James Michener's "CENTENNIAL" Now Available on DVD...It's Fantastic Watch..for Some..

[KoKo]

The Building of America with James Michener's Detail...that kind of fits into These Times We Live In...for Historical Record. And a time in America when Documentaries weren't Corporate to the extent they are Today.



Centennial: The Complete Series
1978 NR 6 discs

Format: DVD

http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Centennial-The-Complete-Series/70100278?trkid=222336


1978 NR 6 discs
This acclaimed miniseries traces the epic history of the town of Centennial, Colo., from its 1795 birth through modern times, covering the early settlers, the political intrigues through the years and the lives and loves of various town residents. The star-studded cast includes Richard Chamberlain, Lynn Redgrave, Timothy Dalton, Sally Kellerman, Andy Griffith, Richard Crenna, Mark Harmon, Gregory Harrison, Raymond Burr and Sharon Gless.

Director: Virgil W. Vogel

Format: DVD
Centennial: The Complete Series
Member Reviews
Reviews Voted Most Helpful


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Centennial is one of a great and long gone genre, that of the sweeping television miniseries. Based upon the James A. Michener novel, Centennial is a well done saga of the land and people who create a small Colorado town. The series gives a good view of western, and American, history from several viewpoints, quite unusual for its time. Yes, certain segments and characters are better than others. The series can also be guilty at times of following too closely the characters of Pasquinel, McKeag, Zendt, and Jim Lloyd. However, there episodes where the focus swifts away from the big characters, such as the one dealing with the Dust Bowl. Some of the dialog is a bit corny, and there is some overacting, but overall this series is worth your time. At the end, you will not regret your time investment. You will wish that there were more installments. I recommended this so highly that I can say that I showed it to my middle schoolers when I taught US history.

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94 out of 104 people found this review helpful.
Not Yet Rated
Typically, a James Michener novel is based on a general geographic location and he weaves stories of the people and the events that occur there over time. He also typically takes real historical events and fictionalizes them. This miniseries was an excellent adaptation of the novel but with some unfortunate changes. The acting is excellent with amazing performances such as those by Robert Conrad as a mountain man, and Alex Karras as "Potatos Brumbaugh" as well as many other memorable characters. Centered around the town that becomes known as Centennial, Colorado the stories range as wide as Amish Pennsylvania and St. Louis, Missouri. Full of grandeur, pathos, love, longing, and aging, this series can captivate you with its amazing collection of short stories tied together in a comprehensive whole.

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54 out of 56 people found this review helpful.
Not Yet Rated
One of the Greatest Mini Series of all time, a cast loaded with stars from beginning to end, covers much of the rich history of the American West from the 1700s to the 1970s, a fictional story based on the James A Michener Novel it is grand in scope made at a time when the mini series ruled television as a way to compete with movies on the big screen, you will never see another series of this size or quality made again due to the expense, just an amazing series, I would recommend to any one.
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46 out of 50 people found this review helpful.
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Centennial-The-Complete-Series/70100278?trkid=222336

[NYC_SKP]

1. Recommended. (nt)

[Spirochete]

2. I have that

It's very good.

[KoKo]

3. I have the old VHS we taped and we just got back into it... Checked out that Netflix has it...

and was surprised.

Don't know why we got into watching it except that it fits in with the Travails...and Raw History of the USA..and I'm reminded of "Howard Zinn's History of America" when watching it this time again.

Nostalgia I guess for a great old Mini-Series that is an interesting watch in these times when there's so much else that sometimes seems hollow. Although, truly, there are still many good ones being produced today. Maybe it was just that historical narrative nostalgia we were seeking.

and thanks for your post.