The Thorn Birds [DVD]

I watched this film when it was serialised on television years ago and it still pulls at my heartstrings. This saga endures and will endure for many years. A film about true love that can overcome a lifetime separation and remain constant.

I first watched The Thorn Birds as a young teenager and was awestruck - by the story, by the acting and most of all by the on screen partnership between the beautiful Rachel Ward and Richard Chamberlain. I watched the DVD in a week and was struck by how much I had forgotten, and of how much this series has stood the test of time. Even in the early 80s the story of a young girl falling in love with a priest, or the love story of Meggie and Ralph, was still considered quite scandalous. However, this is so much more than a love story, but a tale of family and friendship, of breaking the rules by being human, and most of all of forgiveness and acceptance. All of the cast put in stellar performances, with Jean Simmons and Barbara Stanwyck lighting up the screens with Hollywood magic, but it is the connection between Ward and Chmaberlain that fills the screen. I enjoyed this series from beginning to end and shall miss Drogheda now it is over. One things for sure - I won't leave it another 25 years before watching it again!

This product was very good.I was a bit worried when I saw the cover as all the writing was in Polish,but when I played it it was in English.

I Loved This I Watched It Back In the 1980s When it First Came Out Brilliantly Acted A Heartbreaking Tale Of Love And Power x

I had seen this when it first came out years ago but I enjoyedit just as much seeing it again. As I am going to Australia thisyear and driving in and visiting this area it deepened myexcitement at the prospect once again.

Poignant beautiful drama 5 stars

This is quite a marathon! I watched it over four evenings. I was impressed by how closely the film stuck to the book. Two things I found strange. In the book Frank is eventually released from prison and comes home, whereas in the film it is implied he dies in prison. In the book, Cardinal Ralph pre-decreases Cardinal Vittorio, whereas in the film it is the other way round. The love between Ralph and Meggie is magnificently portrayed, but so is the obvious love, with sexual overtones, between Vittorio and Ralph. I thought Mary Carson was very well portrayed - just as I had imagined her in the book.

Nice memories of watching this series again after seeing it when first on the TV in the UK in the 1980s. What I don't understand, hence the 2-star rating, is how editors of these DVDs think they have the right to cut out chunks of the original - disappointing.