Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Ellis Island

  • TV Mini Series
  • 1984
  • 7h
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
302
YOUR RATING
Ellis Island (1984)
Ellis Island
Play trailer1:36
1 Video
6 Photos
DramaHistory

The lives and struggles of some of the countless immigrants who arrived on Ellis Island during the 19th century in search of the American Dream.The lives and struggles of some of the countless immigrants who arrived on Ellis Island during the 19th century in search of the American Dream.The lives and struggles of some of the countless immigrants who arrived on Ellis Island during the 19th century in search of the American Dream.

  • Stars
    • Peter Riegert
    • Gregory Paul Martin
    • Claire Bloom
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    302
    YOUR RATING
    • Stars
      • Peter Riegert
      • Gregory Paul Martin
      • Claire Bloom
    • 4User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 2 wins & 7 nominations total

    Episodes3

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 season1984

    Videos1

    Ellis Island
    Trailer 1:36
    Ellis Island

    Photos5

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast98

    Edit
    Peter Riegert
    Peter Riegert
    • Jacob Rubinstein
    • 1984
    Gregory Paul Martin
    • Marco Santorelli
    • 1984
    Claire Bloom
    Claire Bloom
    • Rebecca Weiler
    • 1984
    Judi Bowker
    Judi Bowker
    • Georgiana 'Georgie' O'Donnell
    • 1984
    Kate Burton
    Kate Burton
    • Vanessa Ogden
    • 1984
    Joan Greenwood
    Joan Greenwood
    • Madame Levitska
    • 1984
    Ann Jillian
    Ann Jillian
    • Nellie Byfield
    • 1984
    Lila Kaye
    Lila Kaye
    • Kathleen O'Donnell
    • 1984
    Stubby Kaye
    Stubby Kaye
    • Abe Shulman
    • 1984
    Alice Krige
    Alice Krige
    • Bridget O'Donnell
    • 1984
    Cherie Lunghi
    Cherie Lunghi
    • Una Marbury
    • 1984
    Melba Moore
    Melba Moore
    • Flora Mitchum
    • 1984
    Milo O'Shea
    Milo O'Shea
    • Casey O'Donnell
    • 1984
    Emma Samms
    Emma Samms
    • Violet Weiler
    • 1984
    Ben Vereen
    Ben Vereen
    • Roscoe Haines
    • 1984
    Faye Dunaway
    Faye Dunaway
    • Maud Charteris
    • 1984
    Richard Burton
    Richard Burton
    • Sen. Phipps Ogden
    • 1984
    Michael Byrne
    Michael Byrne
    • Dr. Carl Travers
    • 1984
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews4

    7.0302
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    8angelofvic

    Pro Tip: Divide this up into three or four parts when watching it.

    This six-hour long miniseries is currently viewable on YouTube, where it has been uploaded in two segments. If you want it to be an enjoyable watch, please for heaven's sake divide it into at least three or four viewings.

    It's quite enjoyable taken in three or four doses of approximately equal length. Otherwise, it's too sprawling, with too many plotlines and characters, and starts to pall and seem a tad soapy or wearying.

    But in three or four parts it's quite enjoyable, and one can savor the fine cast, the plot elements, and the historical changes as well. The cast includes a wonderful array of talented folks, both big and medium names. And the unknown Gregory Paul Martin, as one of the leads, is a handsome and talented revelation as a working-class Italian immigrant trying to make good.

    Peter Riegert is wonderfully watchable and a delightful performer as an Irving-Berlin style Jewish composer. Faye Dunaway is beautiful, appealing, and believable as a suave actress, and rightfully won a Golden Globe for her performance. Richard Burton AND his daughter have prominent roles, and this miniseries was his final work on screen.

    All in all, given the large and fine cast and the entertainment value, I'd say this miniseries is quite watch-worthy, providing you have the discipline to divide it up into three or more segments. If you try to watch more of it than that in one day, because it is so sprawling I don't think you are doing it the justice it deserves.
    10Little_Loie

    A truly great mini-series

    When I saw this mini-series in 1984, I was a high school kid who was absolutely blown away by its sheer magnificence. The cast was phenomenal, and the storyline seemed to be somewhat of a romance story with a lot of history thrown in.

