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Roots

  • TV Mini Series
  • 19771977
  • TV-14TV-14
  • 9h 48m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
18K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,740
367
Roots (1977)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer1:28
2 Videos
26 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
18K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,740
367
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Stars
      • LeVar Burton
      • Robert Reed
      • John Amos
    Top credits
    • Stars
      • LeVar Burton
      • Robert Reed
      • John Amos
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 72User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
    • Won 9 Primetime Emmys
      • 17 wins & 35 nominations total

    Episodes8

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated
    1 Season
    1977

    Videos2

    Roots: 30th Anniversary Special Edition
    Trailer 1:28
    Roots: 30th Anniversary Special Edition
    Roots: 30th Anniversary Special Edition
    Trailer 1:28
    Roots: 30th Anniversary Special Edition

    Photos26

    Richard Roundtree and Leslie Uggams in Roots (1977)
    Roots (1977)
    Ji-Tu Cumbuka in Roots (1977)
    Cicely Tyson in Roots (1977)
    Cicely Tyson and Maya Angelou in Roots (1977)
    LeVar Burton in Roots (1977)
    John Amos and Madge Sinclair in Roots (1977)
    Leslie Uggams in Roots (1977)
    Sandy Duncan and Madge Sinclair in Roots (1977)
    Georg Stanford Brown in Roots (1977)
    Roots (1977)
    Roots (1977)

    Top cast

    Edit
    LeVar Burton
    LeVar Burton
    • Kunta Kinte…
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Robert Reed
    Robert Reed
    • Dr. William Reynolds
    4 episodes4 eps • 1977
    John Amos
    John Amos
    • Older Kunta Kinte…
    3 episodes3 eps • 1977
    Louis Gossett Jr.
    Louis Gossett Jr.
    • Fiddler
    3 episodes3 eps • 1977
    Lynda Day George
    Lynda Day George
    • Mrs. Reynolds
    3 episodes3 eps • 1977
    Olivia Cole
    Olivia Cole
    • Mathilda…
    3 episodes3 eps • 1977
    Madge Sinclair
    Madge Sinclair
    • Bell Reynolds
    3 episodes3 eps • 1977
    Ben Vereen
    Ben Vereen
    • Chicken George Moore
    3 episodes3 eps • 1977
    Lloyd Bridges
    Lloyd Bridges
    • Evan Brent
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Chuck Connors
    Chuck Connors
    • Tom Moore
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Georg Stanford Brown
    Georg Stanford Brown
    • Tom Harvey
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Lorne Greene
    Lorne Greene
    • John Reynolds
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Ralph Waite
    Ralph Waite
    • Slater
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Sandy Duncan
    Sandy Duncan
    • Missy Anne Reynolds
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Brad Davis
    Brad Davis
    • Old George
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Edward Asner
    Edward Asner
    • Capt. Thomas Davies
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Ji-Tu Cumbuka
    Ji-Tu Cumbuka
    • Wrestler
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    Hilly Hicks
    Hilly Hicks
    • Lewis Harvey
    2 episodes2 eps • 1977
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Author Harold Courlander successfully sued author Alex Haley for plagiarizing works which led to the book that served as the basis for this miniseries. Haley paid $650,000 in an out-of-court settlement.
    • Goofs
      Kizzy, a slave who works in the fields, has long, beautifully manicured fingernails.
    • Quotes

      Omoro, Kunta's father: [holding his infant son up to starry sky] Kunta Kinte, behold the only thing greater than yourself!

    • Alternate versions
      The original version of Roots on ABC featured slightly different opening titles. The Roots Mural was the same, but when the title Roots was shown on-screen it was over a dark blue background. The cover of the novel rises up from a horizontal to a vertical position. The screen says "AN ABC NOVEL FOR TELEVISION ALEX HALEY'S ROOTS THE SAGA OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY." Current VHS, dvd, and re-broadcasts simply have "Roots" on a black background, without the other information. Also, the end credits have been changed considerably. In the original, there were eight sets of end credits (one for each episode.) When the show was re-edited to six episodes, names were combined for different hours and some of the end credit sequences (with a still from that episode) are missing, including one featuring Kizzy and Missy Anne having a picnic.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1977)
    • Soundtracks
      Oluwa
      by Quincy Jones

    User reviews72

    Review
    Top review
    Grossly overrated
    The story of Alex Haley's ancestors is a powerful one, and he turned it into a very fine (if partly plagiarized) book. The 1977 miniseries, on the other hand, is an example of television's "dumbing down" process. It's relentlessly obvious, cheesy and cliched. The writing is dishonest when not just inept. Scene after scene is played to the rafters. African-Americans in particular deserved better.

    You want specifics? Chicken George (Ben Vereen) was born after his mother was raped by his master. In the book he's aware from childhood that their master is also his father, which is exactly what you'd expect. Here, however, we're asked to believe that this is a Big Secret he doesn't know because his mother didn't tell him. (Does he think it was a virgin birth?) That's so she can finally tell him when he's grown up with children of his own, and give the episode a cheap emotional climax. This is a familiar TV cliche.

    The conclusion is particularly laughable. Formula requires "empowerment," so they have an unbelievable scene where the ex-slaves tie the Evil Klansman to a tree before leaving town. First they point a gun at him, then his henchmen come out and get the drop on them, then other blacks get the drop on the henchmen. (This happened on GET SMART once, but the laughs were intentional there.)

    True, there are fine performances by actors like Louis Gossett and Vereen, but the white cast is mostly at sea. (As the slave ship's Ineffectual Christian Liberal Conscience, the normally able Edward Asner gives one of the 10 worst performances in TV history.) As for production values, ABC spent more on ROOTS than on any past TV movie, but you'd never know it: it looks very cheap.

    In sum, the miniseries ROOTS (like the miniseries HOLOCAUST) was "politically correct" before we knew the term.
    helpful•16
    30
    • Spook-4
    • Feb 12, 2000

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 23, 1977 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Raíces
    • Filming locations
      • St. Simons Island, Georgia, USA
    • Production companies
      • David L. Wolper Productions
      • Warner Bros. Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      9 hours 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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