Aspen: The Complete Miniseries

This 1977 mini-series is one of my all-time favorites. I got hooked on it in the early 1980's when it occasionally ran on Denver TV. It ran on Starz cable around 1995. Since then the show disappeared from the airwaves as far as I can tell. Finally it's issued on DVD and I'm glad somebody in the corporate entertainment world made that call to do so. It's a mini-series deserving of wider exposure."Aspen" features a great performance by Sam Elliot as the cowboy-hatted, ambitious, publicity-seeking defense attorney Tom Keating. The central part of the movie is his defense of Lee Bishop, framed for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. The heinous crime and its fallout seems to pull in the entire town of Aspen, including the press, the cops, the legal system, the Mob, an imperial wealthy resort developer, Hollywood stars, and plenty of corruption, family resentments, greed, sex, drugs, personal ambition and skiing to go around. The changing morals of the late 1960's, The Vietnam War, the youth movement, the rise of environmental consciousness and the decreasing respect for older authority also figure in the background. 1960's and 1970's Aspen, Colorado is a perfect setting for this fictional tale, though as the movie points out, Aspen really does exist (along with its continued rep for greed, sex, drugs and great skiing). It's a nice reminiscence to see how the town looked then, compared to now.Part of what makes this movie so good is the supporting cast, including one of my favorite actors -- John Houseman, who later won fame for his performance as the intimidating law Professor Charles Kingsfield in The Paper Chase movie and TV series. In "Aspen", Houseman plays Joseph Drummond, a past-his-prime law firm partner and Keating's boss. Also, there is Tony Franciosa as a mob-connected businessman.Part I of the mini-series sets the background for this complex story, and it's kind of, well, sleazy TV. But please get past that, because parts II and III shape up as a legal thriller that makes "Aspen" so very entertaining. Elliot's portrayal of Keating is terrific as a defense attorney who wakes up to the gentlemanly corruption around him and finds a way beat it. As you might expect (and without giving away any of the creative twists and turns of the plot) Keating winds up being the only guy who cares about Lee Bishop. The ending is not a total win for everybody. But it's worth 5 hours of watching to get there!The video transfer to DVD is ok quality but not great. Occasional dirt shows up, and I wonder if modern-day computer processing could have improved the color and sharpness somewhat. Audio is mono. The scene selection does not include chapter marking - once you get part the opening title sequences there are no further chapters, so you have to slowly fast forward if you want to revisit a favorite scene.

One of the most inspirational actors of the time Sam Elliot originally inspired my writing career, particularly the "Sheriff Wyler Scott EBook Series" with his movie series Aspen from 1977. I related to this, because at that time I was also getting into Alpine Snow Skiing which is the main industry that Aspen was and remains about to this very day. I felt that Sam Elliott would also make a great no nonsense sheriff too, but that's another story.This story centers around a tough and eager attorney in town who saves a friend's life. Tom Keating is a very human and powerful character and one that Mr. Elliott easily fit into. I don't think they could have cast a more talented, nor perfect acting talent for this role. Of all the Sam Elliott movies I have watched, this was it. The story centers around a young man pursuing a wealthy woman whose father plans to develop Aspen into a resort in the year 1964. But not all goes well as the man soon is framed for a murder he didn't commit. Worse, Tom Keating's boss played by another great actor (John Houseman - Paper Chase) flubs up in court, do to his aging old arrogance, asks the wrong questions, ignores warning signs an astute attorney would have seen, resulting in a murder conviction for this innocent client, because of bad representation. The story really moves from here as Attorney Tom Keating (Elliott) continues for almost a decade gaining a stay of execution for his client. Eventually Tom's friend whose life he saved back-stabs him, but there is a poetic justice at the end.The settings and atmosphere of this period of time that I grew up in the 60's shows a lot of a previous culture long gone, and also a part of the United States that at that time is rare in media formats too. It also touches on how western and remote cowboys changed with the time in Keating's daddy who owns a key piece of property that Franciosa wants as well as the mob from Chicago. So there is definitely a bit of the wild west or modern wild west tossed in. I found the story to be great back in 1977 when ABC TV aired it as their mini series. I have to admit I was glued back then and was this time as well. One disappointment I did experience with the DVD though was that in the lodge scene with the late great Tony Franciosa as a gangster and Elliott. They played the 1964 Motown hit Four Tops song "Baby I Need Your Loving" and in the DVD this was cut out for hippy folk music. There weren't many other issues but I did feel a bit shortchanged that this scene was different than what I remembered as that Four Tops tune was also a part of that era with the late Levi Stubbs and the gang. Other than that, it played as a great movie and it is something you will watch, long as it is, more than once for many, but not all folks. I hope this was informative, and thanks for reading. Now break out the pop corn, kick back for a nice mini series, a few logs in the fireplace and Sam Elliott as a tough mountain outdoorsy type. Who could ask for more :D"Mark Paul" Sebar - American Author and Poet

I had never seen this miniseries so I was very glad to find it on DVD and really enjoyed it. What woman wouldn't love Sam Elliot with his shirt off...... and all the other starts were good too. I have a lot of DVD's that I watch over and over and this will be one of them.

I never had seen the entire series, so bought it for that reason. Sam Elliott is great, as always, and totally makes the show. Some of the plot and the drug/power culture get tiring. And the annoying statement from the brother that the heros of Vietnam were killers of innocents is totally disgusting. Hollywood again pushing it's anti-American propaganda.But the part Sam played was good, of a man standing up for what he should and then doing it. And the convicted playboy learned to stand on his own two feet also and may actually make something out of his life.