The Search for the Nile

I have been looking for the series The Search for the Nile and have been unable to find this series in spite of the fact that it won the Golden Globe Award best TV special 1973. I have checked all university video libraries, the Smithsonian library, public libraries, all video sources even the BBC. No one has this series. WHY Why has it been pulled from all sources? If you have a copy of this series I would be interested in purchasing it.

This is one of the best series on Victorian Era exploration I have seen. It also give one an insight into Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton's life and character.

bob

Quite a few of the best BBC films have been locked away. There is a possibility that, in the minds of a very politically correct and left leaning BBC upper management, the advertising of Empire and Africa is not a truth that should be allowed anymore. The standard of documentary's, and that of the news itself for which the BBC used to be renowned, has been lowered dramatically over the past 20 years. The BBC are ashamed of British involvement in Africa in the nineteenth Century and do their best to make certain that any programs which reflect otherwise are not available. It's a great pity. No quality anymore just proselytizing. The BBC is being systematically dumbed down to make certain it reflects a government view of the world.

This is the first mini-series in my memory, and perhaps one of the greatest ever. Two men compete to be the first European to find the source of the Nile River. In the early 1970's one would never have imagined such a conquest to be so challenging and epic. The music, the settings, the acting, and the direction are all so brilliant, this tv movie easily holds the same place in my memory as "Lawrence of Arabia." If anyone knows how to get the BBC to re-air this film, they'd be doing a great service to television history.

I saw this when I was 13 years old and I will never forget it.I have always loved this period of History( which is why I hate the fact I've never seen Mountains of The Moon),and this is a terrific treatment. It has one of the most literate scripts, and some of the most complex,fascinating characters, ever seen on the small screen.I will note, for instance, the brilliant performance by Kenneth Haigh as Sir Richard Francis Burton..one of the most astonishing, half-mad half-genius figures in human history.everybody else is also superb, including the actress who played Burtons devoted, if bigoted , wife.This film belongs on DVD..is it ever run on cable?

After watching Mountains of the Moon (1990), I was reminded of this excellent film made by the BBC for television in 1971. For reasons unknown to me, it has not been released in any home video format (as of 2001). The beautiful sweeping music of Smetana's Moldau and Kenneth Haigh's true Brit portrayal of Burton make this the romantic's choice for the film version of this story. The violence and graphic detail found in Mountains is absent in Search. I have always respected Michael Gough, who is perfect as the great David Livingstone. James Mason, one of the best narrators of all time, holds the mini-series together through its episodes. The BBC ought to release it so that we could have the chance to enjoy it as a whole.