recommended

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Boring, long, and too preachy.

Amateur movie with Big budget

This was a great movie but the characters all had interesting view points. Mistress Bartram was the school teacher who was educated. She is thrown into an affair with the married (highly educated)man to Elizabeth Montgomery's character, who was uneducated. The mistress became pregnant. This was the real awakening for me. Because her lover was married she set out one night to the local tavern to pick up whoever she could so she could get married and have her baby. There were no educated men that were available so she married someone beneath her intelligence and that was the most horrible punishment anyone could pay. No way out. Elizabeth's character rose above and met the higher standards of her husband and worked to become educated. Dorrie Kavanaugh who was also a beautiful woman sadly died a few years after making this film. I will always remember her as having a style that no one has ever duplicated. She was graceful with culture and intelligence, a very beautiful woman.

I will only say to those who have not seen this film, I hope one day you will. It is a wonderful movie with a great cast. Elizabeth Montgomery, Hal Holbrook, Jane Seymore really brought this film to life. It was one of the few mini-series I truly enjoyed watching over and over whenever it came on television. My only problem is that many people will NOT get to see the movie because it is not available on VHS or DVD anywhere that I have checked. Maybe one day the company that owns the rights to the film will release it so it can be enjoyed by new group of viewers. If anyone out there know where it can be purchased, please let the rest of us know.Thanks.

The Awakening Land is right up there at the top of my list for best mini series, right behind The Thorn Birds and Centennial. The late Elizabeth Montgomery gives a tour d'force performance that I consider to be her best work.Of all the period pieces I've seen about the early settlers and trailblazers in young America, this one seems to give you a very accurate sense of what life was like for these brave souls who dared to venture out into the wilderness.You'll get no Hollywood fluff here. You won't see women traipsing around with their hair perfectly coiffed and in gowns that look like they just came off the runways of the top fashion houses in Paris. The women in this story literally wear sacks for dresses, have unkempt hair, dirty faces and live in shacks out in the wilds.What you do see are people struggling for food and fighting the elements in an untamed land as well as constantly fighting off predators, both man and beast alike just to survive.You see how these early settlers struggled to work their land and come together from their meager beginnings to grow and form towns. You share in their triumphs and their losses in order to make a better life for themselves.At the heart of this story is Elizabeth Montgomery as the courageous Sayward Luckett, who struggles not only to survive herself, but to take care of her sisters when her mother dies and her father takes off to go trailblazing on his own. With only her wits and her courage to keep her going, she not only survives, but becomes the true heroine of this story.Hal Holbrook and Jane Seymour give wonderful performances as well, but it is Montgomery's exquisite portrayal of the feisty pioneer woman that makes this such a pleasure to watch.I am shocked and surprised to find that The Awakening Land is not yet available on DVD. Hopefully it will be soon. But I strongly urge anyone who has not yet seen it to try and get a hold of it on VHS or check out your cable service to see if it's listed and watch it. It is one of the best and truly worth your time!

I actually recorded this in all its parts when I saw it was being aired on TBS. Of course I got the commercials too, but I felt it was worth it to be able to watch The Awakening Land whenever I wanted to. Of course, I would buy it in a heartbeat if it was ever put out on VHS or DVD. The series was cast so wonderfully. Each person did his/her role superbly. The first time I watched this series I was "hooked". Of course, I've always loved Elizabeth Montgomery and Hal Holbrook, but the historical insight was fascinating too.I would recommend this to everyone, but they wouldn't be able to see it like I do, whenever they want to because of the unavailability.