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.
Now available for the first time on DVD, 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.
This being my first viewing of the series I found a lot of the subject matter to be for 70's to be somewhat shocking for airing on national television. Book I is buoyed buy a brilliant cast of at the time somewhat unknowns. It is a rich, and sprawling story with universal themes that play well even in the modern era. Book II on the other hand isn't very good and was akin to watching an afternoon soap opera. Overall though I had a terrific time watching this epic miniseries as it earns a solid 7.5/10
"Rich Man, Poor Man" arrives on DVD with a 480i transfer utilizing the in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Colors are pretty nice, with some bold reds being the highlight. Image detail was fairly sharp, with some instances of softness. No major damage was noticed in the presentation. Overall a decent 6/10
Audio is provided by a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track. An adequate, yet underwhelming track. I wasn't overly surprised by this considering the miniseries was shot for television in the 70's. Dialogue was well rendered and was pretty clear throughout. Directional effects are nil to barely noticeable.6/10
Audio Commentary with Peter Strauss - This is for the first episode only and he doesn't divulge into anything to important but it's an okay listen.







