The Search for the Nile

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 series was one of the best that I have ever seen on TV. In trying to find out if it was available on VHS or DVD I discovered a web site that lets you vote and comment on your favorite movie or TV shows to put on DVD or VHS. It then sends your vote and comments to the company that owns the rights. As of this moment there are only 19 votes for this wonderful series to be released. So please take a moment and go to TVShowsOnDVD.com and register your vote. Hopefully enough people will see my message and get the count up so that this series will finally be released. This is the type of mini-series that I would love my grandchildren to see, so I will check on the site to see how the voting is going. Thanks.

"The Search for the Nile" was originally telecast on NBC in January of 1972. If I remember correctly, the network broadcast it immediately following its coverage of the Winter Olympic Games from Sapporo, Japan. (It was, and still is, very rare for any of the three major networks in the years before cable to broadcast anything from the BBC. PBS did pick it up later; has anyone contacted them?) Yes, the narrator was the incomparable James Mason. I also love the main title music for this superior docudrama. I was told the sheet music was available but have never found it. The composer's name is Joseph Horovitz.

Everything all the other respondents have written is true, this mini-series was one of the best histories ever made and I would also love to have it. As for Bob Rafelson's "Mountains of the Moon," don't bother. It doesn't even hold a candle to the original.

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 too wish this were available on playable media. It's an excellent presentation of (some of) the adventures of the most interesting man in western civilization, in my opinion. Burton spoke at least 27 different languages, opened up the eyes & consciousness of the west to the mysteries of India, Arabia & darkest Africa. First translated the Kama Sutra & Arabian Nights. First caucasian to enter Mecca & Medina disguised as a Muslim. Withstood blindness & a spear through the face in quest for the Nile. Greatest swordsman in England in his youth, etc etc. Oh, also packed a six-gun in the old west alongside some of the legends of the time. (Really!) Wadda guy.