Amerika (1987) User Reviews

availability on tape

[egwicht · 5/10 · 18 May 2006]

I noticed several respondents mentioned this was not out on video. I have had the VCR tapes for years. I imagine it can only be found in used condition but it was made in 1995 and distributed in a five tape set by Anchor Bay Entertainment Inc. I have to agree that the entire premise of the Russians as a threat was long over, if it ever existed outside the minds of the far right. The acting was adequate although Robert Urich and Sam Neill could not give a bad performance regardless of script, direction or production values. I never quite understood the controversy when it was shown and it certainly isn't any sillier than Red Dawn

Overly long...but not half bad. (spoilers)

[Sundance-34 · 7/10 · 20 March 2001]

I came across a copy of this 12 hour epic at my local library and sat down and watched some of the slowest footage in television history. The idea was good, even if it was implausible in 1987. The film would have had much more credibility if the time setting had been more at the peak of the Cold War. So, if you cast all that aside the movie is pretty good. But there are other drawbacks. The film takes place in 1997, ten years after the coup. They should have focused a little more on how the coup actually takes place. All they tell us is that the Soviets backed certain political candidates and then it was final. No blood shed. It features too many musical montages that take away from the film, particularly after the squatter camp has been attacked. Some characters are forgotten about or lose too much screen time. We only see Devin's youngest son one time after he meets him. And finally the film could have easily been shortened from 12 hours to 6 and not lost a thing. I guess after I've ripped the movie apart I still found time to enjoy it though. I give it a 7 out of 10.

Kind of prophetic

[saganhill · 5/10 · 2 April 2020]

After 2016 and the sell out of the GOP to the current Russian regime, this movie is becoming a documentary.

Eerie TV classic miniseries bears re-watching

[blairwitch-1 · 12 July 2001]

We (my Dad and I) taped the AMERIKA miniseries on its premiere air dates and I'm so glad we did. I've read a couple reviews here at IMdB that claim this milestone is boring. I believe they are misinterpreting the decided communist slant of this production. The production seems off-kilter because of it is presented through "a weary and wintry Russian eye", which might be compared to the powerless angst of the Russian characters of the Dr. Zhivago film. The characters are all doomed to communism and it's fascinating to view their ways of coping. Kristofferson and Urich are both powerhouses in this vein. My favorite theme is the outlawing of sentimental media, my favorite scene when Mariel Hemingway attends the illegal performance of "The Fantasticks". Shades of George Orwell's "1984", about a communist state where things that are illegal for the masses are allowed (but not admittedly) for the elite party members. So I say "God Bless AMERIKA". I think I'll watch it again next week.

Excellent Reminder of the Bad Old Days

[LeeHobbs · 10/10 · 17 November 2005]

What a great relic of the Cold-War era! An excellent piece for classroom discussions of the American mentality during this period of recent history. If only it were more easily available at a more affordable price. It seems this set is not selling at the Wal-Mart bin-price for a mini-series that has received such poor reviews from the kind visitors of IMDb. Like "Red Dawn," "1984" and other "paranoia" films of the 1980s, this one lives up to its name. Yes, it's slow, but it wasn't supposed to be a Rambo-type flick. Try to appreciate it for what it represented when it came out. A very courageous project for its time, IMHO. I think that it's time for a re-make with a "different" kind of "scary" foreign-occupier (can you guess what I'm thinking?) It could easily be titled, "Ameriqa."

Fascinating idea, but what happened?

[qatmom · 2/10 · 21 January 2007]

"Amerika" had potential, but squandered it in a storyline that made no sense and in characters that made even less sense.

I watched this miniseries when it was broadcast, and taped it thinking it would be something worth keeping. I've never been inclined to view those tapes, because the non-sequitors were annoying the first time through.

This was a dreadful production. It isn't obscure because it was controversial, it's obscure because it's dreadful. The Russians are in charge, but why does that mean there is no running water? I kept waiting for the story to go somewhere, for Kris Kristopherson to start acting (never happened!), for some character, somewhere to make me care what happened to them.

