Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck considered East of Eden his quintessential novel. At more than six hours, this sumptuous 1981 production brings Steinbeck's bestseller to the screen more fully and faithfully than any other adaptation.

 

Sweeping from Connecticut to California and from the Civil War to World War I, it follows three generations of the tumultuous Trask family: patriarch Cyrus (Warren Oates); his feuding sons, Adam and Charles (Timothy Bottoms, Bruce Boxleitner) and quarrelsome grandsons, Aron and Cal (Hart Bochner, Sam Bottoms). Through these mens lives slithers Cathy (Jane Seymour) a she-serpent who holds their love and enmity. With a cast that includes Lloyd Bridges, Howard Duff, Anne Baxter and Karen Allen, this saga explores the nature of good and evil, the origin of sin, and the hope of reconciliation.

 

In its ambitious themes, pervasive Biblical allusions and abiding reverence for the land, East of Eden stands as a timeless American Epic. Winner of an Emmy for best art direction and Golden Globes for best miniseries and best actress.