2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

brendarobinsonyates-1 So nice to hear of others who truly appreciate this story... so well written by Stuart Woods. A very good social-history/crime/drama very cleverly woven. I believe this was the best mini-series ever. Great casting and acting!!! I wish more people had seen this story! The thread about casting an updated remake is very interesting. Perhaps we'll see that one day! I'm starting to read some other Woods books. Very good continuity of the characters and themes. I'm a big fan! So nice to hear of others who truly appreciate this story... so well written by Stuart Woods. A very good social-history/crime/drama very cleverly woven. I believe this was the best mini-series ever. Great casting and acting!!! I wish more people had seen this story! The thread about casting an updated remake is very interesting. Perhaps we'll see that one day! I'm starting to read some other Woods books. Very good continuity of the characters and themes. I'm a big fan!

Arthur Vasey In the late 70s and early 80s, there was a craze for miniseries - not full soap operas like Dallas and Dysentery, but not short shows like The Twilight Zone, originally shown by ITV under the banner of Best Sellers.One such miniseries was called Once Upon A Murder.What does this have to do with Chiefs, I hear you ask? That's what the series was called when it first went out on ITV in the early 80s.In about 1988, Channel Quatorze acquired what they said was a new series from America entitled Chiefs.The programme recycled both the plot, characters and even the actors from ITV's miniseries Once Upon A Murder.I believe that, later, some ITV regions rebroadcast it again under the name Chiefs: Once Upon A Murder.

gup74 I list this movie the all time greatest. For illustration of close system politics and how wrong and what evils this system can unknowingly defend on its principles of hard nosed justification. Its more than a story of human drama its a lesson that opens the mind. Thats how powerful this lesson is and Americans have a fundamental right to know the true and a duty to right the wrongs. Evil cannot last it will always be discovered and dismantled. It cannot be hidden in a document its content will speak boldly beyond reason. We can thank the directors and producers along with the actors. For this movie it is a beacon of light. I wonder why it was a mini-series but i'am glad it was.

Charles Eagle SPOILER ALERT!!! Three generations of police chiefs struggle with changing times, racial issues, and a vicious serial killer in the southern town of Delano, spanning 40 years. The growing community's first official chief, a failed farmer played by Wayne Rogers, is hired by town patriarch Charlton Heston (narrating the tale and chewing the scenery a bit) in the 1920s much to the chagrin of veteran redneck county sheriff Paul Sorvino, who along with Heston's character has a role in each of the pivotal lawmen's lives. Sorvino predicts that Rogers is not tough enough for the job, and sure enough the first Chief is killed in a tragic shooting just as he is about to reveal the identity of the local oddball who is secretly a sexual murderer of hitchiking boys. The Chief's grown son (Stephen Collins) finds recognition as a WWII hero and returns to take a place in the town's political leadership, while sneering tough guy Sonny Butts (a terrific Brad Davis) comes home as well, joins the police force, and quickly makes a name for himself as the racist terror of Delano. After murdering an innocent black man (Danny Glover) Butts finds himself under investigation for that crime, attempted rape, and other offenses and sees a way out when he discovers the old chief's serial killer evidence. But before he can reveal what he knows and save his job and his skin, the killer takes him by surprise and he joins the lengthy list of missing victims, along with his fancy police motorcycle. 20 years later Stephen Collins is now a Senator who pulls strings to have Delano get its first black police chief (ass-kicking Billy Dee Williams),a war veteran who whips his good ole boy lawmen into shape. Amid skirmishes with unenlightened local yokels, bigoted cops from neighboring communities, and the Klan, the Senator is unaware that he and the black cop share a tragic-sweet childhood bond as he runs interference for the Chief's attempts to bring the aging serial murderer to justice. Great television miniseries as these things go. Very effective building of suspense, full of characters you love and hate. Acting heavyweights above as well as Keith Carradine, Tess Harper, Victoria Tennant, and John Goodman. Look for the little boy from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as the son played later by Collins. Certainly no "Roots" but a must-have on my video shelf along with "Lonesome Dove", "Rich Man Poor Man" and "The Stand."