This miniseries is not a suppressed gem. It's a well-ignored waste of time, talent, and potential.

An Excellent Telling of What Soviet Victory Would Have Meant to the United States

[thomptex · 10/10 · 24 December 2007]

Having spent some years on the dark side of the Iron Curtain, I was amazed to see how well Donald Wrye has constructed his "What If?" tale. This is the way Russians behave on their good days. AMERIKA presents a sanitized version of the way Russia has, under csar and commissar, ruthlessly crushed other cultures and civilizations. For two centuries Russia expanded its control by the land size of a Belgium per year. It has never produced anything anyone wanted beyond raw materials, these from stolen lands. It has prospered by the ability of its army to take goods from other countries. It is instructive for Americans to see what might have been their fate had Russia dealt with them as they had with Poles, Estonians, Hungarians, Lithuanians, Tartars, Chechens, Khazhaks, Azeris, Armenians, Georgians, Chechs, Slovaks, Lativaks, Yakuts. Just watching AMERIKA gives one a feeling of gratitude to Reagan, JP II, Solidarity, the American people, and the others who brought the Evil Empire down.

What a pity that, following our victory over the Soviets, the neocons and neoMarxists have now rushed in to seize power in the United States according to Antonio Gramsci's "indirect approach" of taking over the universities, media, and lumpen intelligentsia. They have brought us to a needless war with Islam. Americans today have little more power than the citizens of Amerika. Our treasure and the lives of our young soldiers are being drawn off to fight a war in Mesopotamia to serve dark and sinister forces unconcerned about the future of the United States.

One long boring slow fizzle

[johnjohnson68510 · 3/10 · 23 April 2021]

I saw this when it came out. It was much hyped and suggested it would be profound. Night after night I watched it. I kept waiting for it to get good, to have some emotional content or some philosophical impact. I believed it would eventually go somewhere. I was denied. By the final episode I realized I had been swindled. I remember the emotion I had after the end. I had given so much time to something that refused to pay me back. Meandering, muddling plot. No pacing. No point. To this day I have not been able to forgive Kris Kristoferson or enjoy any of his other work. A few years ago I tried the movie Millennium in which he stars, but I regretted it afterwards. If Bobby Magee comes on the radio, I have to turn it off.

Excellent mini-series

[Shoesforindustry · 9/10 · 11 October 2006]

I'm in the favorable camp here. I notice the reviews seem to be largely either/or; people looking for something Tom Clancy in nature have another film with Sam Neill playing a Russian they can view anytime on HBO. Neill, it seems to me, was the unsung hero of this; his character and Armin Mueller-Stahl's provided plenty of balance to the premise of the film itself. What a great cast! I hadn't caught Christine Lahti in anything since seeing Housekeeping 10 years ago, she deserved the awards they gave for this. The other big surprise was Dorian Harewood, I went nuts trying to figure out where I'd seen him before: He was Eightball in Full Metal Jacket. He really pulls out the stops here.

Spoilers: A little bit more back story would've helped. The only hint of how the Soviets took over was through a breakdown in communications, according to the Sam Neill character. The book apparently explains this as a massive EMP attack, using high altitude nuclear blasts to destroy electronic equipment across the nation - including the wiring in nuclear silos, which are supposed to be immune from EMP. Or perhaps the president couldn't do the deed. Or couldn't get in touch with them anymore. That wouldn't effect the subs, though. Don Wrye I suppose wasn't interested in going into all these details, but it leaves you scratching your head a bit. Would lack of spine/character bring down a whole nation? As it happens, I did enjoy the very enigmatic ending, even though it might be a bit treacly or unrealistic. O'Neill's character we think will let America get back on its feet - what about those Party bosses back in Moscow who had to be convinced that it was better to just murder all of Congress rather than nuke three cities?

