evil masochists. I liked Robert Reed's character. He was fair, deep and introspective. Even when he sold Kizzy away it was not done for no reason.
The final volume was where I started to feel like I was watching a cartoon again. I thought the Lloyd Bridges character had little depth and was completely onedimensional . His character's relationship with Tom was the most one dimensional relationship in the whole series in my opinion. I found other slave owners and white characters like Mr.Ames, Tom Moore and even John and William Reynolds having multi-dimensional , more realistic relationships with their slaves. This helped draw me in to the miniseries - of course until the end when all the white people were eitherwimps (George Johnson), overt racists (Evan Brent(Bridges)) or corrupt Senators (Burl Ives' character).
I was deeply moved by the plight of the slaves, especially Kizzy. When she visited her father's grave and all that was written on it was "TOBY", I was profoundly affected. I was affected primarily because I felt like I knew Kunta from his youth and how he was a valued human being as a young person only to end up in a grave with a cheap stone scrawled with "TOBY". It was a very powerful moment when Kizzy wrote "Kunta Kinte" on the stone.
There are two things apart from the specifics with certain characters that I would have done differently in making this mini-series. First I would have had the people in Africa speak a native African tongue with subtitles (a la The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto). This would have made it more believable especially when Kunta comes to the US and suddenly can't speak or understand English. Yes as I watched it I could get beyond that and make pretend he wasn't speaking English when he was in Africa, but it would have been better if they spoke their native language in Africa.
The second thing is as a Christian, I would like to have seen someone introduce Christianity to Kunta and at some point give his life to Christ or at least see one of his progeny do it.
I highly recommend this mini-series to anyone. I am not a black person but I can empathize with people who sincerely want to know the truth about their lineage.
Best TV Miniseries Of All Time September 15, 2008
"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 example, the historical settings were suprisingly accurate. Also I thought it was extremely fair minded and realistic in it's portrayal of the various characters, both black and white. But never in a way that comprised the show's artistic vision of depicting American history from the perspective of a black family. Highly recommended viewing for all.
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