Browse Television Central. Miniseries

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Nuremberg

Actors: Alec Baldwin, Brian Cox, Christopher Plummer, Jill Hennessy, Christopher Heyerdahl
ASIN : B00005B6OY
Sales Rank : 10125
Director : Yves Simoneau
Brand : Turner
Studio : Turner Home Ent
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780780635425
ISBN : 0780635426
UPC : 053939662320
Release Date : December 16, 2001
Publisher : Turner Home Ent
Manufacturer : Turner Home Ent
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Turner Home Ent
Running Time : 180

Product Description

The nazi high command is on trial and so is justice when allied prosecutors put the principles of freedom first and risk losing the case rather than give in to the post-world war ii passion for vengeance. Studio: Turner Hm Entertainm Release Date: 03/29/2005 Starring: Alex Baldwin Brian Cox Run time: 179 minutes Rating: Nr

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The trial of Nazi war criminals following the Allied victory in Europe in World War II is dramatized in this uneven TV movie starring Alec Baldwin as Robert Jackson, a U.S. Supreme Court justice who served as the chief prosecutor for the Allies. The gravity of the controversial concept of having a war crimes trial, and the political maneuvering between Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union that made it possible, is explained fairly well in the early portions of the film, even if Baldwin at times delivers lines that seem to have been lifted from a high school history textbook. Scenes of Nazi officers being rounded up and jailed are evocative, as are scenes of a ruined Germany. But a subplot involving Baldwin's character having an extramarital affair with his secretary, played by Jill Hennessy, seems utterly extraneous. Perhaps the intent was to show that even someone taking a moral stand on a global stage can be flawed, but Baldwin's Supreme Court justice faces no consequences from his infidelity. Baldwin dominates the courtroom scenes as the outraged prosecutor, while Hennessy has little to do beyond looking great in her 1940s wardrobe. And as the film progresses the brilliant performance of Brian Cox as Hermann Goering simply seizes all attention, as Hitler's deputy is uncannily portrayed as a brilliant manipulator to the very end. Nuremberg is consistently interesting, and to its credit it does contain much serious material on the Nazi war crimes, but it is in the end a flawed production. --Robert J. McNamara

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Catherine the Great

Actors: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul McGann, Ian Richardson, Brian Blessed, John Rhys-Davies
ASIN : B0000524FG
Sales Rank : 11743
Director : Marvin J. Chomsky, John Goldsmith
Brand : A&E
Studio : A&E Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780767032711
ISBN : 0767032713
UPC : 733961701548
Release Date : December 27, 2001
Publisher : A&E Home Video
Manufacturer : A&E Home Video
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Label : A&E Home Video
Running Time : 100

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A beautifully filmed drama about the rise of russias empress catherine ii and her steely determination to revolutionize her country in the mid-18th century. Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 02/27/2001 Starring: Emily Bruni Run time: 100 minutes Rating: Nr

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Russian history occurs on a sweeping scale, but that takes a bigger budget than A&E can muster. So instead the cable network keeps its treatment of Russian empress Catherine II indoors as much as possible. That allows the camera to linger over the impossibly lovely face of Catherine Zeta-Jones, and the plot to focus on the political machinations of 18th-century Russia. Catherine goes from a bookish teen bride (her husband is the crazy and possibly impotent nephew of Russia's Empress Elizabeth) to the legendary empress who successfully concluded the Seven Years' War with Prussia, conquered Turkey, and put down a rebellion led by a Cossack pretending to be her long-dead husband.

The movie stumbles a bit when it ventures outdoors--it's hard to imagine Russia really conquered the Ottoman Turks with a 12-man army--but sizzles inside. Zeta-Jones conveys both passion and hard-edged ambition as her character transforms herself from manipulated to manipulator. Many of those manipulations occur in the bedroom, and the movie takes some liberties in portraying her union with military leader Grigory Potemkin (Paul McGann); here he's practically a saint, although history remembers him a bit less nobly.

