Search - Roar - The Complete Series on DVD

A great show

Herugrim | Texas. USA | 06/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I caught this one on SCI FI channel as they re-aired it. I was blown away. The story was great, I love how Christian belief wasnt covered up, it was on the rise, and so played out during the series short run.

The cast was very good, the sets were great and the music very well done.

This IS NOT your cheesy Beastmaster/Xena/Hercules series. There are no cheep over the top fight scenes. It is very well done and serious."

"Hear The Roar" ~ Paganism Encounters The Christian God

Brian E. Erland | Brea, CA - USA | 10/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"`Roar' is a highly entertaining sword and sorcery series made for television which was originally released to the airwaves in '97. This magical series has finally be released in a boxed set containing the complete 13 episodes, which includes 5 episodes never aired on network television



Synopsis: The year is 400A.D., the place is the British Isles. The Roman Empire rules the Celtic landscape, that is with the exception of a few pagan tribes still offering what little resistance they can. The task to unite the native Celts to battle the invading Roman forces falls to young Prince Conor (Heath Ledger). If Conor is to be successful he must learn to harness the mystical power of his homeland, "the Roar." Only then can he truly lead his people and realize his vision of freedom.



`Roar' is beautifully produced and wonderfully scenic throughout. It also has ingeniously combined Celtic mysticism and Druidism with some rather obscure and archaic elements of early Christian mythology. The inclusion of Longinus, the Roman Centurian who pierced the side of Christ with his spear in the role of Queen Dianna's sorcerer is a fascinating addition to the storyline.



Also starring: John Saint Ryan (Fergus), Vera Farmiga (Catlin), Alonzo Greer (Tully), Liza Zane (Queen Dianna) and Sebastian Roche (Longinus)."

Can you hear it?

C. A. Luster | Burke, VA USA | 09/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Roar is a wonderful series with a great cast including Heath Ledger, John Saint Ryan, Vera Farmiga, Alonzo Greer, and Sebastian Roché. It was produced by Davd Cassidy and had a great team of writers. What never made any since was why it was cancelled. The casting, directing, and everything about the show was better than most other series at the time. For many years people had to watch their VHS tapes that they had taped of the original airings. There was a cult over it they had forums and web pages and petitions to bring back the show. Apparently it fell on studio execs that had no concept of what people wanted for entertainment. Considering all the great ancient epic movies of late, need I say more? Finally the SciFi channel was smart enough to air it again recently and I guess someone was smart enough to realize they not only had the original fans but a new group as well.



I am happy to see this on DVD. I immediately pre-ordered this series that was far more realistic and dramatic than others that followed. There are a couple things that are fantasy, but so well done you will think them possible. After all there have long been legends of the Spear that killed Christ. To believe the Roman soldier that used that spear was made immortal to suffer is a great story. And that is but one intertwined story that is woven into a tapestry of incredible people and their culture of the past. The acting, production values, sets, and music are all worthy of movie quality. If you enjoy dramas about ancient times you will want this set about the Celts enduring the rule of the Romans until the time for them to throw off their oppressor. So many stories of what life was like and the blossoming of Christianity in this rugged land with people living in Celtic tribes. I just can't say enough about how well crafted this series was and I sincerely believe everyone should give it a chance. My only negative comment is they cut some of the beautiful music from the original airings and a few scenes. I'm not sure why, but this set would have been better if they had left the music and scenes as they were."

A touch disappointed...

Heather L. Roberts | USA | 11/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I read through all of the current reviews on here before posting this and I was very surprised to see that so many people seemed to have overlooked something. Maybe I have a memory for detail that others don't? I'm just not sure how you can call a show 'complete' when you're missing some of the vital songs from the original airing of that show.

Yesterday my husband bought me ROAR, since it was one of the things that brought us together and sparked interest in each other while dating. I found myself a bit let down by watching the first episode. Like most TV shows that are now suddenly coming to DVD the studio cut two of my favorite songs from the show. The first song is "Cymbeline" from Loreena McKennitt's 'Visit' CD (and the original placement of this song was perfect, it was placed right at the moment where Connor lays down beside Claire's body and reprised when he whispered in her ear at her funeral) It is not only the lack of song that I find infuriating but that (I feel) the studio was too lazy to replace it with anything of value. (At least on Roswell the series creator Jason Katims searched until he found music that fit the themes of what he was replacing before the DVD release) The second song that was missing was from the episode "Banshee" and was called "Mystic's Dream" from McKennitt's "Mask and Mirror" CD. This music opened up the scene where the warriors entered the mists and saw shadows of their worst fears and fed into the fight scene that followed. Both of these songs are what helped to enhance ROAR for it's original audience and I'm depressed that they were not included in this release.

(Actually kicking myself now for taping over my original 1997 tape of the show after I got the DVR of the show off Sci-Fi Channel. Because last night I realized Sci-Fi cut out the scene with Claire's funeral pyre and the vision Connor has of her that leads him to finding his father's sword...Methinks I want a copy of the original once more...)

So, with all of my sullen shadows why did I give it four stars? Well, the picture quality is better than what I've seen previously, a touch more clear and such. The sound quality, although lacking in the poignant music I previously listed, was stellar in terms of mixing and such. They really kicked it up a notch.

Another hole in the production department is that they could have put more effort into making the DVD. There were no extras (and I know for a fact that a pitch reel is circulating out there somewhere so they could've added that into the mix) and the menu's are rather static (but that may be due to the fact the last three or more DVD's I've watched had 'motion menus') I would have also adored some commentary by the former cast."