The Search for the Nile watch online HD

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

There are only two major motion films (as of January 2006) about the events involved with the search for the Nile River's sources. One is THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON, which detailed the collapse of the friendship and partnership of explorers Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke. The collapse was due to their different views on what was the source of the Nile (Lake Tanganyika or Lake Victoria). The other was STANLEY AND LIVINGSTON, but that film concentrated on the search (by Henry Morton Stanley) for Dr. David Livingston, missionary and explorer in 1871 - the Nile venture was secondary. Besides those two films, the rest is silence.

But in 1971 this six part series was created. Starring Kenneth Haigh as Burton, and Michael Gough as Livingston, it took the time to go through the careers of Burton, Speke, James Grant (Speke's second partner in exploration), Livingston (who got hung up seeing the source in some mythical huge fountains in central Africa), Samuel Baker (who was the first European to find Lake Albert), and Stanley, who finally settled the main issues of the source of the Nile, and the source of the Congo (Burton's Tanganyika). Added to the fine cast was the narration by James Mason, which kept the separate portions of the story straight.

The series technically was about the sources of the White Nile (the Blue Nile, which is also one of the two main branches of the Nile, was traced down by James Bruce, an 18th Century traveler in Ethiopia (then called Abyssinia) - but that was outside the scope of this series). Each hour followed the events that twisted and turned among the six leading explorers, in particular the tragedy of Speke (who probably killed himself to avoid disgrace debating Burton), and Stanley who became possessed as it were to find Livingston, and then to settle the entire matter. It took him five years of travel to get it straight - and he lost a large number of the men on his exploration. Burton, blamed by many for the death of Speke, dropped out of the race after 1864 believing he had found the source - only to find he had not. But by the time he learned the truth, he was better known as a man of letters who had given the definitive translation of the classic THE ARABIAN NIGHTS with footnotes.

The 19th Century had four great races: the search for the Northwest Passage, the race for the North Pole, the beginning of the race for the South Pole, and the search for the Nile. While these races did bring honor and glory to a handful of figures, they all brought tragedy to the same figures and others around them. To learn about the search for the sources of the White Nile, this well acted and written series is a great place to start.

Why on earth is this title not on DVD? I sometimes think the BBC keeps a lot of its films in a big barrel and only takes them from the top. The ones at the bottom never get a turn! If they do not intend to use it may I buy it?

It's hard to convey in words the feel of this series. It covers the stories of the explorations in quite a succinct but detailed way. It takes you into the continent with the main, and vivid, characters of the time, showing their journeys, intellectual arguments. It shows what they found there, from slave traders to powerful local kings. The main explorers include Livingstone (an explorer despite his missionary anti-slaver status), HM Stanley, R Burton, Speke, Grant, Mr and Mrs Baker travelling down the Nile through the Sud, and so on.

It is beautifully written, filmed and presented, covering a story that is hard to imagine could have a parallel today. It's difficult to understand the combination of enterprise, bravery, erudition and determination of those explorers. The more one gets into the subject the more interesting it becomes. I've read a lot about it since seeing the film and soon after lived in many of the regions covered.

The film captures a real essence of what it was. This film, of the highest standard,is surely what the BBC was meant to be about, leadership in quality. It's a shame it's not been made available but lies buried somewhere at the BBC. If you want to watch a very intelligent, top rate film about white man's early contacts with Africa and about the biggest mystery facing the first European exploration of the central areas of the continent, then this is a key film. I cannot think of a comparable film. Try to see it or request it! You won't be sorry.

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.

I loved that series when I saw it as a teenager. It's one of the few that I still remember vividly and keep praising among friends - who often haven't even heard of it. I was mesmerized by the characters: I adored Burton and marveled at his choice in wife, and (being a naive teenager at that time) was shocked by the character depictions of other prominent adventurers like Speke and Stanley. What a gripping view this mini-series gives of the discovery of the dark continent and of colonialism and imperialism. "Mountains of the Moon" is pale and superficial in comparison, and I was disappointed by the movie's quite different view of the Burton marriage. I so much enjoyed "The Search for the Nile", and I cannot understand why this fantastic series isn't available on DVD!

"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.

No need for another positive review - let me just say that I'm happy to report that this magnificent docudrama is now available at Amazon for the viewing world to watch. From the opening music, you will be entranced.

