A commendable translation to the small screen of the novel - i am assured that it is a more faithful adaption than other tv series or movies - and i believe it - while i never read the novel - i had it at hand to check that the scenes were in order - they were - and much of the novel's dialog was inserted into the script
as an american indian - i was not bothered by the use of white actors in the indian roles - it was common in american tv shows too at the time - i doubt many american indians were strolling around Britain available for casting - and the pitiful budget for this production couldn't afford to import and provide for the real thing
originally the BBC series extended over 6 hours - in 8 episodes - which is more time than movies can afford - which allowed it to contain more of the novel - tho even then - it was condensed - but that's to the audience's advantage - only the really pertinent scenes remain
while much of the series is shot on small sets - and they were forced to use 10s of extras - they had one nice advantage - they were able to utilize the wild landscapes of Scotland - which stand in pretty well for the forests of the american east coast - and the dutiful costuming and makeup comes across even better than many american productions - which had a stereotypical look for indians
as could/should be expected from the BBC tv shows - they cast some lesser known yet highly skilled actors - for me - Kenneth Ives as the rangy & confident Hawkeye - and Philip Madoc as the dark & sinister Magua - were the most charismatic - but all performed at a high level
if only they had the budget to match the positive facets of this production
as an american indian - i was not bothered by the use of white actors in the indian roles - it was common in american tv shows too at the time - i doubt many american indians were strolling around Britain available for casting - and the pitiful budget for this production couldn't afford to import and provide for the real thing
originally the BBC series extended over 6 hours - in 8 episodes - which is more time than movies can afford - which allowed it to contain more of the novel - tho even then - it was condensed - but that's to the audience's advantage - only the really pertinent scenes remain
while much of the series is shot on small sets - and they were forced to use 10s of extras - they had one nice advantage - they were able to utilize the wild landscapes of Scotland - which stand in pretty well for the forests of the american east coast - and the dutiful costuming and makeup comes across even better than many american productions - which had a stereotypical look for indians
as could/should be expected from the BBC tv shows - they cast some lesser known yet highly skilled actors - for me - Kenneth Ives as the rangy & confident Hawkeye - and Philip Madoc as the dark & sinister Magua - were the most charismatic - but all performed at a high level
if only they had the budget to match the positive facets of this production