Big Budget 80's Miniseries that Flops

[chrislutz-64670 · 2/10 · 30 April 2020]

I remember watching this back in the day and tried to rewatch it recently. It's still bad. You can see what they are trying to do and the concept isn't bad. However, it is handled poorly and in the most bland manner possible.

You never get a good idea of how this all happened and that is necessary for a film like this.

Meanwhile, the personal stories are dull and uninteresting. None of the characters are ones you want to root for.

Scenes are padded out to extend the length of the series for no apparent reason. Two or three hours could easily be trimmed.

Sadly, it is a depressing and dull series.

Prophetic warning or the last gasp of Cold War paranoia?

[Baroque · 26 July 1999]

Forgive me, but when this was first shown on TV, the reaction from the public was with a collective yawn. American audiences just weren't ready for a TWELVE HOUR movie, and the Nielsen ratings for the series were embarrassingly low (If I remember correctly, they were the lowest for any mini-series). There was a paperback book tie-in with the mini-series, which was released several days before the TV show began (Can you say "give away the plot"?). What little I saw of AMERIKA when it was originally broadcast was as exciting as watching paint dry, and the series was savaged in the press as being the work of paranoid imaginations.

What I took as being very odd is that the patriotic hero was played by Kris Kristofferson, a man who has championed many liberal-to-left political causes that the most patriotic fans of this mini-series would oppose.

It's been said that a work of genius is never fully appreciated when first released to the public. It's also been said that people will read their own interpretations into the most innocuous of things. Patriotic epic or paranoid raving? Make your own decision about this mini-series.

gulag USA

[deanofrpps · 8/10 · 24 December 2006]

I can imagine President George IV sr sitting with his advisors following the colossal defeat in the 1992 election pleading with them to tell him one major accomplishment of the first bush regime. A timorous lackey stammered: in the Bush regime the US became the world's leading super-power. And what did I do to cause that? asks Bush the elder. Nothing came the reply; the USSR went bankrupt.

By the time of the first Gulf War, the US and USSR were like two drunks staggering home from a bar after a night of carousing. It was only a question of which would stumble first.

Amerika tells the story of the alternative history. What if it had been the other way around? There's a picture of much of the debasement and exploitation that accompanies subjugation. Good leaders end up in jail; adventurous people strike out and make a go at it elsewhere; the conquerer has no want of quislings willing to debase themselves at a price.

Amerika is the story of two families: the Bradfords and the Milfords. The Milfords for the most part oppose the occupation. Kris Kristofferson plays Devin Milford the figure around which the opposition rallies. As the story opens he is being released from jail. While his wife has sold out to the occupier, his father and his boys are active in the resistance.

The backdrop of the story is well constructed. The secret path by which the resistance moves people around is called THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD; they've adopted much of the counter-culture music of the 60s as songs of rebellion.

In the quisling corner is Robert Urich as Peter Bradford an amiable sort trying to persuade himself that he is following the right course in building the quisling state of HEARTLAND out of the central midwestern states.

Strangely the film did accurately predict what happened to our enemy inside the Soviet union when the Communists fell. It is worth revisiting.

Should have been much better...

[buiger · 4/10 · 23 February 2020]

Undoubtedly a large production, with a star-studded cast. However, the script is so muddled and nonsensical that nothing can salvage the feeling of a totally garbled series. There is no sense to what is happening, too many subplots are unclear, undeveloped and unresolved (notwithstanding the 12+ hour duration). I don't think anyone understands what the Russians are up to, what the resistance is trying to achieve and how, why certain things happen. I have a feeling that the filmmakers wanted to achieve too much and just got completely lost along the way. A pity really, this could and should have been much better.

