recommended

Expected more

Absolutely brilliant

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.

Oh, this is one huge mini-series. But it was one huge novel, too. I first read Colleen McCullogh's novel when I was 13 or so, and loved it. So romantic and they lived on a sheep station in NSW, Australia...as I live on a farm in NSW I connected with it. I still like the novel a lot, of course it's melodrama but it's very well told melodrama and packs a real punch. Oh, yeah and the crux of the story is a young girl, Meggie, and a handsome, ambitious Catholic priest, Ralph de Bricassart, falling passionately in love. But he loves God more. I've always loved the story, with Ralph's ambition and his actual love of the Catholic church, and his position within, robbing him of the one thing that could make him truly divine. And Meggie, much like Rhett Butler, eternally waits and hopes. It's actually considered the Australian GWTW.If you've read the novel, the mini-series changes A LOT of the story around, but I didn't mind so much. The main stuff is there. As it was made for American TV, American actors and some Irish/British were cast, with the one Aussie sticking out a mile (Bryan Brown, whom I like a lot from Aussie TV and films). Rachel Ward is a bit "green" as Meggie (she overdoes many of the early emotional scenes), but she's absolutely gorgeous, vulnerable in the early scenes, and memorably hardened in the later. Richard Chamberlain was phenomenal as Ralph de Bricassart. He was everything I pictured the character to be, and really understood the character. Classics fans will love seeing Jean Simmons and Barbara Stanwyck square off as Fee Clearly and Mary Carson, respectively. It was shot in America, so the great Aussie plains (it's set near the fictional Gillanbone in northern NSW, which I have always thought is a substitute for Bourke or Walgett)are "faked", but I can forgive it. Even though the sheep are all wrong (the Cleary's had Merinos, not bloody Suffolks and some things that look Dorpers! I am from a sheep farm so I take special notice), and the fire mysteriously burns everything green. But they got the shearing method right, so that's okay. I laughed, I cried, it was great viewing8/10

One of the best TV mini series ever made.Father Ralph(Richard Chamberlin)arrives in Australia and becomes the local priest in a small town.He meets the wealthy Mary Carson(Barbara Stanwyck)who falls in love with him,when he does not return her feelings she spends the rest of her life trying to destroy him(she only succeeds from beyond the grave).Ralph falls in love with Meggie Cleary(Rachel Ward)who he has known since she was a child.The series follows their relationship throughout the years and shows Meggie's pain as she loses Ralph to the church. As Meggie tries to cope with her situation Ralph becomes the assistant to a Cardinal called Vittorio(Christopher Plummer)who becomes a father figure to Ralph and makes it his mission to try and find out why Ralph is so unhappy despite his hard work and dedication to the church. Featuring a star studded cast including Jean Simmons and Christopher Plummer with some beautiful locations this is a well made series made with a great deal of care and effort this is well worth watching.Well worth buying on DVD.

Did anyone else think that the scene where Ralph is on the porch, naked, and Mary comes out and starts rubbing her wrinkly hands all over his chest, and telling him how beautiful he is, a little bit disturbing? I kind of felt sorry that Richard Chamberlain had to go through that. I mean I know that Mary had the hots for Ralph and she took advantage of him while she could, but I saw this about a year ago and I was weirded out by that whole scene, and was not even sure what that particular scene was supposed to be all about. Another thing, how old was Ralph supposed to be at the beginning of the miniseries, because according to IMDb, the whole story takes place over 60 years ?

I believe the Thorn Birds to be the absolute best romance of all time! It has unrequited love, tragedy, passion, retribution and a love which is haunting and forever. The Australian Outback, Greece, Rome and London are the backdrops of this tragic, passionate, fantastic film.Rachel Ward and Richard Chamberlain deliver the best performances of their careers as lovestruck, tragic Meggie Clearly and confused, ambitious Father Ralph deBricassart. Other notable actors include Jean Simmons as Fiona Cleary, Meggie's mother, who watches her daughter make so many of the same mistakes she made in her life. Christopher Plummer as Vittorio the Cardinal is a great morality mirror for Ralph. One cannot also forget to mention Barbara Stanwyck as the conniving Mary Carson who sets up so much heartache and tragedy, even from the grave. The moral and lesson of the series is to ask how much of our lives we choose and how much is already decided for us? Will each generation make the same mistakes the previous did? Fiona makes the mistake of never having the man she loves but loving his son more than her other children. Meggie loves a man who is unattainable and makes many of the same mistakes her mother did. It is only up to Justine, Meggie's daughter, to attempt to break the cycle.If you have not seen this, you MUST!! It is on DVD which makes it even better for those scenes you just cannot get enough of! Henry Mancini's soundtrack is the perfect backdrop for the movies most poignant scenes.