Centennial

Rating:
Summary: Centennial
Review: One of the GREATEST movies I have ever seen, I saw it on TV as a mini series in 1978.. I have tried to rent it at the video store but they are missing two episodes.. YOU CAN NOT miss a thing .. this movie would get 10 stars if I could rate it that high..very interesting, great actors, would love to own it on DVD..

Rating:
Summary: What a miniseries should be...
Review: I remember watching this series as a kid and I thought it was one of the best series on TV. The story and acting are fantastic. The scenery is incredible. The fact that its roughly based on the history of the area is even more amazing considering some of the fare that makes it way to TV these days. It is probably safe to say that we will not see an effort like this again.
This series is based on the book of the same name. It is set roughly in Colorado and spans the history of that area from the time of the earliest French traders to roughly the mid 1970's. It mostly deals with the effects of westward expansion on the Native Americans, but there are various other issues as well. To film it, a powerhouse cast was assembled and it spans over 12 episodes. The cool thing about it is that each of the characters are somewhat interrelated and things that happen in early episodes come back in later episodes. The other cool thing is that the characters are easily related too.
With all the crap they are putting on DVD these days, it would be really nice if they would re-release this series. Not only is it entertaining but you can use it to learn stuff about the history of this great nation.

Rating:
Summary: The best miniseries
Review: I was just a child when this miniseries was on the air. I remember my parents watching it I even got excited about watching it every night when it was on although I was probably only four or five at the time. It truly makes you think how things used to be. The land was not abused by the indians or the white men that first came to it. The respected it for its beauty and the feared it because it could be rough. Every time I watch the miniseries (and believe me I have watched it many times) I want to cry at the beauty of life back then and the cruelties. The music is haunting and fits in with the story that is being told. I most definitely would recommend this miniseries to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Centennial
Review: I saw the original series and have hungered to see it again for many years. Since returning home this past Christmas (2002), I have found an original copy and a new edition of Michener's book and have enjoyed reading the new edition (to keep the original safe from wear, as it has several of the actors portrayed on the cover). I never realized when I was watching the series how closely the book follows it, but then again, for time constraint, takes liberties with some things.

I have always enjoyed watching "Centennial," the magnificance of the miniseries being what it was at the time, and the $25 million that was spent on the making of this series was WELL spent.

To go from the beginning, when the Indians lived peacefully on the lands with the mountain men and trappers to current times when people who still love the land are trying to save the Platt River from destruction, and all that happened in between is seen and done in this series.

This is truly one of the best miniseries made, bringing to the viewing public the plight of the Native Americans as "Roots" did for the African American people.

My only hope is that, someday, we will all learn to live in the same peace and harmony that Our People and other Native Americans had with the land and animals...before "man" came...

Rating:
Summary: A film series that sparkles! :)
Review: I'm not exactly sure whether or not I have it in me to describe just how superb and inspirational this film series is, but I do love it. I adore history, and learning about what it was like in this area of the US is an added plus by watching these films.
I know that the characters in this film are fictitous but I also know that there were people like them. French-Canadian traders like Pasquinel, strong and proud Native Americans like Lame Beaver, Clay Basket, Blue Leaf, Marcel, and Jacques, immigrants and emigrants like Alexander McKeage, Levi Zendt, Hans Brumbaugh, Herman Bockweiss, Elly Zendt, & Nacho, as well as others. There were swindlers, ranchers, cowboys, and farmers, there was really a massacre like the one depicted in this film. Like this film depicts Centennial, our country has been rather like a salad. Not exactly a melting pot. Each element is necessary, and all work together and create a delicious flavor regardless of the fact that they remain a little different.
Centennial is truly a memorable film, especially the first few episodes (which remain my favorites.) If you love westerns, epics, Colorado, or just enjoy a good film series then this is definitely for you. :)

Rating:
Summary: It's hard to put into words how good this is
Review: I've grown up with this miniseries--first as a cassette tape my mother filled with dialogue and music from the show, then as a badly taped version from TNT, and finally as the gorgeous box set. This miniseries largely shaped my strong views about Native Americans, including the way white settlers treated them, the muddled policies the US government held concerning them, and the shame of the degraded lifestyle forced on many of them today.

As other reviewers have stated, the history in this miniseries is impeccable, including many real-life parallels (and I felt vindicated when, as a junior in college, I finally was taught the real story of the Chivington Massacre at Sand Creek). The best thing about this is the way the writers and actors take real history (which to many often seems dry) and turns it into stories that make modern-day viewers laugh, cry, and shout with outrage.

The cast is full of stars like Richard Chamberlain, Robert Conrad, Lynn Redgrave, Brian Keith, Dennis Weaver, and many many more. I can't think of a single performance that was in any way lacking. From the fur traders to the Native Americans, to the ranchers and farmers, to the swindlers and immigrants, who made Colorado their home, these characters shine.

All it takes is a single strain of one of the memorable music themes to bring back vivid memories of the miniseries, and watching even a single episode is guaranteed to fill me with the wanderlust to go west, a yearning for the lost past, a homesickness for this place that feels like home to me--Centennial, Colorado, and the areas near the town.

If you're an historian, if you're a westerner, if you're like me and just wish you were a westerner, if you're interested in Native American history, or if you just like a good epic that will make you laugh and cry, pick up this miniseries. You won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: I saw this when it first aired. This was the most well done of any of the mini-series. I worked evenings in a hopital then, and we'd all find reasons to visit the patients--and their TV's. We'd wait until the next show aired to watch the story unfold. These characters were very well acted and developed. I wish the oncoming adaptations would have been as well done. I bought the book later and was pleasantly surprised how well the series had stayed true to the book in detail. I had seen it air again several years later and was just as impressed the second time as the first. I only recently found this was available and it is certainly now on my list to buy. The attention paid to the story makes this timeless. I'd encourage anyone who hasn't seen this one to watch it. And for the James Michener books fans, if you haven't seen it, I don't think you'd be disappointed in it.

Rating:
Summary: Not exactly a work of fiction.
Review: This is an incredible story, simply put. For sure, this has made one of the best transitions from a book to the TV ever. Mitchner wrote many powerful books, but this was is his best. I grew up in the Colorado mountians and watched the miniseries many times as a kid. This story is based on the whole, in fact rather than fiction. The 2 half breed brothers stood to represent many of the Natives as a whole. The driven military leader who was determined to wipe the Native Americans out is none other the Baptist Minister John Chivington, who led the murder at the Sand Creek Massacre. Not to mention Mr. Zendt who is ,of course, Bent, of bents Fort.

Rating:
Summary: Probably the best historical mini-series made
Review: Reasonably accurate, well acted by a quality cast. Based on a masterful novel.

Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars not enough
Review: I do not know how to adequately express how good this mini-series is. I taped it from TV and have worn it out, so I purchase it knowing that I must have the DVD, because I will wear this one out also. I love the characters - Lame Beaver, Pasquinel, McKeeg, Clay Basket, Levi and Ellie, Hans, Jim and Charlotte, R.J., John Skimmerhorn, Nate Pearson, Buford Coker, Amos Calendar, Maxwell and Lisette Mercy, and the Pasquinel brothers who just wanted to have the respect they deserved but never got.