Tenko

Forget Paradise Road! If you really want to have any idea what the women who were prisoners of war of the Japanese this is the series to watch. At times the make up department are so realistic that you do not know these sores are not part of the women. What the men and women went through in these camps is nothing short of Hell. If the fact of malnutrition and hard work didn't kill you the malaria would! Congratulations to everyone who worked on this production because unlike Paradise Road they actually did their homework to make this as real as possible!

I saw parts of these series many years ago on TV, so when the chance came to purchase the dvds of the whole set, I grabbed them. They sat on my shelf until I had the strength to watch them, and I'm glad I waited, it's not easy viewing but compelling and addictive. Now that I am through the whole lot, I will be at a loss for a few days, I'm sure. The story is of course true, a snapshot based on a woman's experiences. The characters are flawless and the acting superb. I have laughed and cried during the re-run, and I'm amazed at how little I remember. As a post-war baby, I cannot imagine how dreadful it really was, I'm only glad we don't have smell-ovision, because I can believe it would have been pretty rancid at times. A wonderfully crafted set of programmes, the continuity and consistency of the storylines leave us wistful for those days of excellent quality tv. Too many really top class actors/actresses to mention. I loved the fact that the air-con was turned off so that we saw genuine sweat! All round perfection - I can't think of a single flaw.

I can only agree with the praise from other reviewers.

As movie reviewers Siskel and Ebert used to say, you come to care about these people.

The situations are absorbing, full of suspense and moral dilemmas, and the actresses are uniformly excellent. In subsequent years, whenever I've seen one of them again in another context (Ann Bell, Rosemary Martin, Jean Anderson, and Elizabeth Chambers have shown up in other British dramas that have played in the States), it's been like meeting an old friend.

I discovered this series when it played on A&E (back when A&E was actually "artistic" and "entertaining"), but unfortunately, I never saw the first half of the first season. I was sorry when the series ended and even more sorry that it was never repeated.

I wish that someone would rebroadcast it or that the DVDs would be made available in the States. However, people who own region-free DVD players can order the series from retailers such as Amazon UK, as I have done with this and several other series that have never been released in the U.S.

I saw this many years ago and I was riveted to the television. Historically accurate, interesting, entertaining, just plain great! The acting is stunning and no one actress outshines the other. I felt their pain, hopelessness, and I felt the sweat and dirt. I would love to read the book(s) it is based on. Paradise Road simply does not measure up to this. To see a Hollywood version of this watch "Three Came Home" with Claudette Colbert. Based on a true story by Agnes Newton Keith, the movie conveys the great pain of the incarcerated woman, but the setting is backlot Hollywood. Also, see Empire of The Sun, another great true POW story, this time focusing on a child.

I, too, wish I could see Tenko again. I hope someday it will be available in the US.

This and The Winds of War/War and Remembrance are outstanding examples of movies that get to the heart of the topic they portray. By all standards TENKO is actually superior due to the raw, less over produced, values.

I watched the original series by happenchance, just flicking through the channels to see what was on (yes, a very male thing to do) when I came across this series. As a lover of anything to do with this time period I stuck around for a few minutes... a fateful few minutes, because I got stuck into what I now consider to be the best drama television has produced.

I credit the superb cast, standouts all. Unlike most American movies, there are no major names so each actor stands equally in the spotlight and makes you believe the awful events are actually happening. I don't know that I could endure what these ladies went through, I would suspect not. I do have the epilogue movie, TENKO Reunion on tape (lousy copy), so at least I can revisit these characters when I want to, even if only through a lot of video noise.

So why is this series not available on DVD or tape in North America? I can only think that someone somewhere is deciding, even as I write this, that it is high time that a release date is set. Wishful thinking? I hope not!