    I hope this mini-series will one day be re-released onto video or DVD. "Ellis Island" taught me a lot about what my ancestors probably went through when they came to this country to start a new life, as just about ALL of our ancestors did.

    If given the opportunity, watch this one. It's worth your time.
    7dinky-4

    Nothing "mini" about this mini-series

    Here, from the Golden Age of the Mini-Series, is one of those big, multi-star affairs which spans decades and which blends a number of sub-plots into a kind of historical panorama. True, it's all a bit superficial and there's more than a touch of soap-opera in the proceedings, but when one says, "They don't make 'em like this anymore," one says it with regret.

    The story-line runs from just after the turn-of-the-century through World War I and it centers on a Jewish immigrant from Russia who becomes a successful Broadway songwriter, a handsome Italian who moves from gigolo to politician, and two young women from Ireland, one of whom becomes blind and one of whom has a dark secret in her past.

    Curious is the case of the actor billed as "Greg Martyn" who plays the Italian immigrant. He's a tall, good-looking man with a lot of presence and he has one of the show's more memorable scenes: he's tied shirtless to a hot radiator by a loan-shark angry that his money hasn't been re-paid. Who can forget that "sizzling" sound made when the Italian's naked, sweaty back is pressed against the scorching metal?

    Yet, despite all this, Greg Martyn's career went absolutely nowhere after "Ellis Island."

    Performances are uniformly good throughout but notwithstanding his prominent billing, Richard Burton has little to do and seems to be running on "auto-pilot."
    10mark.waltz

    Fascinating mini-series with an outstanding cast but too many plotlines!

    During the golden age of the television mini-series (1975-1988), network TV produced dozens of epic dramas covering everything from the plight of slaves in the Civil War to the plight of Jewish prisoners of the Holocaust. "Ellis Island" was promoted as a tribute to all of those brave people who came to the United States from Europe to pursue the American dream between the late 1800's and the start of World War I. The story focuses on two men and two women who come to America to pursue their dreams and find more than they've bargained for. Jake Ruben (Peter Riegert) is a Russian Jew who escaped from his burning village and has arrived in America, hoping to become a popular composer; Marco Santorelli (Greg Martyn, now known as Greg Martin), an Italian immigrant and former gardner to famous actress Maude Charteris (Faye Dunaway), has arrived in New York, hoping to become educated and move up in the business world. Feisty Bridgette O'Donnell (Alice Krige) and her more innocent sister Georgie O'Donnell (Judi Bowker) come to America to escape the law after Bridgette helps Irish rebels in a kidnapping scheme. Circumstances bring them together on the ship to America where Marco falls for Georgie but circumstances beyond his control prevent him from pursuing her.

    Over the course of about six hours, we are introduced to other characters who cross their paths: Bridgette and Georgie's aunt and uncle (Milo O'Shea and Lila Kaye); Senator Phipps Ogden (Richard Burton in one of his final roles), the man who marries Maude Charteris and leads Marco into a political career by marrying him off to his rebellious plain jane daughter, Vanessa (Kate Burton, his real-life daughter); Ragtime piano player Roscoe Haines (Ben Vereen) and music agent Abe Shulman (Stubby Kaye) who assist Jake in pursuing his dream of becoming a Broadway composer; and finally, musical comedy star Nellie Byfeild (Ann Jillian) who marries Jake to further her own career. There are others who come into the storyline later on (such as Emma Sams as a dance teacher, Claire Bloom as her mother, Cherie Lunghi as a Bohemian artist, Melba Moore as a Cotton Club type performer), but these are the main characters who handle the majority of the plot. Then, there are also some surprise appearances as well. Liam Neeson, way before he became famous, plays an Irishman who knows about Bridgette's past, and even more briefly, Natasha Richardson as a prostitute.

    While the first half of the mini-series focuses on the struggles of the immigrant's first years in America, the second half quickly moves into the area of where their successes take them. We only see briefly the squalour these immigrants lived in, and before you can say "Upper East Side", they have moved not only up past middle class, but into the lap of luxary. There are glimpses of some of the real-life celebrities of the time (brief appearances by actors portraying Al Jolson and Florenz Ziegfeld, plus one funny bit involving an up and coming real-life Broadway composer), and there are also some nice little musical numbers sung by Melba Moore and Ann Jillian. (Her "Ziegfeld Follies" production number seems small compared to what the real "Follies" really were like, and her spoof of the bad Florence Nightingale musical brings on groans, not chuckles; Moore fares better with her "Raggedy Ragtime Man" number, although Jillian is outstanding in her dramatic scenes, a performance which won her an Emmy Nomination.)

