Centennial [UK DVD] [1978]

I have really loved this series which i bought after chancing upon on Amazon.com with its rave reviews. They are well justified. This is how a series should be made from a book. The author was still alive at the time and clearly had huge input in this which also helps. Basically this is set in what would become Colorado from around 1790 when the fur trappers started to trade with the Indians, up to about 1970? The early series disks are outstanding and by far the best. The more modern kind of loses a lot of the appeal. Although it is fiction the history is spot on and events actually happened with fictitious characters used. The red Indian tribes, broken treaties with the USA government breaking them, the appalling treatment of the red indian tribes affected and their efforts to actually agree to peace along with the mass slaughter of them anyway is absolutely heartbreaking, enthralling, thought provoking and superb. There are even in the very early years some tribes I had never even heard of. It is all totally gripping very sad at times, cruel and yet completely accurate and, right down to the tribe pony war paint, the costumes, even the types of horses they are riding. It is my absolute favourite series now. The series covers those first trappers and their families and friends and enemies. It covers everything, the first cattle arriving and then sheep brought into the state, the Indians as I said, the development and mass migration to the west and the destruction of the countryside as the price of it. Richard Chamberlain is a major star of this along with plenty of other big names such as Raymond Burr, Sally Kellerman David Jannsen and more. I can't recommend this enough if you love real history interwoven with fiction and fact. Brilliant. Buy this and both learn and be entertained.

When I first began watching this mini series I was not sure I liked it or would take to it?However I always like to give things a chance to see if they grow on me, so to speak?After just watching the first two episodes I noticed just how fact full and informative is really is.I started to enjoy every single second of it only getting annoyed when I grew too busy or tired to watch it further for the time being.The amount of research and work that must have gone into creating this masterpiece is beyond reasonable comprehension..On days off I would wake early rush to get a java and sit down to continue the viewing.The last few episodes and the final one in particular were absolutely astounding and the way it ended still food for thought to this very day and beyond.An absolute gem of a mini series created back in '78/'79. Full of familiar names and faces..The true story of the abhorrent way the Native American Indians were treated just for who they were.Sickening and beyond shameful. No amount of atonement can make up for the tragedy and horrors these wonderful people experienced.I am delighted they survived to replenish their gene pool..I wish them the most sincere good fortune in life possible..

A very good series showing the complexities of white men invading the lands of Native American Indians. Largely based on truth.

I remember buying the huge paperback of this James Michener toe-buster (as in "if you drop it on your foot, it's heavy enough to break a toe!) back in the mid-70s when it first came out. There was huge interest in the bi-centenary in the States, even over here in England, so Michener's sweeping saga was a wonderful take on the story of the west - as with so many other Michener stories, it unfolded down through many years, usually set around one place or area to show the progress or otherwise of the characters and their surroundingsWhen I heard it was being made into a tv series, I was delighted and remember viewing each of what I remember as 26 weekly episodes avidly. I honestly don't remember it ever being repeated here, so the DVD release, albeit on region 1, is so welcome.What I HAD forgotten was how many very famous faces graced the programme. And to have the show narrated by the incomparable David Janssen provided needed continuity. Like other viewers, I could have done with less flashbacks in the later portions - not necessary for those who have followed it through, and meaningless unless you have.For me, the best of the episodes contained on these six discs is that of the long cattle drive from Texas to Colorado....it sums up the image of the old west that many of us have always imagined. It also does not prettify the sheer guts and hard work not to mention the dangers faced by the men doing this gruelling job.So if you enjoy engrossing storylines and characters and can overlook the occasional blip such as Richard Chamberlain's not-very-authentic Scots accent (though his performance otherwise is magnificent), you'll just love this.I would best describe this as a slightly flawed masterpiece, but a landmark piece of television for any viewer with more than a passing interest in the Old West.