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| |  | VHS | Home » » Rich Man, Poor Man: The Complete Collection | | | | | | | Description: | | The first-ever dramatic miniseries to appear on American television, the multi-award winning Rich Man, Poor Man spans decades and generations to trace the epic story of the Jordache family from 1945 to the late 1960s. Rich Man, Poor Man: The Complete Collection brings together all 34 episodes from Book I and II of this classic `70s series. Based on Irwin Shaw's best-selling novel and featuring an all-star cast (including Edward Asner, Bill Bixby, Susan Blakely, and Robert Reed), the series focuses in particular on Rudy Jordache (Peter Strauss) and his troubled brother Tom (Nick Nolte) as they navigate divergent paths away from their impoverished immigrant upbringing. While ambitious Rudy seems destined for success, Tom suffers from an endless string of bad luck - but in the end, finds love. Encompassing a period of tremendous social and political upheaval, the Jordache saga explores timeless themes such as the difficulty of human relationships and the disillusionment of the American dream. An absorbing and masterful portrait of a fascinating and ill-fated family, Rich Man, Poor Man: The Complete Collection recaptures a landmark moment in American broadcasting history. | | | Features: | |
• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Color; Miniseries; Box set; NTSC
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, Susan Blakely, Edward Asner | | Director:
| David Greene | | Format:
| Color, Miniseries, Box set, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 9 | | Studio:
| A&E HOME VIDEO | | Run Time:
| 1604 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| September 28, 2010 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 131 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 131 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
109 of 111 found the following review helpful:
 One of the All-Time GREAT TV MiniseriesJan 26, 2007
By Matthew J. Gallagher
I met Peter Strauss for the first time after a staged reading at the Westport Playhouse, in which he, along with several other wonderful actors, gave a superb reading of a new play. Speaking to him, briefly, afterwards, I mentioned the absence of "Rich Man" on DVD - and he agreed. He told me he is asked this a lot and does not understand why a terrific DVD edition of this classic miniseries is not available. My God, it should be! This was one of the first real TV "events" - must see TV before it really existed - with a superb, involving story of two brothers growing up in turbulent times, their lives and loves, and their ultimate search for happiness. The acting could not be better. Peter Strauss has always been an underrated actor, in my opinion. In "The Jericho Mile" he gives a landmark performance. Here, in "Rich Man," he believably ages from a high school student to an older, forlorn Senator trying to reclaim his humanity. It was an honor to speak to Mr. Strauss, who could not have been more gracious. He was eager to see this miniseries on DVD and was also interested in being part of an "extras" package to boot. Can you imagine getting Mr. Strauss and Nick Nolte back to discuss the legendary film that began both their careers? EVERY actor here gives a unique performance. It was one of the unforgettable TV miniseries. It deserves a gold star treatment!
UPDATE on DVD release! "Rich Man, Poor Man" is a five star production, but the DVD release rates barely A STAR AND A HALF - it is almost a travesty. I would like to commend Mr. Strauss, brilliant in the role in both series, for offering an excellent, perceptive, and interesting one hour long commentary track to accompany the first hour of the original series - but that is the ONLY recommendation I can give to this product.
First, the video transfer is poor - there is NO high definition upgrade to the original show at all, so it looks like a typical TV show from the '70's, no upgrades at all. The sound quality is also poor.
Second, and most important, the DVD has been EDITED! Incredibly enough, there are whole scenes missing from the DVD - most grievously, in the final hour of the show, after Rudy nearly loses his career after hurting a college girl, whose photo club had taken nude pictures of a drunken Julie, there is a MISSING SCENE when we see the Van Johnson character return to tell Rudy that his political career can be saved - which leads directly back to the scenes where Julie begins to drink again and, inadvertently, causes a tragedy. The scene is gone! And parts of other scenes, including the introductions to the openings, also appear to be trimmed.
I bought some foreign copies of both series some time ago - and both were better than this product. Make no mistake - A & E did this on the cheap and ended up leaving a tarnished legacy for a landmark series. It is STILL worth watching, for all the wonderful stories it tells, but this DVD product is a disgrace - and you will have to find another DVD or VHS tape to actually see the WHOLE series. The VHS tapes actually seem to have better sound and picture quality and more beautifully packaged as well. I would stick with them, except that Book Two, which has great moments, is not available on VHS tapes, but only on foreign DVD's, which, I'm sure, are of better quality than this disgrace. At least these shows don't appear to be edited.
Too bad. Again, Mr. Strauss's commentaries are worth hearing, but I wish there was more. That's the ONLY extra for the high price you are paying. Such a disappointment. Wasn't there ANYONE of any knowledge working for A & E who could have overseen this transfer? For the price you are paying, you deserve better.
73 of 78 found the following review helpful:
The Best of the Best!Oct 26, 2005
By Movie Nut
I would have to rate this as the best mini-series ever produced. I recently got to see it again after about 25 years. I borrowed it from the library, which seems like the only place that still might have a copy. I recall when it was first on TV, I think it was an ABC Movie Event. Sitting each week enthralled in the storyline and then waiting for the next episode. This was the most thrilling thing to ever have been on television and it has stayed with me all these years. I became a life long Nick Nolte fan after seeing 'Rich Man, Poor Man'. I only wish this was on DVD! With all the junk that is put on DVD, why not something this ground breaking???
