Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7057 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-09-30
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 580 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on Alex Haley's bestseller, the 1977 TV mini-series Roots told the harrowing story of one man's ancestors, commencing with African warrior Kunta Kinte, captured, transported to America, stripped of his dignity, his rights, and even his name. He tries but fails to escape before accepting he can never return to Africa. He marries and bears a daughter, Kizzy, who is callously sold, then raped by her new "master". However, her son, Chicken George, a resourceful dab hand with gamecocks, lives long enough to see his own children attain a liberty of sorts following the Civil War.

Roots is told in the same, accessible televisual language as The Waltons or Bonanza, yet it is never bland or evasive. It leaves no doubt as to the torment and abuse suffered by blacks, and although the series' conclusion is fictionally satisfying, for many of the black characters their only hope lies in generations yet unborn.

It is sturdy enough drama but its greatest, most revolutionary effects were social. It persuaded American audiences to regard their history from a black perspective, and to see how--against odds far more desperate than those the pilgrims faced--Africans laid claim to their status as free African-Americans. Roots was massively popular, triggering a craze for genealogy and paving the way for series like 1979's Holocaust, which similarly raised the public's awareness of the slaughter of the Jews under Hitler. Most importantly, Roots changed forever the way black people were depicted on American TV.

On the DVD: Roots is presented in 1:33:1 format and is visually extremely well-preserved. Extra features include a "Roots Family Tree", a copious, informative audio commentary featuring members of cast and crew, and a documentary, "Remembering Roots". Although this consists only of interviews, these convey the extraordinary emotional grip this project had on those who took part in it.--David Stubbs

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Three separate feature-length Audio Commentaries with video inserts (Producer, cast and crew)
Remembering Roots Documentary (20 Minutes)
Roots Family Tree
Web enabled
Aspect Ratio: Full screen 4.3
Audio: Mono English
Subtitles: English and English for the hearing impaired.

Synopsis
In 1977, the miniseries ROOTS aired, changing the face of television--and American culture--forever. This highly acclaimed series, based on Alex Haley's best-selling novel, follows the lineage of Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), an African man abducted from his village and sold into slavery in the United States. There he contends with the cruel hardships of slavery, while trying to escape to make a better life for himself and his family. The programme features a veritable cast of thousands, including Ed Asner, Ben Vereen, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Cicely Tyson, and Louis Gossett, Jr.

Customer Reviews

It Caused A Lot Of Trouble
I remember when this was first shown on TV and was living in London and it caused a lot of trouble. Not very accurate. Slavery was abolished about 100 years before the source of the Nile was discovered (Dr Livingston I Presume etc). However these people were running around in Africa with chains. The reality was that the slave ships bought the slaves from Arab (Can't remember seeing any in this series)Slave Traders(Who did know their way around Africa) who had traded for them from the tribes they came from. And they met the ships on the coast. Slavery was about MONEY not RACE. People who get rich by the exploitation of other human beings do not care what colour they are - all they care about is how much MONEY they are making out of them.

Excellent series
This film is even been used in school history lessons now.
After viewing again after 1977 it still has not aged.
Stll powerful compelling with outstanding character acting.
Hard to beat, would watch again.

Alex Haley's epic novel turns into a great mini series
I just had seen Roots saga on DVD. For me it's the first time I've seen it since 1977. I watched it within a day and came away from it moved and intrigued. Roots is a true classic and one of my favorite books. The miniseries is the best program I have ever seen. Kunta was my favorite character in the book as well.

Even though the young Kunta Kinte is only in the first two episodes, LeVar Burton is what made the show for me. Levar Burton is a revelation and it surprises me that he isn't doing more movies. He reminded me of those silent film stars who show with their eyes. The rest of the actors performed their characters just as well, and it gave me an impression of them playing their characters with the whole of their hearts. In this story Kunta is a good, brave young man who loves his village, his family and Allah. He is only 17 and has just completed manhood training and dreams of having a family of his own; the young warrior is out gathering food for his family when he hears a twig snap and turns to see a white man rushing him. Haley gets inside Kunta's mind and you feel his horror. Kunta fights bravely, he fights like a wild animal, but is overpowered and taken captive and then brutally abducted and put on a slave ship. Haley's book was so much more graphic; it showed scenes the TV show couldn't. To really grasp Kunta's nightmare, you need to read the book. The story eventually follows 200 yrs. of the descendants of this family who's strong will and striving finally brings them to Justice and Freedom.

I think that different directors were assigned to different movies in the series... which could be the reason why movie began to grow weak after Kunta Kinte leaves the storyline. I thought the beginning was rather powerful... displaying the savagery of the white man's actions... entering the peaceful villages in Africa and pulling everybody out in shackles onto their ships' dark and musty cargo holds, and slowly, try to bring the main character into submission once he arrives in America. The rest is...Watchable... but has much less to offer than the first 2. This film is history, it has held up well over almost 30 years since it was originally televised. Racism is still rampant, and not just in the South. By being informed it helps each of us to have compassion and to inventory our beliefs and question our teachings.