    More fascinating is the Marco Santorelli storyline; Faye Dunaway, who won a Golden Globe for her performance, proves that she can do more than just be melodramatic; She plays all sides of the spectrum of this character. We get to see her love, her lust, her greed, her hunger, and her own ambition. She obviously decided to underplay the part to take away some of the bad press she had with "Mommie Dearest" and such clinkers as "Supergirl" and "A Wicked Lady". This should have taken her career into better parts, but it would be a decade before her career would begin to recover. Richard Burton is perfectly matched with Dunaway; They are a class act. Kate Burton, now a respected Broadway veteran, brings a complexity to the troubled Vanessa who goes from plain jane artist to shy politician's wife to reformed alcoholic, and ends up in a scandal of her own that could destroy Marco's career. The scenes involving Burton and British actress Cherie Lunghi are a fascinating look at a part of early 20th Century New York that has not been dealt with. Lunghi may be more familiar to audiences with her brief bits in films such as "The Mission" and "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein", but will definately always be remembered for her showy performance in this and as Guenevere in "Excalibur".

    Judi Bowker and Alice Krige are perfectly cast as sisters. They are as different as night and day, but seem like they could be related. As their aunt and uncle, Milo O'Shea and Lilla Kaye offer excellent performances; O'Shea plays a character obviously influenced by real-life New York crook Boss Tweed from 50 years earlier, while Kaye reminds me of the lovable 30's film star, Marie Dressler. It is too bad she wasn't featured more, but there was already too much going on and too many storylines to follow. Also wasted were Ben Vereen and Melba Moore, fine with what material they have, but placed so far in the background, they are almost impossible to remember when they do show back up. Emma Sams and Claire Bloom also seem out of place here, as does 1950's British film star Joan Greenwood as an aging dance instructor. Riegert's character goes through far too many changes in a period of a decade to be believable; He does the best he can with it, but it would have been more realistic to see more of Jake and Marco's struggles rather than their quick rise to success.

    When "Ellis Island" focuses on political drama and the struggles of the immigrants, it succeeds very highly; When it lapses into soap opera (Jake's affair with Sams' Violet; Bridgette's past catching up with her), it lags. There were simply too many ingredients to make it totally come together. All of the production design is outstanding; The period costumes and sets make the viewer feel they are in pre-war New York. Some of the musical numbers seem a bit silly to represent the hits of the era, but do manage to capture the innocence of the times.

    If one can overlook the shortcomings I mention above and take it as just one aspect of the immigrant lifestyle of that time, it can be an interestingly nostalgic look back at something many of our grandparents might have experienced. It also reminds us of how much has changed in such a short time in history. Films like "Gangs of New York" and stage musicals like "Ragtime" delve into different aspects of their lives.

    More like this

    Wagner
    7.4
    Wagner
    7.9
    Ellis Island
    The Gathering Storm
    7.4
    The Gathering Storm
    Equus
    7.1
    Equus
    Lovespell
    5.2
    Lovespell
    Hamlet
    7.6
    Hamlet
    Brief Encounter
    5.4
    Brief Encounter
    Sea Wife
    5.8
    Sea Wife
    Breakthrough
    5.0
    Breakthrough
    The Klansman
    5.3
    The Klansman
    Absolution
    6.5
    Absolution
    Obsession
    5.7
    Obsession

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was Richard Burton's final performance. It was filmed after 1984 (1984), his final theatrical film. He only agreed to play a supporting role in this television series because his daughter, Kate Burton, was in the cast. Debilitated by years of alcohol abuse, his difficulty remembering his lines required masterful editing to manipulate a successful performance from him.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1985)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ18

    • How many seasons does Ellis Island have?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 11, 1984 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Strasse der Freiheit
    • Filming locations
      • Billingsgate, Trafalgar Way, Isle of Dogs, London, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Telepictures Productions
      • Vista Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      7 hours
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Ellis Island (1984)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Ellis Island (1984) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit pageAdd episode

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.