Product description

The Thorn Birds: Series 1

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Average customer rating: 4.5

Binding : DVD
EAN : 7321900316248
Label : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Release date : 2004-11-01
Title : The Thorn Birds: Series 1
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Suitable for 12 years and over
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 2
Region code : 2
Running time : 464
Studio : Warner Home Video
Brand : DVD

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The second most-watched mini-series (after Roots) of all time, The Thorn Birds was originally broadcast in 1983 and captivated viewers with its story of a lifelong conflict between the spirit and the flesh. Adapted from the bestselling novel by Colleen McCullough, the production stars Richard Chamberlain as a Catholic priest named Ralph de Bricassart, whose life in Australia between 1920 and 1962 is one long torment as he pines for his lover, Meggie Carson (Rachel Ward), while seeking advancement in his clergyman career. The passion and the guilt make for compelling drama, but a stellar cast of supporting players adds muscle to the proceedings: Barbara Stanwyck (who won an Emmy for her work as Meggie's tough grandmother), Jean Simmons, Richard Kiley, Christopher Plummer, Bryan Brown, and Mare Winningham. Chamberlain, who was something of the king of the miniseries form at the time, is very good in the lead, as is the often-underrated Ward. Their affair is indeed irresistible to watch, which proves to be true, too, of the story's thick weave of church politics, forbidden desire, social change over decades, and family secrets. --Tom Keogh

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-09-01 rating:

Important notice to all buyers WATCH THIS SPACE
I bought the thorn birds series 1 dvds as a gift, and was about to send them back as she said they where not complete when I realized they are double sided dvd's. So she is going to check them out.It would have been nice of Warner Bro to have put a note on the case, perhaps the ink cost to much any way watch this space because if its wrong Ill be back to tell you. ps app it's quite racey!!! prob why my x watched it when I was at work...

review by: CreweRed date: 2008-07-30 rating:

A mini series masterpiece!
HI THERE, MARK'S WIFE HERE. MY VERY FIRST MEMORY OF THE THORN BIRDS WAS AT THE TENDER AGE OF TEN, WHEN IT WAS SHOWN ON TV FOR THE FIRST TIME. I CAN ALWAYS REMEMBER MY MOM CRYING HER EYES OUT, AND NEITHER ME OR MY BROTHERS AND SISTER WERE ALLOWED TO TALK TO HER WHILST SHE WAS WATCHING IT!! SHE WAS SO ENGROSSED IN IT, BUT ALTHOUGH I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHAT ALL THE FUSS WAS ABOUT, I DO REMEMBER THINKING HOW HANDSOME AND KIND THE PRIEST WAS, ESPECIALLY TO THE LITTLE GIRL. YEARS LATER, I BORROWED MY MOM'S BOX SET...AND FROM THEN ON, I WAS COMPLETELY SMITTEN! MY HUSBAND LATER BOUGHT ME THE DVD BOX SET FOR CHRISTMAS, A FABULOUS SET, WITH PLENTY OF GREAT EXTRAS.
SET ON DROGHEDA, THE LARGEST SHEEP FARM IN THE ENDLESS AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, AND SPANNING OVER MANY DECADES, RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN PLAYS FATHER RALPH DE BRICASSART, A YOUNG, HANDSOME, AMBITIOUS PRIEST WHOSE LIFE CHANGES FOREVER THE MINUTE HE SETS EYES ON MEGGIE CLEARY, A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL PLAYED SUPERBLY BY SYDNEY PENNY. FOR MANY REASONS, HE IS DRAWN TO HER, MOSTLY AS SHE IS THE ONLY DAUGHTER OF A COMPLEX FAMILY FULL OF SONS. OFTEN LEFT OUT AND ALONE, HE HELPS HER SETTLE INTO LIFE ON DROGHEDA, ARRANGES FOR HER TO ATTEND SCHOOL, TEACHES HER TO RIDE A HORSE AND, IN A PARTICULARLY POIGNANT SCENE, TEACHES HER ABOUT THE BIRDS AND THE BEES.
AS TIME GOES ON, SHE GROWS INTO A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN (LATER PLAYED BY RACHEL WARD), AND RALPH'S LIFE IS INCREASINGLY TORN BETWEEN HIS LOVE FOR MEGGIE AND HIS SACRED VOWS TO THE CHURCH. THE STORY IS VERY MUCH A "WILL THEY? WON'T THEY?" STORY, AND IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL FROM START TO FINISH.
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SCENES HAS TO BE WHEN TWELVE YEAR OLD MEGGIE RETREATS TO THE WOOL SHED, THINKING SHE IS DYING, WHEN IN FACT SHE IS MENSTRUATING FOR THE FIRST TIME! THE WAY FATHER RALPH DEALS WITH THIS DELICATE SITUATION IS SO TOUCHING, SO TENDER TO WATCH, PLAYED SO BRILLIANTLY BY RICHARD CHAMDERLAIN. ANOTHER SCENE THAT STAYS IN MY MIND IS MANY YEARS LATER, AFTER THE HUGE FIRE ON DROGHEDA,WHERE FATHER RALPH FINDS A DEVASTATED MEGGIE IN THE WOOL SHED. AFTER HE HAS COMFORTED HER, HE KISSES HER EYELIDS SOOO SOFTLY, SO TENDERLY, AS THOUGH TRYING TO KISS BETTER THE PAIN THAT RESTS IN HER EYES (HARK AT ME!). SHE THEN OPENS HIS SHIRT WHEN HE WINCES AT HER TOUCH, TO FIND A BRUISE ON HIS RIBCAGE, WHICH SHE BEGINS TO KISS BETTER. YOU CAN FEEL THE SHEER URGENCY OF HIS RESPONSE AS HE KISSES HER PASSIONATELY, BROUGHT ON BY YEARS OF HAVING TO CRUSH ALL OF HIS DESIRES FOR HER.
I COULD GO ON FOREVER ABOUT RALPH AND MEGGIE, BUT, WELL WORTHY OF A MENTION IS THE FABULOUS JOHN FREDRIECH, WHO PLAYS FRANK CLEARY SO ACCURATLY, AND WITH SUCH PASSION. ALSO BARBRA STANWICK, WHO IS THE POISONOUS MARY CARSON, DEVOTING HER LIFE TO RUINING FATHER RALPH.
ALL OF THIS, TOGETHER WITH AN ABSOLUTELY STUNNING SOUNDTRACK BY THE LATE HENRY MANCINI, MAKES THE THORN BIRDS AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE!