43 of 47 found the following review helpful:
Rich man Poor man come to DVD PLEASEJun 14, 2006
By Kathie Goodrich
I remember watching this mini-series on TV for something like 13 wks & we NEVER missed an episode..But thats been SO LONG AGO! C'mon lets get it on DVD...This was & is an excellent movie... They put stupid, crappy ones on DVD-VHS...whay can't they put some classic mini sereis on like this one!!??
31 of 34 found the following review helpful:
 Rich Man, Poor Man DVD ReviewSep 13, 2010
By Clemens
Although it involves none of the same characters, you could call Irwin Shaw's Rich Man, Poor Man a sequel of sorts to his masterpiece The Young Lions, as he again undertakes an epic story crossing continents and decades, the tale of the two Jordache brothers, and occasionally their sister as they traverse the panorama of turbulent times. The story picks up where The Young Lions left off with the end of the Second World War, chronicling the years from 1946 to the late 1960s in the lives of the lower class Jordache family. At the time of the novel's release, the critics ravaged the piece calling Shaw out of touch with America as he had spent most of the past two decades living in Europe. But the public loved it, turning it into a best seller. Shaw, had as always, crafted a character driven piece, using his immense skills as a writer to pull the reader into the story even if it really didn't go anywhere original.
ABC TV bought the book after the success of turning Leon Uris' QB VII into a mini-series in 1974. In the early spring of 1976 the 12 hour Rich Man, Poor Man debuted to phenomenal ratings success, spurring on the coming decade of mini-series mania that included Roots and Holocaust. The critics loved the story as it translated to the small screen, the often times meandering tale of Shaw's novel having been splendidly reworked for television, making a handful of clever changes. The most notable and powerful change was combining the three major female characters into one, replacing three shifting, often redundant characters with a single powerful one played by Susan Blakely. Also of note was the combining of the two key villains into one played with relish by William Smith, an actor who excelled in such roles.
Peter Strauss, a supporting player in television movies after a failed go at the big screen with Soldier Blue in 1970, played Rudy Jordache and Nick Nolte, a player in B Movies up to then, turned the scene stealing tough guy Tom Jordache into a vehicle that propelled him into movie stardom. Blakely, as Julie Prescott was Rudy's love interest, the sister having been eliminated from the story with all her major story elements folded into the new female lead.
Rudy is a social climbing money maker, the Rich Man of the story, who ascends to the top of the heap landing in the United States Senate (New York State Senate in the book) by the series' end, while brother Tom, a ne'er do well trouble maker, the Poor Man, struggles as a middle weight boxer who is forced to flee the country when he beats up a mob sponsored boxer.
Nolte easily stole the show, not necessarily because of superior acting skills, but because he WAS Tom Jordache in many ways as we were to discover in the years to come. But equally powerful were the amazing performances of the supporting cast, Ed Asner as the father, a force so overwhelming that he overshadows Nolte and Strauss like the moon blotting out the sun during an eclipse in their scenes together. The Brady Bunch's Robert Reed delivers a canny performance as the wealthy Teddy Boylen, Julie lover early in the story and Rudy's mentor. The series is littered with similar performances, Ray Milland, Kim Darby and a surprisingly effective Bill Bixby as Julie's first husband.
I think what made the story so successful was that it was the first time a truly epic novel had been translated onto film, meaning not just television but the features as well, an impossibility for a two or even three hour film. During the course of the series we can see Rudy and Tom aging and changing as Rudy loses his moral center and Tom gains his.
It's a great piece, well worth seeing, but the problem with the new release of the series on DVD is the price. Universal has chosen to tack onto the set the misbegotten sequel series from 1976-77, a 22 episode soap opera that Shaw did not write, Nolte refused to take part in, Blakely left after the initial two hour opener and which even Strauss bailed on by season's end. It was banal and pointless, rarely rising above the level of an afternoon soap, though it did in fact presage the coming prime time soaps, Dallas and Dynasty. Worst of all is that none of the many storylines excepting the one featuring Peter Strauss were resolved at season's end. The only highpoint of Book Two is that it featured the acting debut of Gregg Henry as Nick Nolte's son, a solid player who's produced a three decade career as a supporting actor in roles as diverse as one of the villains in 1998's Start Trek: Insurrection.
So, in order to wring some bucks out of the so-called Rich Man, Poor Man Book II, as they knew no one would buy it on its own, Universal has added on its lame 22 episodes demanding an ungodly $80.00 US, $100.00 Canadian for the show. Even with Amazon's discount, it's still ludicrously expensive, $50.00 US and $70.00 Canadian respectively. The original mini-series would easily fit onto three DVDs with a price of $30.00 before Amazon's discount being more then reasonable.
Despite how good the original mini-series was, my advice is to wait, as this overpriced turkey is bound to end up in the discount bin at Wal-Mart within six months or a year as I can't imagine its sales will keep it in the prime price range for long. Only proceed to the checkout counter if you have money to spare. This really is a disappointment after waiting so long for Rich Man, Poor Man to make its way to DVD.
25 of 29 found the following review helpful:
The best mini-series prior to RootsJul 17, 2006
By epcthree
"epcthree"
This was the measuring stick for Mini-Series until Roots came along. Excellent storyline and strong performances throughout. A very young Nick Nolte (although admittedly you have to stretch to accept him as a high school student!) gives the performance that put him on the path to stardom. Ed Asner as the head of the Jordache family gives one of his finest performances in a role mostly against type. All in all a terrific series that finally has made it to US DVD release.
Available on eBay, but be careful that you are ordering the US Region (Region 1) and not a European version (Region 2).
See all 131 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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