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There are two sides to every story the saying goes. For Alex Haley one side was roots the towering chronicle tracing Severn generations of his mother's family. The other side comes to the screen in Alex Haley's Queen the remarkable history of a paternal side of the author's family. David L. Wolper (Roots The Thorn Birds) is the executive producer of this acclaimed adaption of the story Haley was working on when he died. Halle Berry plays Queen daughter of a slave (Jasmine Guy) and a plantation owner (Tim Daly). During the turbulent decades of the antebellum South the Civil war Reconstruction and beyond she searches for a home in the two cultures of her heritage - and at times is shunned by both. Rejection and hate are no match for her unconquerable will however. Ann-Margret Danny Glover and Ossie Davis are among the many stars of this poignant uplifting final chapter of the Haley legacy.

One of those grandiose episodic films, in this case based on Alex Haley's mother Queen (Halle Berry) living through the traumatic experiences of the end of slavery. This is a great slice of American history, beautifully filmed and with an extraordinary cast and excellent ambientation. Such that you feel you are right there with them in the tobacco plantations, enjoying and suffering throughout Queen's life her happy and anguishing moments. The gorgeous (any other adjectives, anybody?) Halle Berry enacts the best rôle of her life. You will never see anything better by her.

Shown here on Spanish National Television (RTVE) in just one episode in the middle of the summer a few years ago: you might say 260 minutes (plus the advertisement breaks) for an epic saga is pure masochism. No; not at all: this is a gripping and powerful production, masterfully portraying human feelings, suffering, joy…….. OK: you need to get up, take a walk around the house during the commercials, make a pot of coffee, phone your mother-in-law and tell her what she is missing, take a cold shower around the 180 minute break, and so on – but it is worthwhile. Apart from 'North and South' (1985/1986) nothing else is comparable. And that is what most surprises me: very few voters on IMDb and nobody has troubled to write a commentary (as of August 2001).

There are two sides to every story, the saying goes. For Alex Haley, one side was ROOTS, the towering chronicle tracing seven generations of his mother's family. The other side comes to the screen in QUEEN, the remarkable history of the paternal side of the author's family. David L. Wolper is executive producer of this acclaimed adaptation of the story Haley was working on when he died. Halle Berry plays Queen, daughter of a slave and a plantation owner. During the turbulent decades of the antebellum South, the Civil war, Reconstruction and beyond, she searches for a home in the two cultures of her heritage-and at times is shunned by both. Rejection and hate are no match for her unconquerable will, however.

I feel this is an excellent movie/miniseries,because not only of the cast itself but,also due to the impact it causes on the viewer.It is very appropriate for all ages (in my book any way).It opens and shows many real life sagas from an era gone,but still existing in todays society.The cast was well picked for the movie and the plot is great. It's the kind of movie one could watch more than once and never loose interest in due to the plot/moral and simple outcome of pore-civil and post civil war life and time.The whole movie is long,but well worth the time it takes to watch it.I'm glad I didn't miss this one and more glad it is available as an online movie.Any who has watched I am sure enjoyed it and for those who haven't yet seen it I really encourage you to.

Enjoyed the miniseries very much, especially the excellent cinematography, score, clothing design, landscape scenes, etc. The historical era is also excellent to explore. The drama does not try to gain converts, but is even-handed given the sensitive topics. I lowered my score because, even though it is a drama that is trying to appeal to a broad television audience, the actors were always far too well-dressed for 1850s. They were always mostly clean-shaven, with the women having clean, beautiful hair. Slaves wore dirty, tattered and wrinkled clothes but you never saw any dirty, worn-out clothes in this film. Lastly, the plot for the first half of the film before the outbreak of war is far too synonymous with the plot in the movie Mandingo (1975); practically an exact copy. I was shocked. Overall, Queen is very good.

Wow! Wait...Wait.WOW!

It is very interesting that a lot of the actors that played memorable characters in the film have pretty good careers today. I was looking at the list and I was like, "He was not in that film!" "WHAT".

Again, if you look at my other comments, you will know that I love epic films and this was another one my parents just bothered to record when it played on TV years ago. (I really need to thank my parents for taking the time one of these days.) Again, this is a film I last saw in 1998. I made sure I watched it when I left it, stupidly enough, so that I could remember the entire thing as long as possible. Halle was awesome, her attitude, body language, speech, she was made for this role, and I could say vice versa. This is the one movie that made me acknowledge the fact (when she was still Oscarless) that she indeed deserved, and would soon be getting an Oscar. She conveyed the passion and pain of her character's journey. Indeed, I cannot distinguish Halle from Queen in my mind, they are synonymous. It was well written, well casted, and well received by me. If you doubt me, take a look at the full casting list and you might be surprised. If you can, watch it!

