Centennial: The Complete Series
by Bernard McEveety, Harry Falk, Paul Krasny, Virgil W. Vogel
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Actor: Barbara Carrera, Raymond Burr, Richard Chamberlain, Richard Crenna, Robert ConradDirector: Bernard McEveety, Harry Falk, Paul Krasny, Virgil W. Vogel
Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
Writer: Charles Larson
Writer: Jerry Ziegman
Writer: John Wilder
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1252 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-07-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Centennial: The Complete Series
DVD Review: 2 dimensional. Shallow. Poorly directed
Summary: 3 Stars
I was not as thrilled with this mini-series as the other reviewers. I love historical epics and had high hopes for this one. I missed Centennial when it came out so I was hopeful and delighted to see all of the popular TV actors of my era again.
Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in this production. It went downhill from the intro when Michener walked out on stage to talk to the audience (ala Walt Disney).
The story was dry and plodded along so slowly, it was almost painful to endure.
The only bright spots were the brilliant acting of Barbara Carrera and Michael Ansara. Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Burr were quite good as well.
Robert Conrad (French Canadian trader) was so blatantly overacting, it was embarrassing to watch; forced garish laughter and singing; simple dialogue over enunciated; forced phony bravado. If his acting hadn't been so awful, it would have been laughable. I've never seen him perform this poorly before. I can only assume the director insisted on this forced, overly garish performance.
Every major character's life was filled with tragedy from beginning to end; worse than any soap opera. Only the crooked, deceitful, or murderous characters ended up with long successful lives and natural deaths.
Every decent, honest character suffered endless tragic lives and died a senseless, depressing and wholly unnecessary death. The more honest and innocent the character... the more terrible fates which befell them. (Keeping in mind, some of the "good guys" had started off being bad guys... murders, bigamists, crooks, etc.) Although we had "Creative" senseless deaths from rattlesnake bite, train, fire, bullets, freezing, exposure (stroke victim left unattended outside in a wheelchair), suicide, gold bullet, arrows, drowning (2 ft water), dust bowl induced serial murder suicide, vehicle accident, etc., at least a half dozen or more died from exertion or stress induced heart attacks. I can't believe the studio approved this repetition, not to mention, the publisher.
The entire film was filled with depressing tragedies from beginning to end. Every storyline was filled with backstabbing, nasty crooks; none of which were held accountable for any crime they perpetrated. Almost all of the crooks ended up as prominent citizens with long lives and natural deaths.
So basically, if you were a bad guy, you got a long, successful life with very little strife and a natural death. If you were a decent, honest person, then you had nothing but tragedy and a horrible, unnecessary death.
My opinion of the quality of production has nothing to do with Michener's message. I heartily agree regarding the intolerable brutalization and killing of our native Americans and the stealing of their lands; the destruction and extinction of so many species of wildlife; the hordes of murderous, thieving thugs and every kind of rotten lowlife imaginable descending upon the wilderness and prairies... looting, cheating and killing. Our ancestors should have been ashamed at how the native Americans and minorities were savagely brutalized, killed and robbed of their land and heritage by crooked politicians, crooked Laws and crooked soldiers. Unfortunately, we still have crooked politicians and rampant corruption today. No one should try to make light of the ugly truths in our history. Nor should it be whitewashed or squelched or suppressed by those with agenda's. We cannot learn from our mistakes if we don't first teach what mistakes were made.
Episodes skipped huge gaps in time and were poorly segued; causing enough confusion to make you wonder if you missed an episode. A terrible job of screen writing and directing.
Andy Griffith was awful. He was cocky and overacting even in his gait and overly animated head movements while talking. He also looked as if he came directly from filming a "Barnaby Jones" episode.
Disk 4, began frequent repetitive flashbacks throughout the last 6 episodes. This was in addition to the narratives at the beginning of every episode catching us up on what had happened on previous episodes.
We also had to endure long credits of more than 50 actor's names at the beginning and end of every episode.
Even worse was the terrible music score. It was just irritating noise but we had to listen to it on the opening and closing credits of every episode. The DVD's were poorly indexed making it impossible to skip past the credits.
The makeup used in the aging process on the actors was flat and dingy like tempera or wall paint. Without sheen, the skin looked dead and fake. The aging appliances would have appeared quite believable if they had added a sheen and faded the skin coloring instead of darkening it.
The final episode suddenly jumped from 1930's dust bowl to a 1970's version of "Barnaby Jones" with Andy Griffith... court trials, newspaper reporters, a sinister intrigue with the "baddest" bad guy in town who's hiring thugs, killing and hiding skeletons, etc. This final episode jumped 40 years in the future and did not fit the movie. It really looked as it they had stuck an episode of "Barnaby Jones" on the end and added Sharon Gless as a reporter just like her role in "The Revenge of the Stepford Wives." This last episode did not even look like it belonged as part of the Centennial series.
The director also endeavored to make the huge cattle ranch look like the movie "Giant" where there is this enormous, grandiose mansion on a totally flat barren wasteland. People still think Texas looks like that stereotype. They have no idea we have trees, lush green grass, forests, hills, lakes, etc. instead of a barren wasteland as depicted on "Giant".
Centennial did do a good job depicting the dust bowl. While I had heard about the dust bowl, this was the best visual depiction I have ever seen.
Unfortunately, this movie was just poorly written for screen adaptation (I haven't read the book so that could also be part of the problem... however a good screenwriter and director should have been able to deal with that). The movie was poorly directed for certain and the poor acting I believe originated from the poor directing instruction they received.
The movie was fraught with nonstop crooks, thieves and killers preying on any decent person who set foot on the trails, wilderness and settlements. The story was presented so terribly lopsided, it was like a "how to do it" guide for crooks.
The mini-series "John Adams" dealt with similar negativity and strife concerning the events and individuals involved with the founding of our country. Yet it was a brilliantly written, produced, directed mini-series with top-notch acting.
Centennial does have some educational merit for depicting the settling of the west in a more realistic manner.
However, I highly recommend "John Adams" as one of the best historical mini-series I've ever seen. There is also quite a bit of worthwhile viewing from "The founding of America" although it has some problems as well but nothing like the problems with Centennial.
But if you like a slow, dry, repetitive series with shallow plots which don't require much thinking... you'd probably like Centennial. Especially if you like old westerns of similar design.
But if you have a short attention span and like fast paced movies, complex characters with fresh innovation and historical accuracy... this is not the movie for you.
Description of Centennial: The Complete Series
Journey to the Wild West in the sweeping, sensational epic drama Centennial: The Complete Series! Relive the grand hopes, dreams, loves, and adventures of generations of residents in Centennial, Colorado - from their risky attempts to establish a settlement in 1795 through the politics and power plays of the 20th century. With over 26 TV hours of content on DVD for the first time, this incredible set gives fans the opportunity to own the complete chronicle that showcases one of the finest casts ever assembled, including Richard Chamberlain, Robert Conrad, Timothy Dalton, Mark Harmon, Andy Griffith, Raymond Burr, Dennis Weaver, Lynn Redgrave, Sharon Gless, Stephanie Zimbalist, Sally Kellerman and many more. Based on James Michener?s best-selling novel, this Primetime Emmy®Award-nominated saga is a captivating look at the intertwining lives of the brave men and women in a fictional American town that endured the growing pains of a nation on the rise.Bestsellers in DVD
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