I too have been wishing for years that this excellent series were available on DVD or video. It featured vivid, memorable performances that, to this day, color my impressions of Burton, Speke, and Livingston, and I still remember the mounting suspense as the first two of these explorers prepare to debate their theories of the source of the Nile before (if memory serves) the Royal Geographical Society. Maybe we're all getting spoiled, because it sometimes seems as if virtually everything is accessible today via Netflix or the Net... but here's a series that, it seems, has a built-in audience, a superb reputation, and some genuine educational value, yet all of its fans are forced to rely on decades-old memories of it. Making it available would be a true public service!

I first saw this dazzling gem of a mini-series when BBC aired it in, I believe, 1971. Until "I Claudius" came along I deemed it the finest television EVENT of all time. It literally is hypnotic in its many excellencies, and I scarcely known WHERE to begin in detailing them, so I simply will say that IF YOU CAN POSSIBLY TRACK DOWN this, evidently, now blacklisted BBC series, do your self that exquisite favor.

My wife, I know not how, managed through her dogged determination to finally discover this buried epic in Germany, of all places -- you CANNOT find it in politically correct Britain any longer because, I believe, of its uncompromisingly Victorian nature, narrated beautifully by James Mason with a musical score magically reminiscent of Smetana's "The Moldau." My wife even had to include in her birthday gift -- the best I've ever received -- a special new DVD player that could handle the German format, though I don't understand any of such technical trifles. I just IMMERSE myself in this grand epic of African exploration which is many times more satisfying than actually visiting Africa itself, which I have also done and also immensely enjoyed, but there is nothing like the joy of re-watching and then re-watching again and again and again this unparalleled masterpiece.

They made of movie on the same subject matter called "Mountains of the Moon" many years afterward which bitterly disappointed me due to its vastly inferior writing and casting, but how often can one expect a miracle such as 1971's "The Search for the Nile" to actually take place. Miracles are so very, very rare, of course. Whatever else you do, do NOT miss out on the profound pleasure of viewing for yourself this inimitable, somber epic, "The Search for the Nile."

I watched the series back in 1972 and was glued to the TV as this magnificent mini series with great cast and conducting portrayed great moments in history of Africa and brave men who risked their lives for their quests. I have described the series to my sons as both are very much interested in history and early expeditions. unfortunately, I can not find copies of the series anywhere to buy or rent. Not sure, why such great work of TV and Production is not available to public. I think as other reviewers have mentioned, BBC or PBS need to be poked and encouraged to release or show again. I am pretty sure after all these years will be a great hit series. Many younger generations are fascinated with story of Nile and heroics of the discoverers and their times in Africa.

I am new here. Please forgive me for my ignorance.

Just wanted to say this 1970's TV series marked me as a teenager.

I want (very badly!) to see this series remastered in DVD...

Post scriptum:

Would you believe I made a tape recording that time, with a VERY old tape recorder, of James Mason saying «In 198?, Henry Morton Stanley, the young American journalist, crossed Africa and, in one of the most famous encounters of History, found Dr. David Livingston. When the great Livingston died...»

I just can't remember the rest by heart.

I have it recorded in a tape (NOT a cassette, but an old magnetic tape; these days, I recorded my favorite films with a microphone near the TV speaker!) and it is still there, along with the wonderful music theme, I read in this site it was a Dvorak theme.

Who, and when, someone will allow us to see again that incredible TV series, with Richard Burton as Sir Richard Francis Burton???

When is the search for the Nile going to become available for purchase? I have been searching for years to buy it, but nothing.

I have heard that the movie, the mountains on the moon is similar. I will try to buy that movie.

I have gone to many sites wanting to buy it, but nothing. Does anybody know where I can buy it? Does masterpiece theater have any for sale? Why don't they repeat programs like this one? The Search For The Nile is a must to see. Please see that it can be sold soon.

Who narrated this program? was it James Mason? What was the year it was film?