Amerika (1987) TV mini-series

[Feydd2001 · 10/10 · 31 January 2005]

I loved this epic movie because it showed the possibility of hostile takeover and the reality (more or less) of that fear. Although it deals with Russians taking over America, it could certainly be Iraq or Iran or North Korea or any hostile force in opposition with America and Democracy for all... It is certainly a real possibility in this day and age that terrorism in many forms, fears, prejudices and hostile aggression towards America can come from within America itself. We are bound to take in those that wish to immigrate, which causes a serious threat to national security on the whole as this movie predicts. I think it is appropriate to air this show again or create a remake of this movie. I would love to have the opportunity to purchase this movie and a remake of this movie showing Iraq or an unmentioned Arab country posing the same threat to America.

It's obscure for good reason

[preppy-3 · 1/10 · 3 June 2009]

I remember when this dreadful mini-series first played. There was tons of controversy over it which immediately disappeared after the series aired (people saw how boring and pointless it was). The premise is a good one (Russia taking over America) but this was basically boring! It moved at a snails pace. I watched the whole thing hoping it would get better but it never did. The script and characters were hopeless--nonstop clichés that I've seen hundreds of times before. They had some great actors in this (like Christine Lahti) giving their worst performances. It's not available in any format for a good reason--who would buy it? Maybe the 16 or so people here who are giving it a good rating would purchase it but nobody else. This mini deserves the obscurity it has. A 1 all the way.

Amerika, My Amerika

[tarwaterthomas · 8/10 · 12 July 2019]

Behold the miniseries that caused so much controversy that automotive mogul Lee Iaccoca (God rest his soul) yanked out all of his Chrysler commercials, cable television mogul Ted Turner (Mr. CNN himself) responded with what he called "alternative programming" on his network, and the Kremlin lodged several protests with the ABC bigwigs (they wanted the miniseries made). AMERIKA is set in the then-future year 1997, in the aftermath of the conquest of the United States by the Soviet Union; it's not specified how the takeover occurred, though one of the protagonists mentions "some magnetism in the sky". Although the President is still in office at the White House and Congress is still in session, they are nothing more than puppets operated by those rascally Russkies. All of the citizenry are kept in line by United Nations Special Service Units, controlled by the Soviets. The occupation is seen through the eyes of such people as Devin Milford (Kris Kristofferson), a former activist brutalized by his sentence in a Texas gulag and in whom the flame of freedom still burns; Peter Bradford (Robert Urich), a pragmatic politician who walks the fine line between taking care of the farming community of Milford, Nebraska and pleasing his Red bosses; Marion Andrews (Christine Lahti who delivered an icy portrayal), Devin Milford's vindictive ex-wife who has custody of their two sons and who collaborated with the Soviets in a campaign to betray her husband; Colonel Andrei Denisov (Sam Neill), whose job is to pacify the United States by splitting the nation into separate countries and turning part of the Midwest into the nation of Heartland with Peter Bradford in charge. By the way, Denisov's mistress (Mariel Hemingway) is a rebellious actress. AMERIKA ends with the Heartland rebels blowing up the Soviet troops stationed outside Milford while Devin Milford commits suicide. This was a labor of love for Donald Wrye who had made the sleazoid classic BORN INNOCENT (1974) starring Linda Blair; he busted his hump wriring AMERIKA's script. There is plenty of grown-up dialogue and plenty of expository scenes, and a heart-wrenching look at a Midwestern community under foreign occupation. If you are looking for a RAMBO-type movie where the citizenry get into a nonstop battle with the Soviets, you will have to look elsewhere. Donald Wrye's heart was certainly in the right place but there were more loose ends than an explosion in a dress factory. AMERIKA was going to be followed by a prime time series that never came to be. It was well photographed by Hiro Narita, and shot on location primarily in Toronto and in rural Canada, with some scenes filmed in Tecumseh, Nebraska, Washington DC, and Chicago. The music was composed by Basil Poledouris, and the visual effects were supervised by John Dykstra; his name is not listed in the credits in IMDB, but he did the deed. Referencing the "magnetism in the sky", if you read the novelization by Brauna E. Pouns, there is a greatly detailed explanation for how the Russians managed to conquer the United States: the Russkies launched four intercontinental ballistic missiles and parked the warheads in orbit above the United States, then detonated the warheads so that an electromagnetic pulse fricaseed the United States' power grid, knocking out all electricity and causing a nationwide blackout; the President had no choice but to surrender. I had been wondering who had written the novelization under the byline of Brauna E. Pouns. Well, according to the Goodreads website, the actual author is Patrick Anderson, a former Presidential speech writer who had ginned up a series of bestselling mainstream and suspense novels from the 1970s to the early 1990s and is currently a book critic for the Washington Post. And until somebody tells me that I'm wrong and somebody else wrote as Brauna E. Pouns, I'll go with my little research. AMERIKA was issued on videocassette in 1995 by Anchor Bay Entertainment (try to find that today; yeah good luck with that). As it turns out, somebody has posted the entire miniseries on YouTube. There was a time during the 1990s when the United States and Russia had a chummy-chummy relationship and that was when Boris Yeltsin was running the show. But these days when there seems to be a new Cold War between both countries and Vladimir Putin can't seem to quit acting up, just maybe AMERIKA deserves a second look. Something to think about, anyway.

