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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolutely superb miniseries!, April 22 2004
I first saw this wonderful miniseries when it made its debut on NBC in the fall of 1976, and I recently bought and watched the video set of the series. After so many years, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the late Richard Jordan's portrayal of Joseph Armaugh. Armaugh, the penniless Irish immigrant boy at the start of the series(It begins in New York Harbor in 1857) ultimately became one of the nation's most wealthiest and powerful men, and ultimately paid a heavy personal price for his arrogance, and obsession with attempting to make his eldest son the first Irish Catholic President of the United States. As you watch the series, you can't but help note the similarities between Jordan's fictional Armaugh and the real-life Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. Jordan should have received an Emmy for his fine portrayal of the hot-tempered and driven Irishman who wanted control over everything and everybody. Patty Duke was excellent as Joseph Armaugh's wife, who turned to the bottle to seek solace from a husband who did not love her, and eventually went insane when tragedy intervened and took a Son who died in the Spanish American war of 1898. Blair Brown did a wonderful job playing Joseph's mistress, whose failure to inform her son Courtney of the identity of his real father, resulted in tragedy for the Daughter of Joseph Armaugh. And the late great Henry Fonda had a brief role as an honorable and distinguished Senator who felt he had no choice but to take his own life after Armaugh's dispicable intention to blackmail the good Senator unless he dropped his support of a Labor reform bill (which would have cut into the profits of Armaugh, and his powerful cronies). Before the Senator died, he left Armaugh a message in which he cursed him and his family. And before the end of this series(It ends in the late Spring or Summer of 1912,) the curse robbed Joseph Armaugh of just about his entire family(and his only close friend) until he is seen alone sitting in his huge mansion, pondering the heavy price he had to pay. Other actors in the mini series include the late Vic Morrow (Sergeant Chip Saunders of the 1960s WW2 series Combat)as Senator Tom Hennessey, Armangh's detested enemy and ironically his Father-in-Law(whom he eventually destroyed!) and Robert Vaughn as Joseph Armaugh's business colleague, Charles Desmond. Desmond was one of the individuals who helped Armaugh to attain even more power by sponsoring his participation in a group of powerful and wealthy men who ruthlessly use their power to control events to gain even more wealth and power, regardless of the cost. And you'll discover as I did when I originally watched the series that anyone who opposes these men will pay a heavy and bloody price. A superbly acted, and fast-pace look at one man's attainment of wealth and power, and the tragic price ultimately paid. I strongly suggest that anyone who is even remotely interested in mid 19th to early 20th Century America buy this series based on Taylor Caldwell's novel as it effectively weaves fictional characters like Armaugh, and the others into the tapestry of American life from 1857-1912. A superb job all-around! Enjoy
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificent Masterpiece, Feb 20 2003
Like almost all other reviewers, I've waited forever for this series to become available in video format. I now own it and I AM SO THRILLED!!! It has become one of my most prized possessions. The ensemble of actors (check out the impressive cast) is the most extraordinary since Gone with the Wind! No modern day big screen movie nor TV miniseries has come close to this masterpiece. A promise--you'll never regret purchasing this video set. And I do recommend purchasing the series because once you see it, you'll want to make it part of your video collection. The story has everything one could want...and then some. So rich in history, costuming splendid, the music is heaven sent, the story is so believable you'll be checking history books to see if these people actually existed. The characters become part of you from start to finish. Initial thanks for the magnificent tale by Taylor Caldwell (series follows the book as close as any I've ever seen). Now a word or two or three about the acting (I could go on forever, truly virtuoso from all). Richard Jordan brings to life the story of Joseph Armagh, an Irish immigrant. His portrayal of the main character is the ultimate, unequalled in brilliance. So great, so powerful, so moving is he, it's worth owning the videos for this alone. Yet, each & every actor gives his/her grandest performance to date. The story is astounding, poignant, entertaining, shocking, joyful, tragic, and riveting. A truly magnificent cinematic work of art.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The cost of power, Nov 25 2002
Based on Taylor Caldwell's novel, this 1976 NBC production came on the coattails of ABC's earlier success with "Rich Man, Poor Man," and solidified the term "mini-series" in broadcast language. And it is a magnificent and stylish production cemented with good writing, superb acting and the message that even power and wealth carry a price, sometimes too high. "Captains and the Kings" was reviewed in comparison to the real-life Kennedy clan, and maybe so. Still, the action begins on an America-bound ship on which the mother of a young Joseph Armagh and two younger siblings dies, leaving the adolescent Joseph in charge. And take charge he does, soon setting money and power as his goals. Joseph collects both in heaps but, by film's end, with Joseph then an old man, learns the devastating cost to him personally. The late Richard Jordan is terrific as the powerbroker Joseph, and the supporting cast is unparalleled, headed by Patty Duke's Emmy turn as Joseph's wife. Her fate is insanity triggered by an arranged marriage with a man who doesn't love her, the loss of two children and alcoholism. The series also introduced us to Blair Brown, who went on to a haunting portrait as Jacqueline Kennedy in the 1983 mini-series, "Kennedy," and on series television in "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd." Here, Ms. Brown is the "other woman" in Joseph's life, but she pulls it off with sympathy. As for Perry King, as Joseph's son seeking to be the country's first Irish Catholic president, there's no escaping the inevitable comparison to the real-life Irish Catholic who went after - and got - the presidency. Strongly written, well acted and lavishly produced, "Captains and the Kings" is a worthy piece of entertainment.
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by Taylor Caldwell