The supporting cast includes Jeanne Moreau in a masterful portrayal of Empress Elizabeth, along with Ian Richardson, Mel Ferrer, and Omar Sharif. Although there's plenty of scenery for them to chew, they hold back, allowing Zeta-Jones her 100 minutes of greatness. --Kimberly Heinrichs

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The Last of the Mohicans (BBC Masterpiece Theatre TV Mini-Series)

Actors: Kenneth Ives, Philip Madoc, John Abineri, Richard Warwick, Andrew Crawford
ASIN : B000KJTG0Q
Sales Rank : 26195
Brand : Koch International
Studio : Koch Vision
Format : Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0741952643494
UPC : 741952643494
Release Date : December 13, 2007
Publisher : Koch Vision
Manufacturer : Koch Vision
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Koch Vision
Running Time : 344

Description

The definitive adaptation of the James Fenimore Cooper novel, this eight-part BBC production stars John Abineri, in an Emmy-nominated performance as the Mohican Indian Chingachgook, and Kenneth Ives as the intrepid frontier scout Hawkeye. In 1757, during the French and Indian War, half-sisters Cora and Alice Munro set out to join their father, the British Commander of Fort William Henry. After they are betrayed by the villainous Huron Magua, the sisters are rescued by Hawkeye, whose efforts to lead them to safety are aided by Chingachgook and his son Uncas.

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Not to be confused with the 1992 Michael Mann feature of the same name, nor with any of the many other adaptations on screens big and small, this version of The Last of the Mohicans, produced by the BBC and originally aired in the U.S. on Masterpiece Theater in the early 1970s, is widely considered the most faithful to James Fenimore Cooper's novel. That's a mixed blessing, to say the least. On the one hand, this Mohicans, with eight episodes (offered here on two discs) totaling some six hours, is undeniably thorough. Cooper's tale, taking place in 1757 and set in upstate New York during Britain's so-called French and Indian War, concerns the heroic adventures of Natty Bumppo, called Hawkeye (portrayed by Kenneth Ives), and his Indian companions Chingachgook (John Abineri) and Uncas (Richard Warwick), Chingachgook's son and the true last of the Mohican tribe. While the French and their Indian allies battle the British for control of Canada and northeastern America, Hawkeye and friends are preoccupied with Cora and Alice Munro (Patricia Maynard and Joanna David), the daughters of a Scottish colonel who commands Ft. William Henry and the prey of the evil Magua (Philip Madoc), a Huron who seeks Cora as his squaw and revenge against her father for past wrongs. The girls' quest to reach their father makes Homer's Odyssey look like a three-hour tour; there are constant captures and rescues, heroic and dastardly deeds by the bucketful, and a good deal of detail about a conflict that set both Euro against Euro and Indian against Indian. What's more, Cooper's sympathy toward the Native Americans, who even then could see that their way of life was being obliterated by the palefaces and their smooth-tongued treacheries, comes through loud and clear.

The downside, however, is also considerable. The production values are laughable by today's standards: while some outdoor footage was shot on 16mm film in the Scottish highlands, all interior and some exterior scenes were shot on soundstages, and on video, and the contrast is jarring. The pacing is slower than a two-legged wolf, and other than the climactic showdown between the Huron and Delaware warriors, the several battle sequences are less than riveting. Director David Maloney relies on scenes that play more like a staged drama than a movie, featuring static two-shots in which characters exchange expository dialogue at great length. And speaking of dialogue, in addition to the fact that listening to Indians with British accents takes some getting used to, Madoc's tendency to spit out every line as if he were delivering a pugnacious proclamation is wearisome, and it won't take viewers long to tire of stilted lines like "What has brought the white chief to the camp of the people of the turtle?", to quote just one. Yet surprisingly, The Last of the Mohicans somehow manages to transcend these flaws; in the end, those with a little patience are likely to find it very entertaining. --Sam Graham

