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(More customer reviews)The complete Classic TV Western, Branded, is being released - but by the same company that put out poorly produced single-season sets several years ago.
The Chuck Connors series, which aired from 1965-1966, is well deserving of a quality DVD release. In 2004-2005, Timeless Media Group released individual boxed sets of Season 1 and Season 2 of the series. The problem was, the episodes were edited (chopped for commercial syndication) and the video quality was also very poor, more like copied from cut-rate VHS.
An industry insider has told me that this new releasing is simply a repacking project. This means that Timeless Media Group has NOT remastered the episodes from 35mm film, nor has the video quality has been improved at all, and the episodes have NOT been restored but remain poorly edited and incomplete. As a result, I highly recommend that anyone who already has these sets to refrain from purchasing this boxed set. For anyone who does not have the earlier versions, it's a VERY worthwhile series to own, but be warned, and do expect high-quality DVDs. (FYI: That is the only reason I'm giving this release two stars, because it allows fans to buy the series in one DVD set.)
Connors (best known for his riveting portrayal of Lucas McCain in "The Rifleman,") gives an equally compelling performance here as Captain Jason McCord, in a series created by Larry Cohen.
McCord, a West Point graduate, is the sole survivor of an Indian battle at Bitter Creek in the 1800s. Court-martialed as a coward who ran, he was forever "branded" with that stigma and thrown out of the Army, his rank insignia ripped off and his Cavalry sabre broken in two in a military ceremony casting him out of the fort. The humiliating scene was replayed as the opening clip of each episode as a moving western ballad "Branded" was sung over the images.
McCord, who is actually a man of deep conviction and principle, pleaded innocent but refused to testify in his own defense. As the series progresses, we learn that he did so to protect the memory of the honorable General Reid whose eventual senility resulted in what actually occured at Bitter Creek, and also to protect a peace treaty with the Indians. McCord believes that if those politicians who did not want peace learned that General Reid, who had negotiated the treaty, was unfit, they would nullify the document and resume the Indian war.
Thus, McCord accepts his cruel label and fate, forced to live a nomadic life moving from survey job to job (a skill he learned in the military) because of the hatred people have for him. As far as the general public is concerned, McCord ran off to save his life, abandoning those under his command to all die at Bitter Creek.
Remarkably, the series is able to explore in a sophisticated manner the true meaning of bravery and right and wrong as McCord seeks to help those in trouble whom he encounters. Everyone who deals with McCord ends up understanding that the coward's label pinned on him is far from correct, and that he is a man of grit, bravery and honor.
In some ways, the themes of this series are similar to those explored in Kung Fu almost a decade later: lessons of morality, spirituality, honesty, bravery and the fundamental meaning of right and wrong and personal responsibility presented through the accessible medium of a western.
This show's unforgettable ballad, music by Dominic Frontiere, lyrics by Alan Alch, entones in part: "All but one man died there at Bitter Creek, and they say he ran away... Not a single charge was true... Branded, marked with a coward's shame, what do you do when you're branded, will you fight to clear your name?"
Forty-eight half-hour episodes were produced, and are all included here in a six-disc boxed set.
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BRANDED - THE COMPLETE SERIES - OVER 19 HOURS ON 6 DVDS!In Branded, Chuck Connors plays the part of Captain Jason McCord, West Point graduate and decorated Cavalry officer. As the sole survivor of the Battle at Bitter Creek, an Apache Indian massacre, he is judged to have deserted the field of battle and is stripped of his rank. He is branded a coward and a disgraced in the eyes of the world.McCord roams the West in search of redemption and justice, for others and ultimately for himself. His exciting travels take him into the lives of many others searching for the dream of the American West. He moves from one town and job to the next, plying his training as an engineer. He always takes the time to lend a hand, to right a wrong and to stand up to injustice. From time to time, President Ulysses S. Grant recruits him for daring undercover missions, which he courageously undertakes, but his disgrace and shame follow him wherever he goes.Branded first aired in January 1965 and had a very successful two year run. A mark of its success is the number and quality of television stars of the time that appeared in guest roles. They included Alex Cord, Burt Reynolds, Peter Graves, Rod Cameron, Claude Akins, Gene Evans, John Ireland, John Carradine, MacDonald Carey, Cesar Romero, Chad Everett, Marie Windsor, Marilyn Maxwell, Warren Oates, Greg Morris, John Agar, Bruce Dern, Beau Bridges, Lee Van Cleef and many more future stars.Branded is a true Western classic and Chuck Connors as Jason McCord is the epitome of the American spirit; rugged and courageous. He is unafraid to take on any task and through his strength and will, he is able to overcome whatever odds are placed before him.
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