Vapid, Vacuous, Incoherent Mess

[dlmiley · 1/10 · 15 January 2001]

I was browsing thru the screen credits for Laura Flynn Boyle and noticed she had a bit part in this mess. And then I read a comment that this mini-series was "great" and that the user couldn't understand why this was never shown again. Maybe because this series was vapid, vacuous, boring and incoherent! Who told Kris Kristoffersen he could act?! He does his best to obfuscate an already muddled plot with his usual mumbling double talk. Somehow Kris has done something (or failed to do something) that allows the Russians to take over. No real explanation is ever given. If the Russians were forced to watch this mess, they would turn tail and run! The only good part of this show is the execution of Congress! (Of course, a funnier execution is the Martian one in "Mars Attacks!") . Avoid this show at all costs!

Dreadful, pointless, silly but humorless mess

[brower8 · 21 March 2003]

It would make more sense to make a mini-series out of Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here", a story of a (mercifully it never happened) fascist takeover of America through political opportunism.

Amerika was accurate about how communists operate -- but Doctor Zhivago did far better in much less time and with infinitely better acting and script. The display of what communism is like (as disclosures of eastern Europe showed only a few years later). Otherwise, every character is a cardboard stereotype. Special effects are cheesy. Cheap sentimentality overwhelms one.

Warning -- possible spoiler!

The ending shows a revolution beginning in the very small Midwest town in which the story is set -- and without a coherent conclusion. After ten hours or so of slow development, one would expect a bang! It's just not there. Revolutions begin in big cities -- not in small towns.

It was dated before it was shown, and I have never known of it to be shown anywhere since. Two stars of ten at the most -- I save the one star rating for movies that offend or fail catastrophically at their purpose.

Unwittingly Prescient

[kaledolfin · 8/10 · 15 April 2017]

Most of the misunderstandings about this mini-series seems to be the product of not having lived in the time period that this mini-series was aired, and also the result of our failing public school system.

I think many go into this mini-series with the expectation that it's going to be more of an action film like Red Dawn. While there is a modicum of action in Amerika, it is primarily a drama that focuses on the lives of the privileged elite, and the small town folk, as fundamental transformations in Amerika take place, and how they cope with such change. But there is no overt communist revolution taking place in Amerika in this film. Rather, the Soviet takeover took place as a slow incremental progressive regulatory transformation, with the aid of the United Nations. There was no grand military invasion or battle. Also, the takeover took place 10 years previous to the events of this film, and is still progressing as this film begins. At the time this film takes place, the President and Congress is still present throughout most of it.