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Elvis: The Mini-Series

Actor: Camryn Manheim; Rose McGowan; Danny Nelson; Jack Noseworthy; Randy Quaid; Robert Patrick; Ritchie Montgomery; Jonathan Rhys-Meyers; Rob Treveiler; Stuart Greer; Joseph B. Smith; Marion Zinser; Douglas M. Griffin; Marcus Brown; Eugenie Bondurant; Laura Shay Griffin; Bart Hansard; Mike Cahill; Dane Rhodes; Earl Maddox
ASIN : B000RIWAVC
Sales Rank : 10250
Director : James Steven Sadwith
Brand : STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Studio : ANCHOR BAY
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0013131493290
UPC : 013131493290
Release Date : December 14, 2007
Publisher : ANCHOR BAY
Manufacturer : ANCHOR BAY
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Label : ANCHOR BAY
Running Time : 173

Product Description

Jonathan Rhys Meyers of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III and BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM delivers a definitive performance in the acclaimed mini series event that depicts Elvis from 50s teen outcast to worldwide sensation, through his grim decline to spectacular 68 comeback. Experience the triumphs and tragedies, excesses and affairs, madness and music of The King Of Rock & Roll, featuring a stellar cast that includes Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Camryn Manheim as his beloved mother Gladys, Oscar® nominee Randy Quaid as the notorious Colonel Parker, Robert Patrick as Vernon Presley, and Rose McGowan as Ann-Margret.

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Elvis: The Miniseries was produced with the cooperation of the Presley empire, and it shows: this 173-minute opus uses Elvis's original recordings and real Graceland locations. The official imprimatur might also account for the movie's emphasis on the good years: what we get here is the early rise to fame, the Army interlude, then a run through the increasingly dispiriting movie career. It climaxes with the 1968 comeback TV special, leaving Elvis's addled final decade undetailed (but foreshadowed, to be sure). The story of the Mama-lovin' Tupelo boy who ascended to the throne of rock has been told so many times it has taken on the contours of Greek myth: we know everything that's coming, but we gain reassurance from hearing the familiar anecdotes anyway (and then Elvis and the boys started fooling around with "That's Alright, Mama" and Sam Phillips rolled the tape, etc.). In this telling of the myth, the villain is an easy find: it's Colonel Tom Parker, the big-talking and short-sighted manager who reaped big profits from Presley's movies but kept the King out of projects such as West Side Story. Randy Quaid gives the movie's best performance as the cunning Colonel.

An intelligent script helps the movie over the episodic nature of biopics, and Camryn Manheim and Robert Patrick are nice casting as Elvis's parents. But the whole thing hinges on the central E-casting, and here Jonathan Rhys Meyers proves a mixed bag. He appears a little intimidated by the role, and never quite owns it, even if he's very good as the dewy, more-or-less innocent Elvis. Having to lip-synch to the original recordings makes Rhys Meyers look outmatched at times: how's that big sound coming out of that spindly guy? Kurt Russell's performance in John Carpenter's classic TV-movie remains the gold standard. This take on Elvis makes him out to be a pawn in a crazy game, rather than a self-directed musician with a very distinct vision of his own. --Robert Horton

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Salem's Lot - The Miniseries

Actors: Rob Lowe, Andre Braugher, Donald Sutherland, Samantha Mathis, Robert Mammone
ASIN : B0002OXVG4
Sales Rank : 15448
Director : Mikael Salomon
Studio : Turner Home Ent
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0053939684728
UPC : 053939684728
Release Date : December 12, 2004
Publisher : Turner Home Ent
Manufacturer : Turner Home Ent
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Turner Home Ent
Running Time : 181

Product Description

A journalist returns to his hometown to research the mysterious memories that have haunted him since childhood. But soon the closely held secrets of small town life turn into unimaginable terror when a fearsome stranger arrives - lloking to sink his teeth into a new home. Studio: Turner Hm Entertainm Release Date: 10/04/2005 Starring: Samantha Mathis Donald Sutherland Run time: 181 minutes Rating: Nr