I first saw the British mini-series THE SEARCH FOR THE NILE on PBS in 1973 and was enthralled. My favorite film is LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and I felt this was the television equivalent. As Peter O'Toole stunned in "Lawrence", Kenneth Haigh as explorer, scientist, (and REBEL) Sir Richard Francis Burton is equally impressive in "Nile." In 1980 (when video tape was available) I had the chance to record this masterpiece on PBS and took every possible precaution to get it right AND DID! (standard play,best tape available,etc.) The tape has held up beautifully all these years and still looks the same, however 1980 standards are not up to todays digital demands. Why this EMMY winner (1971-72 award for best Docu-Drama) is virtually unknown in this day and age is a mystery to me. It has everything you could want in a film; drama,sweep,humor,(that wonderful British humor)flawless performances and a marvelous production design to match the on location shooting. This film hasn't been available in at least 20 years and I'm thinking the copyright owners don't want to spend the money necessary to restore this virtually unknown gem (if possible after all this time)to it's Lawrencelike beauty. Number 1 on my wish list is a restored SEARCH FOR THE NILE on DVD,then I'd die happy but I don't think I'll ever see it.

Seek information on this 1971 big-budget 6-part series, and you'll seek in vain. No Wikipedia page, hardly any online presence at all. And yet at the time, it was fulsomely praised, received awards, was an internationally popular success. So why the present obscurity?

Look no further than the content, which is obviously not what the BBC and Time-Life their American co-financer, in whatever form they now exist, have at least until very recently wanted to even take credit for, let alone promote.

In contrast to modern portayals of past ages, which are usually peopled by 21st century ciphers in fancy dress, this feels like the real thing brought to life. And with no health warnings, signposting, PC tinkering etc. So you'll see evidence of slavery (by Arabs btw, not Europeans), black people behaving tribally, white people behaving like they were more socially advanced than others (which they were), men behaving like real men and women tagging along (and liking it!), all unchallenged, with the viewer left to make up his/her own mind about what's good/bad, right/wrong. Left to make an unprotected adult value judgement. Shocking.

The production values are high, with true-to-reality location shooting. Gorgeous cinematography abounds, with no loathsome caught-in-the-middle-of-a-video-game HD in sight, just warm immersive 35mm film. The characters are an amazing range of larger-than-life oneoffs. There are dramatic situations and intelligent dialogue throughout.

The production is not flawless; the team evidently had their agenda. Speke's motives are relentlessly darkened, perhaps to augment his great conflict with Burton: unnecessary, the reality was quite dramatic enough. Baker's 'wife' (they weren't - shock, horror - actually married at the time) is reduced to an eye-candy cipher. Livingstone has a halo practically grafted onto him in every scene. Time-Life's fingerprints are evident in Stanley's portrayal as an all-American hero, despite being barely American, right down to having a full American accent (living there only 8 years of his life, unlikely) and carrying - or rather having his slaves/workers carry - a US flag all through Africa (highly unlikely). Plus semi-whitewashing of his murderous tendencies.

But these character simplifications are the only relatively minor caveat. Every other aspect is top notch. Best of all, as a result of watching it I was encouraged to dig deeper into the 'real' story. How many modern productions would have a similar effect?

If you prefer your historic portrayals full of anachronisms, PC constructs and romantic cliches, with intrusive background music and post-production trickery, 'Downton Abbey' and 'Poldark' beckon. For the rest of us, 'The Source Of The Nile' is stirring, intelligent, educational entertainment with a total sense of immersion, from an age where British-derived productions had these values at their core, rather than debased ratings-driven criteria. And when British programme-makers were not so ashamed as is the case today of portraying their own, frequently glorious, history as it actually happened. So there's really nothing like it now.

It's a genuine outrage that it's been buried for so long, and it's still 'censored' inasmuch as not being re-broadcast anywhere, but at least it's now available in DVD form.

Highly recommended.

I watched this mini series again last week and I had forgotten how superior the mini series is."Search For The Nile" is an amazing BBC mini series and I believe that "Search For The Nile" is far ahead of its time."Search For The Nile" has a real advantage.That advantage is James Mason doing the superb narration throughout the almost six hours of programming.I love British mini series such as the 1995 version of "Pride And Prejudice" starring Colin Firth and "Vanity Fair" that came out around the same time and aired on the now lousy A&E Television network on cable or satellite.I remember the made for television mini series that aired on the three prime time networks back in the 1970s and the 1980s.Some of them were excellent like "Search For The Nile".When you start watching this series you won't want to stop the DVD and take a break.That is how good this series is."Shackleton" with Kenneth Brannagh is a mini series that is almost as good as "Search For The Nile".I highly recommend this program to viewers of all ages except for small children.I have this movie.