Public Servant Lifestyle

While Hollywood star Kevin Costner was filming his 1999 feature Dances With Wolves, he became genuinely fascinated by the history and culture of the Native American peoples.

The outcome of that fascination is 500 Nations, a superb television documentary series produced and hosted by Kevin Costner which tells as never before the true story of the Native Americans and their epic clashes with those who sought to take their lands and destroy their cultures.

Never seen on British TV, 500 Nations is now to be released as a 3-disc DVD set featuring all eight episodes by DD Home Entertainment.

Frontier

500 Nations covers the history of the Native American peoples from Pre-Columbian times through to the last days of the Frontier, and from the peoples of Mexico right up through America to the Canadian Wilderness..

Here are the stories of proud nations like the Powhatans, the Cherokee, the Kiowa, Sioux, Cheyenne and the Apache and their great leaders, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Pontiac, Geronimo, Cochise, Tsali and Tecumseh. Here too are vivid accounts of five Centuries of betrayal and wars of survival fought with the ever- encroaching Europeans, including the Battle of the Little Big Horn and the shattering tragedy of Wounded Knee.

Filmed on location from the jungles of Central America to the Canadian Arctic, 500 Nations is also the story of the mysterious vanished Anasazi people and the Mayans and Aztec civilisations - each laid low by the conquistadors in turn.

Patrick Stewart

A cast of star voices - including Gary Farmer, Star Trek: TNG's Captain Picard: Patrick Stewart, Gregory Harrison, Tom Jackson, Gordon Tootoosis, Castulo Guerra and 'hosted by' Kevin Costner - and state-of-the-art computer recreations bring this rich, untold history to vivid, moving life as never before.

Special features include a new series introduction and closing remarks by Kevin Costner, a computer generated insight feature with director Jack Leustig and a 24-page fully illustrated booklet.

Kevin Costner's 500 Nations will be available in all good DVD retailers from Monday 12 February, priced £29.99, or direct from DD Home Entertainment, Unit 1, Pool Bank Business Park, High Street, Tarvin, Chester CH3 8JH; please add £3.75 towards postage and packing. Credit card customers can also order copies by ringing the 24 hour DD hotline on 01829 741490 or by visiting www.ddhe.co.uk.

More information available in DVD / Home Video, North America