ROOTS: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

Details

• Release Year: 1977
• Genre: Drama, War
• Plot: 'Roots Rock Reggae' depicts an unforgettable moment in Jamaica's history when music defined the island's struggles and immortalised its heroes. Director Jeremy Marre films Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Lee 'Scratch' Perry record in his legendary Black Ark studio with The Upsetters. Jimmy Cliff rehearses with Sly and Robbie, while Inner Circle's historic live gig is recorded on the violent Kingston streets. The legendary Abyssinians harmonise their haunting Rastafarian songs; Joe Higgs (formerly Bob Marley's teacher) plays and talks; majestic toaster U Roy raps alongside The Mighty Diamonds, and Third World record in a Kingston studio. There is also early archive footage of Toots and the Maytals, and Haile Selessie's royal visit to Jamaica while police and thieves battle it out on the streets, and the ghettos erupt in violence. 1977: An extraordinary year for Reggae music, captured live in this award-winning film. Roots Rock Reggae was the first in-depth documentary about Reggae music in Jamaica and looks at the social and political importance of this 'cry of the people'.
• Cast: Olivia Cole, LeVar Burton, Ben Vereen, Louis Gossett Jr., Vic Morrow, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Edward Asner, Ralph Waite, Robert Reed, Lynda Day George, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Leslie Uggams, Carolyn Jones, Lloyd Bridges, Georg Stanford Brown, Brad Davis, Hilly Hicks, Lynne Moody, Lane Binkley, Austin Stoker, Sandy Duncan, Chuck Connors, Tracey Gold, Moses Gunn, Thalmus Rasulala, Hari Rhodes, William Watson, Renn Woods, Lorne Greene, Thayer David, Scatman Crothers, George Hamilton, Lillian Randolph, Richard Roundtree, Davis Roberts, Richard McKenzie, John Quade, Cicely Tyson, Tina Andrews, Henry Butts, Joe Dorsey, Kermit Echols, Richard Farnsworth, Ronnie Leggett, Rachel Longaker, Ernest Thomas, Yvonne De Carlo, Lee Kessler, Yaphet Kotto, Fred D. Scott, Marvin J. Chomsky, John Erman, William Blinn
• Director: Marvin J. Chomsky
• Runtime: 0
• Media Format: Series