"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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

American Civil War | Flogging | Intimacy | Poignant | Confrontation

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 34 nominations

Cast

Olivia Cole	...	Mathilda (5 episodes, 1977)
LeVar Burton	...	Kunta Kinte / ... (4 episodes, 1977)
Ben Vereen	...	'Chicken' George Moore (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)
Chuck Connors	...	Tom Moore (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)
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Fiddler (2 episodes, 1977)
Lorne Greene	...	John Reynolds (2 episodes, 1977)
Scatman Crothers	...	Mingo (2 episodes, 1977)
George Hamilton	...	Stephen Bennett (2 episodes, 1977)
Richard Roundtree	...	Sam Bennett (2 episodes, 1977)
Richard McKenzie	...	Sam Harvey (2 episodes, 1977)
John Quade	...	Sheriff Biggs (2 episodes, 1977)
Cicely Tyson	...	Binta (2 episodes, 1977)
Ernest Thomas	...	Kailuba (2 episodes, 1977)

(more)

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

Series Writing credits
William Blinn		(unknown episodes)
M. Charles Cohen		(unknown episodes)
Alex Haley		(unknown episodes)
Ernest Kinoy		(unknown episodes)
James Lee		(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
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 (unknown episodes)
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 Inc.  location facilities
• Neiman-Tillar Associates  sound effects
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals

Runtime:

573 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:PG (cut) | 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:

This was originally to be a four hour presentation airing on two nights, this turned into a twelve hour presentation airing during six nights.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the beginning of the capture scene in Episode 1 of Roots, Kunta Kinte can be briefly seen wearing shoes or sandals.

Quotes:

John Carrington: Uh, did you have a good voyage, Captain?
Captain Thomas Davies: My First Officer is dead, ten seaman and the ship's boy... more than a third of my crew.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Saturday Night Live: Steve Martin/The Kinks (#2.15)" (1977)

There is something for everyone, thanks to Roots

I normally don't start out this way, but I feel it matters. I am a Southern White, and I have not seen this movie up until the other night.

I thought this mini-series was one of the top three or four I have ever seen. Throughout the years since this came out, I never really bothered, thinking it would be simply white bashing. It was not. I felt it might be in contradiction with the kind people and relatives I grew up knowing. It was not.

I feel that this mini-series realistically blends black history in with the history we have been fed from the Northern side as well as the Southern side.

Most southerners were not slave owners. They were represented. I think this movie strove to show the kindness in people, as well as the darkness. I look at the South with fondness, but I know that what this movie portrayed was true - in spirit, if not fact.

Sometime after this originally came out there was some controversy over Haley faking some of this. I thought (at the time), A HA! It's bull! Again, remember that I had not watched it. Upon seeing it I realized that though some of this might be fiction, it certainly rang true.

What I didn't like about the movie: Watching Sandy Duncan and Leslie Uggams play teenagers. The acting was okay. Duncan reminded me of that spoiled brat in Little House on the Prairie. My guess is that Duncan was cast so she would look like an adult child and not seem out of place compared to Uggams. It is perhaps that during the seventies Hollywood did not want to take such a chance on a younger African-American to play Kizzy. It was an important role, and our society had not allowed Blacks to come into their own. Hollywood seems to want to force their views on society, yet they are often the last to come into line.

John Amos, whom I really like, seemed to be good and bad for his role. Someone said he sounded like he was in "Good Times" at some points. I don't feel that way. I do feel that his dialect seemed slightly out of place during some moments. He did not detract from the story, though. He carried on Burton's eternal fight for freedom with the same bullheadedness.

Ben Vereen: What can I say? When he started doing Variety Shows in the Seventies, I really admired him. He could play instruments, as well as sing, dance, and act. He does not disappoint here. I was so sad when he lost his role in Silk Stalkings due to an accident. Thankfully he has recovered over time.

Madge Sinclair: What an actress! and beautiful woman, to boot. I didn't know she had leukemia during the days I watched her on Trapper John. There were some episodes where she seemed older than her years, though always beautiful. In Roots she manages to capture and portray an inner beauty and let it shine through her bondage.

Most of the white actors were well cast, Duncan aside. I didn't realize how busy Lloyd Bridges was doing so many mini-series. He makes you hate him here, so he did his job.

Ed Asner had a very poignant remark about no one really being free. It was that he felt he was becoming a slave to his job. Please do not think I am comparing the miseries of forced slavery to a large scheme of celestial bondage, but it was pointed out in this film, that at the end of the war, freedom simply meant going from slavery into some other forced form of servitude. I'm retired, yet I often feel bound to government restrictions and the things I am forced to do routinely to simply maintain my retirement. The African-Americans added to Asner's moment by later saying that when someone died, the smile on his face meant he was finally free.

When Roots came out I remember the cries of many saying, "We now have our history!" Yes, and it was blended well into all of our histories, as I have mentioned. About five years ago, when my daughter married a man of color, he made her watch Roots. She asked me what I thought of him doing that. My response was that she needed to look at all things objectively, and know that most of life is a shade of gray. I also mentioned that had I been the same city, I would have liked to have viewed it with them. Now I can at least share my thoughts and hear my son-in-law's thoughts as well.

My biggest complaint is that the DVD is already out of print. HUH? One of the greatest mini-series ever made and I have to pay scalpers' fees for a used copy? (I borrowed my copy from the library) Please, someone! put this in a continual printing, and PLEASE, do not do what you did with others (cutting whole sections out to save a buck).

This movie (along with North and South) should be required viewing for all people. For the African-Americans, this movie should be made available forever, so that it does not simply fade into folk and family lore the way that Kunta-Kinte did - with only bits and pieces remaining.