East of Eden

I enjoyed the full depiction of John Steinbeck's book. Seymour's performance was flawless and possibly the best she has ever done. She is the only actress who ever made my hair stand on end portraying the scary, evil character of Kathy Ames. This is one of the best mini-series ever made, and the cast of actors perfect for each role.

This was produced during ABC's Golden Age of great miniseries, which began with Roots and ended with War and Rememberance. But, IMHO this was the apex of their efforts. "East of Eden" is storytelling on the grandest scale possible, an epic tale of multigenerational sibling rivalry that covers decades, and thousands of miles of American terrain. Yet, it still retains the intimacy of family relationships as the Trask family is cursed to repeat the lessons of Genesis time and again. The film is chock-full of amazing performance, especially from Timothy Bottoms who is more than up to the Herculean task of portraying Adam Trask over a lifetime, from a weak-willed teenager to a pillar of his community and from Soon Tek-Oh who is able to take the stereotype of the pigdin-speaking Chinese houseboy and turn it on its ear. But this adaptation surely belongs to Jane Seymour. She gives a mesmerizing performance that not only rivals Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, but surpasses it; It is my all-time favorite performance by an actress in any medium. She was one of the greatest actresses of the latter half of the 20th Century, you will be quite amazed if your point of reference for her is only Dr. Quinn! Do try and find the uncut version of this film-it is well-worth your time.

I read the book, saw the mini-series, then viewed the James Dean version.

Simply put, the mini-series was hands down the better version. Beautifully filmed, intelligently written (keeping true to the novel) and impeccably cast, the mini-series is inspired stuff.

Every important aspect of the novel was captured. Timothy Bottoms and Bruce Boxleitner fleshed out their respective characters faithfully to those conceived by Steinbeck. But it is Jane Seymour's convincing portrayal, almost beyond description, of the evil Kate, that is the kind of thing movie legends are made. She made a believer out of me in a matter of a few frames.

Other standout performances include Warren Oates as the patriarch both boys rival to please and Lloyd Bridges as the ultra good father of the Hamilton clan.

Of the best mini-series prevalent around this time - Rich Man, Poor Man, Sho-Gun and East of Eden would rank in my top three, and not necessarily in that order.

This was an exciting series from start to finish. I love adaptations&this one did not disappoint me! The actors chosen were suited to their roles&played their parts perfectly! I wholeheartedly recommend this movie because it is so enjoyable. The time I spent watching the series went by quickly! BTW, I have not read the book yet,but now that I have saw the mini-series, I'm going to! Jane Seymour never disappoints. The Bottoms brothers(only Joseph was missing)are all fine actors. I also think the film taught a few life lessons. People will see them unfold as the series plays out! Also, as an added bonus, the California scenery is gorgeous!

With all due respect to the James Dean classic, that fine work only took in roughly 1/3 of the novel. The 1981 TV miniseries is a great example of how to transfer a literary work onto film.The writers managed to keep all the main characters, most of the secondary ones, and keep true to the story too....no small feat. The cast was impeccably chosen--they looked and acted just as they were written. (A curious exception: Kate and Aaron--described as fair and blonde in the book--and Cal--dark and somber--were physically just the opposite in Jane Seymour, Hart Bochner and Sam Bottoms)....but why nitpick? Their performances make THAT inconsequential. Miss Seymour will probably be best remembered as Dr. Michaela Quinn, or as TV-movie royalty, but her performance as Kate should be the standout---she walked right out of the pages of the novel. She's electric in her scenes with Bruce Boxleitner, who is excellent as kindred spirit Charles Trask. And when with her husband (Timothy Bottoms, restrained and aloof, just as Adam was written)she does the spectrum, from loving innocence to the incarnation of evil. A must-see for anyone who's ever read the book--SEE IT. You won't be sorry.