Roots

Both my husband and I have watched the 1st 3 installments to this miniseries. We both had seen the 1977 version, and although some changes have been made...the story still haunts us. I have always felt a deep emotion to any stories of slavery and till this day I still cannot understand why the color of our skin can cause such emotion in people.My heart has been heavy these past few days as the hardships this family endured is beyond bravery, beyond restraint, beyond compassion.... It is a reminder of not only what happened in North America, but what happens all over the world ....people thinking they own another human being...

I will never ever forget this miniseries, it stayed with me from 1977 and this version will stay with me till I die....Perhaps I will be still around to see equality, passion and love for all human beings, no matter the color of their skin.

The acting of the whole new cast is beyond words....so believable.

xx

This show is absolutely brilliant. It really shows America's sad and dark history with slavery. The beginning sort of reminded me of the Amistad movie starring Djimon Hounsou and Anthony Hopkins, the gore violence and details really showed how people back then lived like mere products simply because of their skin color. I especially liked how it shows the lives of these slaves back in their homeland from where they were kidnapped from; the lives they once had but were ripped apart from at no warning. It's a part in history no one likes remembering, a part in history we'd all rather forget than remember. Movies and shows like these are very violent and filled with so much gore details, but it is a remembrance of the hard reality people once faced, lived, and died in.

Hi, my name is Sacha, I'm 16 years old, I'm a french guy from Angers. I like watching History movies. Before I watch Roots, I though it was boring movie, without epic or moving scenes. The movie is about Kunta Kinte, the main character, who is captured by an african rival clan, and gave to British; we follow his history from Africa to The United States where he is sold.

During the movie, Malacky Kirby and Forest Whitaker are awesome, their acting is very interesting and moving, they managed to transmit strong emotions, by their faces, how they speak. Ht emovie was realized Will Packer and Marc Toberoff in 2016. In general, I find the movie is well realized, but there are a little of low scene, a little boring.There are period where it's a little low. In return, the soundtrack is just amazing! The traditional songs are awesome, they are moving, they beautify the scenes. For me Roots is a wonderful, fabulous, moving and beautiful movie, but also with some slow scenes and a little boring. The African culture is incredibly well done. Finally I recommend this movie, I hope you'll like it.

I absolutely love this version of Roots. Its unfortunate that some reviewers of this program refuse to understand the basic fact that there are no good or bad kidnappers - only bad. The act of kidnapping does not allow for some to claim a moral high ground because you provide "small kindnesses." This version of ROOTS is similar to the stories my grandparents told me. Africans were not grateful for small favors - they wanted their freedom. What is undeniable is that all white people profited from this filthy trade in human beings - even the abolitionist. Some abolitionist were honest enough to admit this simple truth.

I wish this version of ROOTS appeared on basic channels so that more people, particularly non- cable watchers could have learned about the resistance of Africans to kidnapping and oppression. Bravo to the producers of this version of Roots!

What to make of this much-heralded remake of the Alex Haley classic? It has a lot going for it - a starry cast led by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Malachi Kirby, Forrest Whittaker and Lawrence Fishburne; atmospheric photography Peter Menzies jr. and Sharone Meir; and an authentic production design by Ida Random, David Barkham and Jonathan Hely-Hutchinson.

Yet the overall impression of this four-parter is one of blandness; a sense that the directors Bruce Beresford, Phillip Noyce, Mario van Peebles and Thomas Carter are simply retelling the story without any feeling for its historical significance. There are too many dramatic set-pieces strongly reminiscent of TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE, especially when the African American characters are assaulted by their white masters, while the settings (a plantation; the white slave-owner's house; the cattle-market) are shot in such a way - using bright light accompanied by atmospheric music - as to encourage the belief that we are watching a pared-down version of the Steve McQueen film.

The narrative lumbers on throughout each episode, with a pronounced lack of dramatic incident. The directors seem to have been so concerned with atmosphere (or lack thereof), that they have not really encouraged the actors to flesh out their roles. Too often we see performers simply going through the motions of performing with little concern for historical verisimilitude.

This is a real shame, because the idea to remake ROOTS seemed in principle to be such a good one, as a way of reminding viewers that the racial conflicts taking place in the antebellum United States have still not been resolved today. What a shame, therefore, that the creative personnel involved in this miniseries failed to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them.