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The vampiric Stephen King tale returns to the small screen, 25 years after the first made-for-TV Salem's Lot, a Tobe Hooper-directed ratings hit. This time it's Rob Lowe as a successful writer who returns to his haunted hometown. As a kid, something awful happened to him in the spooky mansion on the hill; now that he's back, the mansion is once again buzzing with evil portents. The physical production (shot in Australia) is convincing, and it's fun to see old pros such as Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, and James Cromwell cutting up in juicy roles. The storytelling, however, feels oddly disjointed, as though King's sprawl had been arbitrarily hacked away rather than adapted (a few big moments are bewilderingly left offscreen). The approach misses the basic assets of a vampire story: the disbelief, the lore, the sex appeal. Instead, it feels like a random collection of bits for short attention spans. --Robert Horton

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Dead Man's Walk

Actors: F. Murray Abraham, Keith Carradine, Patricia Childress, Brian Dennehy, Edward James Olmos
ASIN : B00005O0SP
Sales Rank : 15583
Director : Yves Simoneau
Brand : Lions Gate
Studio : Lions Gate
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0707729113751
UPC : 707729113751
Release Date : December 23, 2001
Publisher : Lions Gate
Manufacturer : Lions Gate
Label : Lions Gate
Running Time : 272

Description

Set in the Texas Republic in the early 1840's, a time in which three cultures - Anglo, Hispanic and Comanche - were in furious conflict over the same harsh land, we are introduced to Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call, the heroes of LONESOME DOVE. Gus (David Arquette) and Call (Johnny Lee Miller) are young Rangers, ripe for adventure, and they get it with the Texas-Santa Fe expedition, and ill-conceived effort on the part of some freebooters and adventurers to capture Santa Fe and annex New Mexico. Led by the land pirate Caleb Cobb (F. Murray Abraham), and guided by the legendary Bigfoot Wallace (Keith Carradine) and his mountain-man friend Shadrach (Harry Dean Stanton), the group fights several engagements with the great Comanche warchief Buffalo Hump (Eric Schweig), is whittled down by the silent Apache, Gomez (Victor Aaron), and is captured without resistance by the Mexican army. Marched south by a resolute Mexican officer, Captain Salazar (Edward James Olmos), they survive bear attacks, ice storms, and the rigors of the barren desert known as the Jornada del Muerto. In the end, they arrive at the leper colony of San Lazaro, where black and white beans are drawn to determine which of the invaders will live an which will die. Accompanying the men on this trek is the colorful, amply fleshed whore known as the Great Western - Matilda Jane Roberts (Patricia Childress). In Austin, Gus meets the love of his life, Clara Forsythe (Jennifer Garner), and in San Lazaro, they encounter the great English lady, Lucinda Carey (Haviland Morris), who, in the startling climax, helps them survive a last encounter with the wild men, led by the great Comanche, Buffalo Hump.

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The Last King - The Power and the Passion of Charles II

Actors: Martin Turner (II), Rufus Sewell, Ian McDiarmid, Rupert Graves, Michael Pober
ASIN : B0001KL5M6
Sales Rank : 11437
Director : Joe Wright (IV)
Studio : A&E Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Miniseries, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780767064262
ISBN : 0767064267
UPC : 733961713251
Release Date : December 27, 2004
Publisher : A&E Home Video
Manufacturer : A&E Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : A&E Home Video
Running Time : 188

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It's not always good to be king in this fascinating BBC/A&E historical drama, featuring a complex performance by Rufus Sewell as the exiled British monarch who returned to a volatile, post-Cromwell England in the 17th century. Pressed to forgive the enemies who killed his father, Charles II takes the throne and finds himself squeezed from all sides by vicious power brokers, his vengeful mother (Diana Rigg), a manipulative mistress (Helen McCrory), dubious advisers, a contrarian best friend (Rupert Graves), and his bewildered Portuguese wife (Shirley Henderson). Problems with the Plague and Charles's own, restless libido further complicate family and political dramas, but beneath the king's operatic tenure are visible strains of progressive government: Charles, after all, ushered in an early era of democracy in England. The Last King's sharp script never slows, but it's the cast's intense performances that bring royal intrigues to life. --Tom Keogh

