Roots - Original Series - 25th Anniversary Edition (DVD 2002)

Educational.Highly Recommended. General Viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for youg children. PG.

This is a great series on slavery in america.This mini series is the story of author alex haleys search to discover his family history ,it contains a historical account of the life of kunte kinte through the generations.I bought these dvds to watch on a rainy day and once i started to watch them i could not stop which for me is extremely rare.

I was very pleased with this item. I watched it on tv when I was very young and it made a lasting impression on me - I think it was the first time I ever knew about "slavery" as we were never taught in school. Now I have it on DVD I can watch it again at my leisure. Well worth the money!

Fabulous series depicting the slave trade and its effects on a family from the capture of the first slave from that family Kunte Kinte, through the generations til the end of the slave trade and eventually ends up in latter end 1960's/early 1970's with the modern day generation.
The story shows the real heart of that family and what they went through during the harsh times of slavery and the betrayal of people who they counted on.
I remember this from my childhood and am so glad that it is available now on DVD.
An excellent collection, well worth the money.

I think this should be compulsory for all school children to see as it is a slightly softened version of what actually happened regarding Black African slavery.
Really well told, emotional & entertaining, recommended!

First watched this on TV 25 years ago (back in the days when there wasn't that much on TV and we only had 3 channels to choose from!!!! Very good series, captivating and quite educational on the history of slavery. Glad I found it.

I watched the series of Roots seems years ago and it still stuck in my mind, excellent acting, excellent story line the film as all cammodities make you laugh smile and cry.Most of all it once watched the story haunts you one you can-not easily forget. It is so nice to be able to still get films like this one to-day and to bring back so many memmories. Roots is one of the best buys I have bought of E-Bay and in my short time of being a member look forward to many more films I come across by just looking and comming across luckily for me by accident.

Roots starts off around 1750 when an African baby is born called Kunta Kinte and follows his life. He gets enslaved by slavers when he's 15 and is taken to a white supremest America where he is sold at a slave market to a Virginian tobacco business man. From there we follow Kunta all the way through to old age and beyond and after he dies we follow his daughter and when she dies as an old lady we follow her son and so on. Basically the main characters die off and then the newish minor characters become main characters as well as there are new characters which are brought in from time to time. All the while though the black people are slaves and treated as 3rd class citizens. We see how they struggle with their hard life and how some of them are happy to be slaves as they've never known anything else and how some dream of freedom. Over the years and generations we see good white people, indifferent white people and very bad white people. It passes quickly through the war of independence but focuses longer on the civil war mainly because this is the beginning of the end of black slavery in America which leads to the KKK part of Roots.

After watching Roots it really does feel like you have watched 120 years of a families generations. From the beginning where Kunta is born all the way to the end where a very old Chicken George leads his family to a new free life. It is quite mind boggling.

The story is amazing, the acting is award winning and i have no quips with Roots at all apart from one thing. Everyone ages through this except the amazing ageless Mr Moore. Over a span of around 50 years he doesn't age a day. When he is first introduced he looks about 50 and 50 years later he still looks like 50. I think he must be a Highlander or something! LOL

Of course, Roots was made possible by the writer Alex Haley who was a descendant of Kunta Kinte which is explained at the very end. I recommend Roots very highly. It's for people who enjoy history and an engrossing story. You will also get attached to the characters and feel a sense of loss when one of them die. I've only covered the very basics and left a ton of stuff out in this review. Just like Schindler's List you have to watch this because it is an important piece of film making based on a true story. One word....Brilliant! 10/10

This is a really hardhitting drama about slavery, love, compassion etc...
I watched this years ago with my parents and remember how awestruck and gripped I was, so I decided I had to have my own copy.

I would recommend this to everyone!!

excellent film!!
This film has fond memories for me. In my early teens my mother and I spend a whole girly day drinking tea and having snacks while watching the entire film.
I have bought it as a gift for her for christmas to tell her how special that one day was and that i will remember it for the rest of my life.

I remembered watching this series of roots when I was a child of 9 and it stuck in my mind. How these african people were kidnapped from their african villages and shipped off to america thousands of miles from their villages to be sold off as slaves. How badly the blacks were treated how Kunta Kinti and the generations that followed him were subjected to terrible abuse during their times as slaves,how their women were rapped and abused. Men were flogged and even worse had limbs removed if they tried to escape their captures.This series makes you realize how evil they were to treat another human being in this way.Its a fantastic series a must for everybody to see, very educational and very emotional. Just a word of warning you cant stop watching it! I remember as a child having to wait a whole week to watch the next one a long time when your a child! Then 30 years later I bought it! I watched with my husband and my inlaws every sunday not such a long time to wait when your not a child ha!!! for 4 weeks we crammed in as much as we could each week as weve two small babies and had to settle them before we all sat for hours glued to the tv.
This is fantastic box set and just as id remembered it all those years ago.A must watch for everybody!I know we'll be watching it over and over once we get it back as soon as our friends heard we had it they too had remembered watching it and couldnt wait to borrow it from us.I was so glad I found this boxset on ebay.It gets AAA+++++++ FROM US

bought as a present, reciepient loved it. she seemed more than happy with the quality, and recommended that I watch it too!!!

Bought this for my mom-in-law but have seen it. the acting is superb, and unfortunately the story line, being true, is a very important and extremely sad part of Americas' history. as an African-American female, i must admit it pissed me off. but i also have to give homage to the actors and the story. The best history lesson going!!!

I can remember as a child watching this week in and week out and the fascination of the life of kunta kinti. My son recently came home and said that he had watched some of this at school, i then decided to do the sunday thing and watch it with my family and you know what it's as good today as it was all those years ago, and as fascinating for the younger generation.

seen it on telly when i was young and wanted to see it again have not had time to sit and watch it yet

I had watched this series when it was on tv years ago. It was brilliant then and still is now. All the family still talk about it now, and at a recent party someone brought it into the conversation and I thought I would love to watch that again. So I looked on Ebay and found out loads of them were still for sale. I would recomend this to all ages its a great happy but heart breaking story.

I remember watching this series when i was younger, having a cuddle with my mum on the settee. It was my mums 70th birthday and it wasnt long before this we had been taking about the series, so when i looked on Ebay and the price it was amazing, my mum was overjoyed that shes got it and has already watched it twice . I

I remember the series on tv and I have some foreign students staying with me at the moment and I think they will enjoy this dvd as it tells the history of the black Americans. People today seem to think that they are native Americans and it is important that they understand the true picture. Excellent service from the seller and dvd seems to be in very good condition.

i watched the series when it first came out,and i bought dvds to see if it was still as good now as it was then.In my opinion it is still gripping and thought provoking and i would not hesitate to recommended it.

Enjoyed rewatching this excellent series. Very sad, true story but uplifting. It is amazing to consider the plight of African slaves in America not so very long ago and their position in society now. It should be seen by all young people to illustrate the history of America and the part played by British traders.

This was a series that i watched when i was a youngster and i waned to see it again and ive not been dissapointed

very good and interesting story about slavery, from the beginning to the abolition of slavery. A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1

It arrived in perfect condition{used} but still a great watch after all these years,, either take your time, or watch in one sitting,,
this is a recommended viewing!

JUST AS GOOD AS THE FIRST TIME WATCHING IT, WILL WATCH AGAINING WHEN GOT NOTHING ELSE TO DO, OR AS GOOD TO WATCH, OPENS YOUR EYES TO HOW AFRICAN PEOPLE WAS TREATED AND HOW WARS ARE STARTED BETWEEN COUNTRYS.