One reviewer asked, "The Russians are in charge, but why does that mean there is no running water?" It's not that the Russians are in charge, but rather, that communists are in charge without regard to their nationality. You'll remember the scene in the back of a limousine when Sam Neil's character talks about his frustrations with the communist system appointing loyal party members rather than those with proved competency. Obviously incompetency would lead to issues with water supplies. That's the nature of communism. However, another explanation is that the Soviets had already taken the Milford's land. Evicting a prominent family from their home would cause undue attention. So to slowly push the Milfords out of their home and away from their land, it's likely that their water was deliberately turned off by petty local officials.

Many criticize Kris Kristopherson's acting and his character arc. But I think many are expecting a kind of Braveheart hero. Kristopherson's character tried to be a Braveheart 10 years previously, but no one answered his call to fight back, and he was sent to prison where he was subjected to 6 years of re-education. This was a broken man who felt burned by those around him, and as a result was reluctant to engage. The story is about his rediscovery of what he lost before he went to prison, and his transformation into a larger symbol, around which a counter-revolution would undoubtedly rally. His reserved and nearly silent performance throughout the film conveys the oppressive and repressive harm that past events have had on him, and provides the stark contrast needed when his patriotism reemerges and erupts.

Some may feel that the ending offers little closure. I think it was left open ended for two reasons. First, to offer the chance to have this go to regular series if it hit really big. Second, to make viewers question themselves as to what course of action they would pursue under these circumstances. Would they be Devin Milford and fight till the bitter end, or would they avoid making waves and choose Peter Bradford's route no matter how reprehensible going with the flow might be.

Some criticize the length. But this was produced before the frantic MTV editing style became all the rage, and attention spans were much longer in the pre-Twitterverse world, so pacing will be decidedly slower than younger audiences are used to.

It's unsurprising that the press would savage this mini-series, particularly given that it doesn't paint the press in a positive light, and represents a counter argument to the general ideology that the majority the mainstream press holds.

It's possible that a remake could work, updated with today's primary geo-political enemy as the conqueror. But there's always a danger that it could turn out like the Red Dawn remake, at China's recommendation.

What's most chilling about this mini-series though, is that while it depicts a Soviet takeover of the United States, the rhetoric that Soviet officials and indoctrinated school children use is eerily similar to that of modern Democratic Party rhetoric. That's what makes this mini-series unwittingly prescient. That's the element that seems to spark the most rage among Progressive critics.

This mini-series is long overdue for an excellent DVD release.

For those who feel this scenario is patently absurd, I recommend reading "New Lies for Old" (1984) and "The Perestroika Deception" (1985) by ex-KGB operative Anatoly Golitsyn. I would also suggest studying Antonio Gramsci, György Lukács, and the Frankfurt School. I would also recommend watching interviews with ex-KGB operative Yuri Bezmenov available on YouTube.

I also leave you with a 1989 quote from Mikhail Gorbachev:

"Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. These are primarily for outward consumption. There will be no significant change in the Soviet Union, other than for cosmetic purposes. Our aim is to disarm the Americans and let them fall asleep."

What a bomb

[Rosabel · 1/10 · 13 July 2000]

I watched this when it was first broadcast, living at the time in Washington DC, where the press was harrumphing about what a dangerous, subversive, anti-social act it would be to watch this paranoid fantasy. Naturally, such indignation made me even more eager to see it. By the time I'd gotten to Day 4 of this dog's breakfast, I was stupefied with boredom, but kept going until the end, convinced that no filmmaker could invest this much time into a project and not have a terrific payoff at the end, to compensate for the glacial buildup. No such luck. The show ended as it started, a colossal waste of time.

I've read that this was based on a story originally by Ben Stein, who still finds the memory of the way it was slaughtered too painful to talk about. The brainless lefty, Kris Kristofferson, when asked why he took such an uncharacteristic role (leader of a revolt against Soviet overlords of a conquered America) answered that he did it because he thought another actor might have been able to do serious damage in such a role. That is, another actor might have actually done the job he was hired to do and made the role believable. No risk of Kristofferson falling into such a trap - he emotes throughout with the energy of high-speed oatmeal. Every scene seems to be on the verge of delivering something exciting and engaging, then falls lifeless to the ground.

