"Roots" (1977) TV mini-series

Directors:

Marvin J. Chomsky
John Erman
(more)

Writers:

William Blinn (adaptation)
William Blinn (screenplay)
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

23 January 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendents' liberation.

Plot Keywords:

African American | Civil War | Escape Attempt | America | Slave

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

Olivia Cole	...	Mathilda (5 episodes, 1977)
LeVar Burton	...	Kunta Kinte / ... (4 episodes, 1977)
Ben Vereen	...	'Chicken' George Moore (4 episodes, 1977)
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Fiddler (4 episodes, 1977)
Vic Morrow	...	Ames (4 episodes, 1977)
Ji-Tu Cumbuka	...	Wrestler (3 episodes, 1977)
Edward Asner	...	Capt. Thomas Davies (3 episodes, 1977)
Ralph Waite	...	Slater (3 episodes, 1977)
Robert Reed	...	Dr. William Reynolds (3 episodes, 1977)
Lynda Day George	...	Mrs. Reynolds (3 episodes, 1977)
John Amos	...	Toby (3 episodes, 1977)
Madge Sinclair	...	Bell Reynolds (3 episodes, 1977)
Leslie Uggams	...	Kizzy Reynolds (3 episodes, 1977)
Carolyn Jones	...	Mrs. Moore (3 episodes, 1977)
Lloyd Bridges	...	Evan Brent (3 episodes, 1977)
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Tom Harvey (3 episodes, 1977)
Brad Davis	...	Ol' George Johnson (3 episodes, 1977)
Hilly Hicks	...	Lewis (3 episodes, 1977)
Lynne Moody	...	Irene Harvey (3 episodes, 1977)
Lane Binkley	...	Martha Johnson (3 episodes, 1977)
Austin Stoker	...	Virgil (3 episodes, 1977)
Sandy Duncan	...	Missy Anne Reynolds (3 episodes, 1977)
Chuck Connors	...	Tom Moore (3 episodes, 1977)
Tracey Gold	...	Young missy reynolds (3 episodes, 1977)
Moses Gunn	...	Kintango (2 episodes, 1977)
Thalmus Rasulala	...	Omoro (2 episodes, 1977)
Hari Rhodes	...	Brima Cesay (2 episodes, 1977)
William Watson	...	Gardner (2 episodes, 1977)
Ren Woods	...	Fanta (2 episodes, 1977)
Lorne Greene	...	John Reynolds (2 episodes, 1977)
Thayer David	...	Harlan (2 episodes, 1977)
Scatman Crothers	...	Mingo (2 episodes, 1977)
George Hamilton	...	Stephen Bennett (2 episodes, 1977)
Lillian Randolph	...	Sister Sara (2 episodes, 1977)
Richard Roundtree	...	Sam Bennett (2 episodes, 1977)
Davis Roberts	...	Leonard (2 episodes, 1977)
Richard McKenzie	...	Sam Harvey (2 episodes, 1977)
John Quade	...	Sheriff Biggs (2 episodes, 1977)
Cicely Tyson	...	Binta (2 episodes, 1977)
Tina Andrews	...	Aurelia (2 episodes, 1977)
Henry Butts	...	Sitafa (2 episodes, 1977)
Joe Dorsey	...	Calvert (2 episodes, 1977)
Kermit Echols	...	Vilars (2 episodes, 1977)
Richard Farnsworth	...	Slave catcher (2 episodes, 1977)
Ronnie Leggett	...	Kalila (2 episodes, 1977)
Rachel Longaker	...	Caroline (2 episodes, 1977)
Ernest Thomas	...	Kailuba (2 episodes, 1977)

Series Directed by
Marvin J. Chomsky		(unknown episodes)
John Erman		(unknown episodes)
David Greene		(unknown episodes)
Gilbert Moses		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Alex Haley		(12 episodes, 1977)
James Lee		(7 episodes, 1977)
William Blinn		(unknown episodes)
M. Charles Cohen		(unknown episodes)
Ernest Kinoy		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Stan Margulies	....	producer (unknown episodes)
David L. Wolper	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Gerald Fried		(unknown episodes)
Quincy Jones		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Stevan Larner		(unknown episodes)
Joseph M. Wilcots		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
James T. Heckert		(unknown episodes)
Peter Kirby		(unknown episodes)
Neil Travis		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
Joseph R. Jennings		(unknown episodes)
Jan Scott		(unknown episodes)

Series Set Decoration by
Charles C. Bennett		(unknown episodes)
Solomon Brewer		(unknown episodes)

