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
WONDERFUL MINI-SERIES. ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY IS GREAT. MAYBE WARNER HAS MORE OF HER WORK? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO.
PS- YOU CAN GET THIS FOR $24.99 AT WARNER ARCHIVE WEBSITE. DON'T PAY THESE SECONDARY SELLERS/CROOKS DOUBLE!
I remember watching this mini-series when it was first released. I very much enjoyed the story. What really surprised me was that it was filmed only 2 miles from where I was raised in New Salem State Park between Springfield and Petersburg, Illinois. Abraham Lincoln worked at the post office at New Salem. AS children we used to go to the park to walk the trails and go through the cabins. That was over 50 years ago. It was fun seeing all those things over again.
When I was a child we went to Disneyland and they had a panoramic exhibit. 360 degree surround movie of -- you guessed it -- New Salem State Park. Small world!
I've hoped for years to have this mini-series on DVD, and was excited to find out it was finally available. Unfortunately, the quality of the product is extremely poor. Both sound and picture skip and hesitate to the point that the discs are barely watchable. I understood when I ordered that this was not a "commercial" release, but thought that it would at least meet minimal quality standards. I would return it for a replacement, but fear that the next set would not be any better as this appears to be a production issue. I would not recommend purchasing this product, but I will continue to hope that at some point the series will be available as a real, quality DVD set.
The story is about pioneers in the Ohio country in the early 1800s. It deals with life as it really was in those days. The story mainly revolves around Elilabeth Montgomery and how she deals with all the hardships that she and her broken family go through. There are many side stories dealing with other members of the family and neighbors. The acting was good and the locales were acurate. It was very entertaining. I would highly recomend this mini-series.
5 Stars for the production and story line. I'll not bore you with a rehash of this wonderful story. I've been waiting on it to come out on DVD for years. Now that it did on DVD-R, I found it would not play in one of my DVD players (Panasonic). It's OK in my computer and in my Sanyo home theatre system though. If anyone out there in Amazon Land can tell me how to fix my Panasonic so it plays it, I'd love to hear from you. I highly recommend this mini series but just be aware that you might have to watch it somewhere you weren't planning on. - Elizabeth Montgomery - Drama - Hal Holbrook - Miniseries'
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