Roots (Four-Disc 30th Anniversary Edition)

Buy This Item Roots (Four-Disc 30th Anniversary Edition) by Warner Home Video  Available from Amazon  $41.99  on 8-27-2008     Based on Alex Haley's best-selling novel about his African ancestors, Roots followed several generations in the lives of a slave family. The saga began with Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), a West African youth captured by slave raiders and shipped to America in the 1700s. The family's saga is depicted up until the Civil War where Kunte Kinte's grandson gained emancipation. Roots made its greatest impression on the ratings and widespread popularity it garnered. On average, 130 million - almost half the country at the time - saw all or part of the series.<P><b>DVD Features:</b> <b>Audio Commentary</b> <b>Documentaries</b> <b>Electronic press kit</b> <b>Featurette</b> <b>Interviews</b> </p> Reader Reviews I first watched this DVD in the 70's or 80's. Back then, all I learned was that Kunta Kinte was renamed Toby and that we may be descendents of Africans. This time I viewed the DVD in a whole different light; the importance of knowing your past so that you can move towards the future. This DVD is great because it shows the importance of sharing family history. If the Haleys/Palmers/Thomases/Harveys and so forth had not shared the information from generation to generation then Alex Haley would not have taken such an interest in finding his ancestors. Now, when I watched the DVD, I thought it was entirely true. I wondered how they could remember in such detail. I later learned that Haley coined his book FACTION, a combination of fiction and facts. Anyway, the story has been criticized mainly on the ground that Haley could not have been a descendent of Kunta Kinte' because Kunta Kinte was dead in the year of Kizzy Reynolds conception and birth. Even if this is true, I think it still is an excellent attempt at telling the story of a black man in America. After viewing the DVD, I went to a-n-cestry dot com and found the census records online. I was able to find ancestors back to the late 1800s. Unfortunately, I found out how difficult it was from ROOTS because our last names changed at the drop of a hat and, thus, unless you know the last names of the people at all time, it will be very hard to locate the people. Anyway, I plan to have my children (when I have them) watch this DVD just so they can know how far black people have come.

Roots (Four-Disc 30th Anniversary Edition) Available from Amazon Price: $41.99 Updated on 8-27-2008.

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