The Awakening Land (Tv Mini-Series)

I first saw this about 30 years ago, when it was originally broadcast. I saw once again the first part about 15 years ago, when it was shown again, but missed the rest due to a family crisis. I can honestly say the story stayed with me most of my life -- I was a kid the first time around. I very much wanted to own this, and kept watching for it to be available. In the meanwhile, I read the books it was based on: The Trees: First Book In Awakening Land Trilogy, Fields: Second Book In Awakening Land Trilogy, and The Town: Third Book In Awakening Land Trilogy. The books are really quite good, particularly if the subject matter interests you, and I found myself reading one at work and crying. However, the books only made me want to see the series again.When it did become available -- through the Warner Brothers site and vendors here -- I jumped at the chance to purchase it and did a little happy dance. I told my husband about it, and cautioned him that it might be slightly cheesy. I said this because that happens sometimes with older shows -- you remember them one way and then cringe when you see them now. I really didn't want to be embarrassed and so I gave a preemptive, "I could be imagining how good it was, but it's really special to me and so humor me. 'K? Thanks."The story follows Sayward Luckett for several decades, beginning in the late 1700s as her family comes to and settles land in the Ohio Valley. We see her fight to keep her family together and we see her marry a man because she's attracted to him, but also because he can provide an education for her future children. We see her go from a poor woman with little influence to the accidental founder of a town.Here's the thing: there ARE cheesy moments. The third part is noticeably weaker than the two proceeding parts too, but I'd still very much recommend this. This is worth a willing suspension of disbelief in pretending the very much middle-aged Elizabeth Montgomery is a young girl at the beginning. She does a terrific job playing Sayward, a very admirable and strong character, and I can't imagine a more age-appropriate actress doing better. You care about this woman and you ache for her when tragedy strikes.Hal Holbrook also does a terrific job at the educated Portius Wheeler. Of course, the actor has made a career out of playing smart people, but this role allows him to also play a man who does some unlikable things, but remains likable. He has terrific chemistry with Elizabeth Montgomery.Also, look for a young and gorgeous Jane Seymour. The accent is a little iffy though. :) Oh, and a baby-faced William H. Macy.While all three parts are worth watching, much of the third episode is vaguely like the TV series of Little House on The Prairie (as opposed to the Little House books.) Hey, I love LHOTP as much as the next person, more, but in this case it didn't meet the quality of the previous parts or focus on the characters we'd invested in; instead, much of the time over to the young son of Sayward and Portius. When I was a kid, I actually loved this part. Still, the ending brings it back to the solid writing and acting of the first two parts.I'm very glad I got the opportunity to see this once again and I hope that -- now that it's available on DVD -- it will find a new, appreciative audience. Even with somewhat dated production values, this makes me long for the days of the miniseries and having several hours to follow a really good story. (Don't forget that the books are terrific, too!)This is 5 stars from me, because it was powerful enough to stay with me for decades, because it showcases the talents of Elizabeth Montgomery -- who left us too soon -- and because it tells a terrific story, and because they really don't make 'em like that anymore.

"The Awakening Land" happens to be a late 70's mini series based upon Conrad Richter's book trilogy. The story illustrates a frontier style tale, showing a group of settlers moving to the very rural Ohio Valley in the late 1700's, and ultimately developing a thriving town and region well into the mid 1800's. The story is excellent at showing the viewer the transformation and progression of the individual characters, as well as the overall development of the Ohio area. The production quality of this mini series is very high, with excellent casting, great acting, and spectacular filming locations to match the wonderful cinematography. The pacing for this mini series is not particularly "slow" or "fast", just very steady and even keeled.Just Great!!!The DVD set offered by Warner Archive Collection is of excellent quality. The five and a half hour mini series is segmented into 3 parts, with one part on each of the 3 discs. Each disc opens with a short descriptive advertisement about the Warner Archive Collection, and then advances to the most simplistic "menu" screen you will ever see on a DVD, with basically one option offered, to "play" the DVD content (no chapter menu, setup, etc). The simplicity of the DVD's happens to be more than made up for with an excellent 16:9 (1.77 to 1) picture quality, smooth playback, and crisp/clear audio with adequate volume. Segments (discs) number 1 and 2 each have a runtime of approximately one hour and forty minutes, with the 3rd segment (disc) running longer at approximately 2 hours and fifteen minutes. The total runtime for the mini series is just over five and a half hours.When played using a nice upscaling player, and viewed on a decent quality HDTV, the overall picture quality is probably an "8" out of 10. While there happen to be a few very brief scenes showing dust or light artifacts in the print, it is extremely minimal (hardly noticed). The contrast is excellent, the colors are strong, and the clarity is very nice. The audio soundtrack is fairly simple, but does offer crisp and clear sound without any noticed concerns. Overall, the viewing experience is very enjoyable, even beyond the subject matter.A well crafted story, the well known and very effective primary cast, quality acting by the supporting cast, scenic filming locations, and cinematography techniques, all greatly enhance the entertainment value of this 3 disc, 3 part, 5.5 hour, late 1970's mini series.Watching this series happens to be a great way to spend a "rainy" Saturday or Sunday."The Awakening Land" is definitely worthy of your time.Hope this helps, . . . GOOD LUCK!!!

I saw this mini-series movie on TV when it first aired and enjoyed it. I was pleased to find it on DVD. I particular enjoyed Elizabeth Montgomery in it after the Bewitched was ended.

I remembered watching this when it first aired--I loved the realistic portrayal of the settling of the Ohio territory. Watching it again after 40+ years there are a few cringey moments, but all it all it is still impressive.

Watching it again now in my 50s was just as enjoyable. I remembered more than I expected and loved the mini series. The picture quality was great and it was definitely worth watching:

Enjoyed. Good acting, good storyTks

Shown once on British tv decades ago. Taped it. Now I have a great quality dvd set of a great story.

My sister had been looking for this mini series for years! When I came across it on Amazon I jumped at the opportunity to purchase the set for her. I gave it to her as a birthday present, (in April) even though her birthday isn't until the end of the year, I just couldn't wait to see the look on her face! I've had the opportunity to watch the series (which was fabulous!) and the only problem I have is that I should have purchased a second set for myself! Delivery was very timely a bonus!

I had seen this mini series back in the seventies. I never saw it again on television. I remembered that it was a really nice story about the frontier. I bought it because I thought my wife would enjoy this type of mini series. She has not seen yet but I had a chance to view it again and I enjoyed it tremendously. Love the acting of Elizabeth Montgomery.

This series was shown on television over 30 years ago and never repeated, so I was keen to see the last episode which I missed. This was my first introduction to this trilogy of classic American books. Although, as with most dramatisations, some of the book is missed the story is still good and well acted. The production is a rather dated now but Hal Holbrook's performance is still excellent and Elizabeth Montgomery portarays an intelligent, ambitious woman whose own learning has been limited vey well. Look out for a very young William H Macy.

I have read Richter's three books and enjoyed them. When this mini-series was aired in 1978 or 79 I missed it (university exam time). Have been watching for it to become available on dvd for years. Well done. Now I'm rereading the books!