I must add that the only reason why I left these two films behind is because I was so sure they were big here and would be easy to find/buy. I am so sorry I was wrong. It's just another reflection on America's media content choices. Films with history, meat, and bone often get neglected and relegated to the bottom feeders. I guess because they are educational to some degree...hey, don't hate, be honest, I think it's true.

Alex Haley's grandmother Queen's life portrayed in a grand production. Halle Berry brings to life all of the pains and sorrows of a life of grand adventure and deep dispair.

No expense or detail is spared in this spellbinding tale of life as it used to be in the deep south.

This is the mini series version of Alex Haley's paternal side to his family (ROOTS covered the maternal side). The trials and tribulations this woman goes through are cringe inducing - racism from both her blood lines, sexism from practically every male with a pulse. Not an easy sit through - it is long and tedious and the leading lady's performance and horrible makeup really tried my nerves.

I tried to sit through this, really it did - but Berry's performance left much to be desired. Jasmine Guy was better than anticipated and well, it's Danny Glover who is consistently strong in every performance. The big question I have is this: why didn't they get Jennifer Beals for this? Queen was supposed to be so fair complected and Caucasian featured that she passed for white - what the heck is Halle Berry doing here? It is ridiculous to see her normally beautiful complexion covered in Kabuki like make-up and everyone walking around like this is normal and the cast really look strained trying to act like Halle Berry looks like a believable white woman. This leaves the credibility of the production in serious question.

I give it marks for trying, most of the stars are for Danny Glover, but overall - see it only if you have to for school but I recommend reading the book

Absolutely can't imagine why I am just watching this, but I have it my collection of favorite Civil War movies. The plantation, I noticed, is the same one in the Saga North and South mini series. The atmosphere and great acting makes this timeless piece a jewel. I have the original Roots and the remake. I recommend this movie with 10 stars for entertaining. The acting and clothing is so orginal, that you get lost in time. It has an all star cast of well know actors and actresses. Hope to watch and add more Alex Haley sagas to my collection in the future. And, I just love the plantation, and the fact it has been in lots of Civil War movies.

In the book, Annie's father was a white man; therefore Annie was a mulatto. Her daughter Easter was fathered by a white man, which made her a quarter white. Easter's daughter, Queen, was fathered by Jas. the young "massa". therefore Queen was only one eighth black. Halle Berry is half white which made her far too dark complexioned for the part and as a result, unconvincing, no matter how hard she tried. The whole theme of the book was that Queen looked white and was not accepted by the black people because of it. She was able to pass for white as long as she did not admit that she had been born a slave.

Another miscast role was Martin Sheen butchering the Irish accent. Were there no Irish actors available? I kept waiting for Mr. Sheen to deliver an Irish joke.

MOST annoying of all was the grammar - no plurals and missing verbs. "I black" "I with chile". Perhaps they spoke like this 150 years ago, but for modern audiences it would have been better to have modified the speech a little. As it was I found it irritating. I would recommend the book instead of the miniseries, which begins half way through the book.

The rule of thumb about sequels is that they're never as good as the original; Queen is no exception. This 3-part miniseries follows the other half of Alex Haley's family tree, but it's not nearly as entertaining, emotional, or well made as Roots. And while quite a few stars made up the supporting cast, the main fault lies in the title character played by Halle Berry. In her first leading role, it's clear she's no actress. She came from a background of beauty pageants, not acting training, and it shows. I actually felt sorry for the veteran actors beside her. Just as I'm sure they were excited to be cast in the sequel to Roots, no doubt they were embarrassed to be seen in the final production.

If you can get past the leading character with an enormous lack of talent who puts no motivation behind her character and struggles talking with an uneducated slave dialect, you'll learn about the other side of Alex Haley's lineage. It starts in the 1850s. A white landowner's son is engaged to a proper white lady in town, but he's also having an affair with one of his slaves. When a daughter is born, she's very light-skinned and is moved to the big house as a companion to his pure white daughter. Martin Sheen and Ann-Margret are the grandparents, Tim Daly and Jasmine Guy are the parents, and Patricia Clarkson is Tim's wife who knows the truth but is powerless to banish the illegitimate daughter from the house. As the years progress and war threatens their way of life, Queen learns the difference between white and black worlds. Eventually, when the war is over, she leaves the plantation to head north. Her life path takes turns of sorrow as she meets up with various characters: Ossie Davis, Dennis Haysbert, Lonette McKee, Elizabeth Wilson, Victor Garber, Richard Jenkins, Jake Krakowski, Madge Sinclair, Lorraine Toussaint, Paul Winfield, and Danny Glover.

Parts of the miniseries seem uneventful, and some of them are horrifically upsetting. Just be prepared when you watch this: it's not Roots. You won't form a bond with any of the characters, and you probably won't insist your friends watch it. It could have been a lot better with one little casting choice: the woman who played Queen.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to racial language and graphic racial violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.