Series Costume Design by
Jack Martell		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Bernadine M. Anderson	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Scott Cunningham	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Lola 'Skip' McNalley	....	hair stylist (unknown episodes)
Omar	....	hair stylist: Miss Tyson (unknown episodes)
Stan Winston	....	special makeup effects (unknown episodes)
Gene Witham	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Conrad Holzgang	....	executive in charge of production (unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mack Bing	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)
Bill Lukather	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Terry Ballard	....	property master (unknown episodes)
Perry Gray	....	set designer (unknown episodes)
Richard Reseigne	....	construction coordinator (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Arnold Braun	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Willie D. Burton	....	sound recordist (unknown episodes)
Larry Carow	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
George Fredrick	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Robert L. Harman	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Nicholas James	....	sound restoration supervisor (unknown episodes)
Marvin E. Lewis	....	boom operator (unknown episodes)
Robert J. Litt	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Hoppy Mehterian	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Colin C. Mouat	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Lawrence E. Neiman	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Eddie Nelson	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Leonard Peterson	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
David Pettijohn	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
George Porter	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Bruce Richardson	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Bill Varney	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Donald L. Warner Jr.	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Craig R. Baxley	....	stunts (12 episodes, 1977)
Eddie Smith	....	stunt coordinator (unknown episodes)
Gene Witham	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Joseph W. Calloway	....	key assistant camera (unknown episodes)
Curtis Foster	....	lamp operator (unknown episodes)
Lee Heckler	....	gaffer (unknown episodes)
Vern Matthews	....	key grip (unknown episodes)

Series Casting Department
Shirley Fulton Crumley	....	extras casting (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ed Fincher	....	costumer: men (unknown episodes)
Donna Roberts	....	costumer: women (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Fred Kaplan	....	assistant editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Tommy Tedesco	....	musician: guitar (12 episodes, 1977)
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Transportation Department
Frank Khoury	....	driver (unknown episodes)
Gary Littlefield	....	transportation captain (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Vivian Jones	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)
Marie McKellar	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Jody Richardson	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Calvin Spencer	....	double: Lloyd Bridges (unknown episodes)
Linda Thornley	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• David L. Wolper Productions
• Warner Bros. Television

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Super! Drama TV (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• TV One (2007) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Television
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cinemobile System  location facilities
• Neiman-Tillar Associates  sound effects
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Alex Haley's Roots (Australia)

Runtime:

573 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG (cut) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Administration Building, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

David L. Wolper Productions

Trivia:

The show was programmed by ABC to air on several consecutive nights in prime time. It was considered a revolutionary approach to programming a mini-series, since most minis were aired once or twice a week over several weeks' time. It was revealed years later that the reason the network did this was so that they get the show "out of the way" in a hurry because they felt, nobody would watch the story if it aired over a longer period of time.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the scene where Kunta Kinte throws a stone at the leopard, after the leopard has been frightened/hit and runs off, you can see it's leash rustling in the leaves.

Quotes:

Kunta Kinti: I'm a Mandinka warrior!
Fiddler: [turns to stable horse] Horse! I hear tell that you ain't a horse at all. I hear tell that you think you a mighty crow! I hear tell that you fly from here 'bouts all the way to Annapolis and back again. Now horse... you look mighty like a horse to me. And you sure SMELLS mighty like a horse. So I'm saying to you, that you... is... a horse! What you think you is don't matter a damn bit.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Misery (1990)

Soundtrack:

Oluwa

A long, ambitious tapestry of slavery - cartoonish at times, but ultimately fulfilling

Roots is great television: entertaining, gripping at times, and both brave and sweeping in the time and the characters that it spans. But does it summarise or encapsulate the misery and experience of 200+ years of slavery, bondage, rape and torture? I think not. And you can attribute that to the time of its production and airing, and the staid and conservative white-dominated market it hoped to win over - it was produced as entertainment first and history second, and a lot of concessions were made to the former. If you want a truer, more profound picture of just how bad slavery was, read Haley's book, one of the many other excellent histories, or fictional works like Fred D'Aguiar's "The Longest Memory". Watch Roots by all means, but consider the perspective and the audience, and the consequently euphemistic representation of what it was like to be a slave.

That said, it was ground-breaking in that it put the historical blight of American slavery into the public domain, and made it a talking point. And while the horrific aspects of it are often sanitized, they are never evaded: kidnapping, torturous sea voyages, humiliating auctions, brutal indoctrinations and 'taming', the harsh punishment of runaways, the back-breaking work, the condescending treatment, whippings, beatings, rape and mental torment - they're all represented across the broad vista of the narrative. Given the enormous scope of the programme it's not surprising that the series lurches into stereotype and simplistic characterisation from time to time, but it's not overly detrimental to its appeal.

My main issue with Roots is it suggests that despite the constant and intense maltreatment of slaves, they retained some fundamental dignity and self-respect. There are few, if any, black characters in Roots who become utterly compliant and subservient: most retain some level of self-esteem and defiance, even if they have to express it behind closed doors. History suggests different, that it was utterly psychologically degrading, that defiance and self-worth were quite limited by the institutions and processes of chattel slavery. In Roots the whites are seen as menacing intrusions into the lives of fairly happy and content working folk - there is little sense of the omnipresence that whites had, or the fear that they both cultivated and wielded.