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Stephen King's The Stand

Actors: Rick Aviles, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Bill Fagerbakke, Miguel Ferrer
ASIN : 6305594368
Sales Rank : 10284
Studio : Live / Artisan
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9786305594369
ISBN : 6305594368
UPC : 017153105179
Release Date : December 26, 1999
Publisher : Live / Artisan
Manufacturer : Live / Artisan
Label : Live / Artisan
Running Time : 366

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After a government-spawned "superflu" wipes out more than 90 percent of the earth's population, the devastated survivors must decide whether to support or resist the advances of a mysterious stranger from way down South (heh-heh) who wishes to claim this new world order for himself. Although the six-hour length makes it nigh-impossible to digest in one sitting, this well-paced adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic magnum opus ranks among the best adaptations of the author's work, with strong performances from Gary Sinise, Miguel Ferrer, and especially Jamey Sheridan as a good-old-boy version of Old Scratch. The opening scene, set to the strains of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," is one of the most chilling things ever shot for television. Director Mick Garris is no stranger to King's world, having also helmed Sleepwalkers, the recent television remake of The Shining, and the upcoming Desperation. --Andrew Wright

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Moses (The Bible Collection)

Actors: Ben Kingsley, Frank Langella, Christopher Lee, Anna Galiena, Enrico Lo Verso
ASIN : B0006J28KA
Sales Rank : 17718
Director : Roger Young
Studio : Turner Home Ent
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0053939689624
UPC : 053939689624
Release Date : December 15, 2005
Publisher : Turner Home Ent
Manufacturer : Turner Home Ent
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Turner Home Ent
Running Time : 182

Product Description

The inspiring story of a young man chosen by god to lead the israelites form slavery in egypt to the promised land. Studio: Turner Hm Entertainm Release Date: 09/06/2005 Run time: 182 minutes Rating: Nr

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The Forsyte Saga, Series 2

Actors: Damian Lewis, Rupert Graves, Gina McKee, Emma Griffiths Malin, Lee Williams
ASIN : B00015GA8A
Sales Rank : 25099
Director : Andy Wilson
Studio : Acorn Media
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781569386767
ISBN : 1569386765
UPC : 054961676590
Release Date : December 24, 2004
Publisher : Acorn Media
Manufacturer : Acorn Media
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Acorn Media
Running Time : 276

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Granada Television's powerful adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels about the sprawling, fractious and aristocratic Forsyte family moves into the 1920s with Series Two, based on the author's To Let. The drama shifts to a new generation shouldering the burdensome legacies of an aging Soames (Damian Lewis) and his failed marriage to free-spirited Irene (Gina McKee). The lovely Fleur (Emma Griffiths Malin), Soames's daughter by second wife Annette (Beatriz Batarda), and strapping Jon (Lee Williams), son of Irene and Soames's bohemian cousin, Jolyon (Rupert Graves), develop a romance much to the dismay of their feuding parents. But the long reach of the elder Forsytes' sins--and the tenderness with which they seek redemption through their children--ultimately undercuts the young lovers' happiness.

Meanwhile, sundry characters move in and out of the Forsytes' orbit, including a French businessman (Michael Maloney) stirring more troubles for Soames and an art dealer (Oliver Milburn) with designs on Fleur. As with Series One, all this will feel familiar to anyone who has seen the 26-part, 1967 version of The Forsyte Saga (the program that arguably created public television as we know it). Yet this updated effort renews and redefines the Forsytes' overlapping tragedies, with a more interior feel and a first-rate contemporary cast. As with its legendary predecessor, this Forsyte Saga depends heavily on the seemingly soulless Soames's slow evolution to humanity; Damian Lewis carries the load brilliantly. --Tom Keogh

Browse Miniseries Online

Nuremberg

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Catherine the Great

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The Last of the Mohicans (BBC Masterpiece Theatre TV Mini-Series)

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Elvis: The Mini-Series

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Salem's Lot - The Miniseries

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Dead Man's Walk

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The Last King - The Power and the Passion of Charles II

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Stephen King's The Stand

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Moses (The Bible Collection)

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The Forsyte Saga, Series 2

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