It's hard to be sure just what was the motive behind the making of such a confused mess. But I think that people who see it as a cautionary tale are misreading the makers' intent, and forgetting the era it was made in. Coming as it did at the end of the Reagan era, I think it was Hollywood's poke in the eye at the triumphalists among the American Right, a sneering "So you think you're so good?" fantasy of a prostrate, failed America losing out to the hardier, more determined Communists. In that way, it is less a nightmare than a leftist wet dream.

Cold War

[obadiah-01950 · 10/10 · 29 January 2022]

This was written with a Cold War mentality. It was written in response to The Day After 1983. Hollywood have a Battle. They both would be a great study in the mindset of the time. A great idea to watch both with your children or grandchildren and let them know about your family and what they thought about it. 19 members of my family including cousins, and myself served during the Cold War including every major hot part. It sounds like someone who is a communist sympathizer wrote a review. There is a lot of talk about a national divorce, this might be what it would look like. .

Boring, Incoherent, Faux Noize Sucking Reagan/Bush Nazi Propaganda - With One Intriguing Twist

[drprod · 2/10 · 22 June 2012]

Though I have no sympathy at all for the American Right Wing and their "Red Scare" BS that ruined countless people's lives during the Cold War, that's far from the worst thing about Donald Wrye's Stultifying Mash Note to Ronald Reagan's insane saber-rattling, AMERIKA. I'm perverse enough to recognize that a good adventure yarn is inherently Fascistic, and if I like watching heroes being heroic and saving the day, I'm going to have to accept some politics I don't approve of in the cold light of Progressive Reason. That's how, despite being to the Left of just about every "consumer reviewer" here, I can admit one of my favorite movies is John Milius's RED DAWN - a much better thought-out and enjoyable "Them Russkies Done Took Over America!" film, that feels genuinely epic in scope, earns its heroics and has a strong awareness of what it's asking its audience to accept in the name of "freedom".

AMERIKA is as incomprehensible as it is virulent (how would separating the USofA into separate countries "destroy America" as the conquering Soviets claim, again?), meandering as it is hateful (I vaguely remember US Rebels attacking a Soviet stronghold about twelve hours in, but that's about as action-packed as it got) - but has one redeeming feature in Sam Neill's slyly subversive performance as Col. Denisov, Soviet administrator for the American Central Administrative Area. Despite his Ensign Chekov-level Russian accent, Neill makes Denisov an oddly sympathetic character, who seems to encourage dissidence even as he publicly attempts to quell it. Had the show become a television series, I could see it developing his character more - nobody else was worth the time or trouble.

In the end, the original V was more believable - and that had lizard-faced aliens in human masks eating raw gerbils!

Outstanding Mini Series

[vlozier-03615 · 10/10 · 16 June 2021]

I remember when this came out. I kept thinking what if this really happened. This mini series kept me on the edge of my seat!

Boring why does TV have to ruin good ideas

[mm-39 · 3/10 · 1 January 2003]

The first 15 minutes were good, but the usually low budget, too much dioluge, and sappy made for TV quality. I watched 2 showa and the ending I could not stand the boredom this film produces. Who would have gussed in 87 that the Cold War would be over in 2 years. I guess when they open a Mc Donalds in Moscow the signs where there! 3/10

This has potential

[Dasomir · 13 April 1999]

While I was viewing this rare mini-series, I could not help thinking that it was definitely one of the best films I have ever seen. The plot was awesome, the characters were moving, and the acting was unbelievably exceptional.(Way to go Sam Neill, Robert Urich, Kris Kristofferson, and others!) However, I was a bit disappointed by the ending. A lot of conflicts that I hoped would be resolved were left open. This was a hard resolution to accept after watching about 12 hours of building suspense and anticipation.

Although I wish the ending would be different, this will still be one of my favorite films and it is really worth seeing. It would be impossible to ever again create a series even close to what this was.