The Search for the Nile

I saw this when I was 13 years old and I will never forget it.I have always loved this period of History( which is why I hate the fact I've never seen Mountains of The Moon),and this is a terrific treatment. It has one of the most literate scripts, and some of the most complex,fascinating characters, ever seen on the small screen.I will note, for instance, the brilliant performance by Kenneth Haigh as Sir Richard Francis Burton..one of the most astonishing, half-mad half-genius figures in human history.everybody else is also superb, including the actress who played Burtons devoted, if bigoted , wife.This film belongs on DVD..is it ever run on cable?

This series was one of the best that I have ever seen on TV. In trying to find out if it was available on VHS or DVD I discovered a web site that lets you vote and comment on your favorite movie or TV shows to put on DVD or VHS. It then sends your vote and comments to the company that owns the rights. As of this moment there are only 19 votes for this wonderful series to be released. So please take a moment and go to TVShowsOnDVD.com and register your vote. Hopefully enough people will see my message and get the count up so that this series will finally be released. This is the type of mini-series that I would love my grandchildren to see, so I will check on the site to see how the voting is going. Thanks.

I too wish this were available on playable media. It's an excellent presentation of (some of) the adventures of the most interesting man in western civilization, in my opinion. Burton spoke at least 27 different languages, opened up the eyes & consciousness of the west to the mysteries of India, Arabia & darkest Africa. First translated the Kama Sutra & Arabian Nights. First caucasian to enter Mecca & Medina disguised as a Muslim. Withstood blindness & a spear through the face in quest for the Nile. Greatest swordsman in England in his youth, etc etc. Oh, also packed a six-gun in the old west alongside some of the legends of the time. (Really!) Wadda guy.

I loved that series when I saw it as a teenager. It's one of the few that I still remember vividly and keep praising among friends - who often haven't even heard of it. I was mesmerized by the characters: I adored Burton and marveled at his choice in wife, and (being a naive teenager at that time) was shocked by the character depictions of other prominent adventurers like Speke and Stanley. What a gripping view this mini-series gives of the discovery of the dark continent and of colonialism and imperialism. "Mountains of the Moon" is pale and superficial in comparison, and I was disappointed by the movie's quite different view of the Burton marriage. I so much enjoyed "The Search for the Nile", and I cannot understand why this fantastic series isn't available on DVD!

"The Search for the Nile" was originally telecast on NBC in January of 1972. If I remember correctly, the network broadcast it immediately following its coverage of the Winter Olympic Games from Sapporo, Japan. (It was, and still is, very rare for any of the three major networks in the years before cable to broadcast anything from the BBC. PBS did pick it up later; has anyone contacted them?) Yes, the narrator was the incomparable James Mason. I also love the main title music for this superior docudrama. I was told the sheet music was available but have never found it. The composer's name is Joseph Horovitz.

Everything all the other respondents have written is true, this mini-series was one of the best histories ever made and I would also love to have it. As for Bob Rafelson's "Mountains of the Moon," don't bother. It doesn't even hold a candle to the original.