review by: date: 2008-07-26 rating:

Both discs the same - again
I recently ordered this set for my girlfriend whilst away abroad - little bit of nostalgia for the weekend. As usual it arrived promptly but she seems to have received the same thing as the previous reviewer - 2 DVD's, both EXACTLY the same - she has Episodes 1 & 2, twice. Naturally she and I are a bit miffed. She is just about to start the returns process - and will be VERY annoyed if, like Damien, receives the same thing again. This needs sorting out Amazon.

review by: date: 2008-03-09 rating:

confused
I was delighted to receive my dvd in quick time as amazon always does, but the two dvds in the box were the very same, they showed episodes one and two. i was very dissapointed so i contacted amazon and they sent me out a new box set but unfortunatley they were the same. The last bit i seen was when meggie said "im gonna marry luke o neil" that was it. has anyone had the same problem???????

review by: hw date: 2008-02-27 rating:

Exceptional mini-series
Compulsive viewing. Grabs you from the very first moment. Chamberlain was in his heyday and the whole cast are splendid. Chamberlain plays the tormented yet ruthlessly ambitious priest extremely well. Of his series that I've seen, I'd rate this third - with Shogun first and the old b/w BBC TV Portrait of a Lady second. I only rate this one after the other because they are of such exceptional quality just as this is. For sheer enjoyment, I'm tempted to put this first but the Henry James story is a great favourite of mine and Chamberlain, unrated on the whole before as an actor, showed what he could do as Ralph - yes, another Ralph!

The thing I remember most about this series from commentaries at the time was that they filmed a whole sheep station, ie an enormous Australian location if in real life, in a tiny area with the same one flock of sheep (reportedly) wandering about. You don't notice unless you know, I think. How much this is true I can't say.

Apart from actors and story I particularly enjoyed the scenes set in North East Australia amongst the sugar cane.

Don't forget there's also a one-off TV episode that fits in during the long period when according to the original series Ralph and Maggie do not meet for a very long time. I wonder if that was made due to popular demand? Unfortunately they had to cast Maggie by someone else and Chamberlain was perhaps past his "youthful" best and more of an older character actor, but he's still so lithe and handsome that it doesn't notice much, and the story's a nice little insert. It's called The Thorn Birds The Missing Years.

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