Cheap Branded:Complete First Season (DVD) (Chuck Conners) Price

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Customer Reviews of Branded:Complete First Season

SURPRISE,SURPRISE!!
I have waited so long of this series,that i am overwhelmed by Joy.I have seen this series in the late sixties on German Television and it had since then no rerun.But in all this years it has some special memories in my mind.One of the best opening sequences of all time(Conners thrown out of the army etc.),a song and theme which is grand and i never forgot,Conners as big hero often beat by three or four guys,but never quit to get justice done,his horse an beautiful palomino(more a horse for an indian)and his special weapon his broken sabre.I remember some kind of sadness and lonleyness about the performance from Conners because of all the braveness he showed in every episode he must fight against his reputation as a coward.This series lasted only two season and was cancelled while conflicts with Conners and the studio cant be setteld.For me it is one of the finest western shows of all times,much underrated and better than the rifleman.The second season must have 32 Episodes and i hope it will published soon.After Have Gun Will travel this is the second western show with a full season on DVD.Maybe the studios are awakened and begin to realize that the kids who loved all the western shows of their youth are now adults with money in their pockets.Sorry ,before i buy one DVD of Smallville,Friends or Buffy i would buy tons of Gunsmoke,Bronco,Laramie etc.This set is for us who loves an old fashioned hero and a lot of gun and fistfights.I recommend this set highly.Buy it,for 25 Bucks it is an unbelievable great deal and it will give you the goosebumps.Believe me it worked for me!

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Well Worth a Full DVD Release
I disagree with a reviewer who basically criticized this TV western for being dated. To me, it's a fresh and original today as it was when it aired in 1965-1966.

The star, Chuck Connors (best known for his riveting portrayal of Lucas McCain in "The Rifleman,") gives an equally compelling performance here as Captain Jason McCord.

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?"

Sixteen of the 48 half-hour episodes produced are released in this three-disc set. I hope the others are forthcoming.

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BRANDED TO BE HAD!
This is a nice collection. A good western from the sixties starring Chuck Connors. As far as quality goes...it's good, but not as good as some. It's very watchable and very worth the price. Watching it makes you feel more like you're watching an old 50's tv show and not from 1965, that's the reason I give it only four stars. It's 3 disc and has 3 special extras, one on each disc. It's a Marathon Music and Video release by KingWorld. For those of you that love old tv westerns, this DVD set is for you. This is a show that's not seen much anymore and I was surprised to see it out on DVD. It's black and white with some color episodes. The shows all run a little over 22 minutes long, the Four star playhouse runs over 25 minutes and the short bio runs 5 minutes and 50 seconds. I love watching these for they bring back great memories of the sixties. The following is the list of episodes and the special extras. You won't be sorry in buying this set...trust me. I found it on Amazon only. I couldn't find it anywhere else.
FIRST SEASON DVD SET:
disc 1-
#1."Survival"1/24/1965
#2."The vindicator"1/31/1965
#3."The test"2/7/1965
#4."Rules of the game"2/14/1965
#5."The bounty"2/21/1965
extra:
The rifleman: "Day of the hunter" 1/5/1960
disc 2-
#6."Leap upon mountains" 2/28/1965
#7."Coward steps aside" 3/7/1965
#8."The mission" pt. 1 color3/14/1965
#9."The mission" pt. 2 color3/21/1965
#10."The mission" pt. 3 color3/28/1965
extra:
Four Star playhouse: "Vote of confidence" 1955
disc 3-
#11."The first kill"4/4/1965
#12."Very few heroes"4/11/1965
#13."One way out"4/18/1965
#14."That the brave endure"4/25/1965
#15."A taste of poison" 5/2/1965
#16."Price of a name" 5/23/1965
extra:
Chuck Connors' Biography b/w & color