HotToastyRag In my house, The Thornbirds is a go-to classic. I don't know if it is in yours, but if it isn't, rent it during a long weekend and it soon will be.This sprawling epic takes place in Australia, focusing on one family's generational journey, the Clearys. Headed by Richard Kiley and Jean Simmons, the Clearys struggle with their sons and daughter as they run the family ranch with Barbara Stanwyck. As a little girl, the daughter Meggie develops a crush on Father Ralph, who is kind to her and her family. While the main storyline of the epic miniseries is the relationship between Father Ralph and Meggie when she grows up, there's so much more to this wonderful drama than a forbidden romance. Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward play the starcrossed lovers, and after watching The Thorn Birds, it'll be hard to see either of them in anything else. They are Meggie and Father Ralph.This was an enormously successful miniseries, and for good reason. With a huge cast, including Bryan Brown, Piper Laurie, Christopher Plummer, Ken Howard, Mare Winningham, and Earl Holliman, a memorable theme, and a story full of romance, heartbreaking family relationships, religious conflicts, and the drama of finding and forgiving yourself, it's no wonder it won four Golden Globes (with four additional nominations) and six Emmys (with ten additional nominations). I could praise each actor's individual performance, but this review would turn into an essay. But if you're a Jean Simmons fan, she gives the best performance of her career in this miniseries. And if you loved Barbara Stanwyck in her youth, you'll be very touched to see her still feisty at 76 years old, reaching out to the audience and reminding them that there's still a young woman inside of her. Christopher Plummer makes for a very believable Archbishop, and Bryan Brown was so charming, he married his costar Rachel Ward! The Thorn Birds gets its title from the legend of the particular bird. The birds pursue a beautiful rose, knowing there is a deadly thorn attached. They love the rose so much, they can't stand to be apart from it, and they end up impaled upon the thorn. Every character in this decades-long miniseries has a compelling love, one that isn't healthy and practically kills them just by loving it. The love can be a partner, a child, or even God. I won't spoil the plot, but it's a very emotional, tragic story. You'll fall in love, and you'll shake with sobs. If you don't go through an entire box of Kleenex, you need to take some time to find your heart. Then watch it again.

chasrhodes2000 How did Rachel Ward have a career after this? She is plain awful. Especially amidst the company of so many outstanding performers and performances. Watching her try to be dramatic almost makes me laugh! Very dab casting. Think of the great ladies. Barbara Stanwyck,Piper Laurie, Jean Simmons. She reminds me often a deer in headlights. The men overwhelm her too. But I do love this series. First time I have seen it.I would surmise that these great old mini-series have been replaced by shows on HBO, Showtime, and the like. Perhaps too expensive for regular broadcast TV. Mores the pity. But by and large this was a truly great television experience.

taitertot I have seen this series at least 3 or 4 times. Each time I discover something different about it. This last time I watched the entire series over a weekend. I felt the same emotions except they are much stronger as I have gotten older. The one thing I have a hard time with is why did Father Ralph not suspect that Dane was his? Maybe the book explains it better, but he could not have been that dense. Nevertheless, he was brilliant as Ralph, and Rachel Ward was brilliant as Meggie as well. On the DVD, there is a special section that has some of the characters interviewed. Richard Chamberlain is precious. You can feel how passionate he was and still is about this series. In a couple of places, he got choked up talking about Dane's ordination and the story about the Thornbird. He said they almost cast Jane Seymour for the role of Meggie, but she did not come across as so vulnerable as Rachel did. Rachel Ward seemed not as passionate about the piece as Richard, but she felt "fondly" of it. She said she did meet her husband (Bryan Brown), so it was definitely a turning point in her life. I'm sure this will be the most watched movie by myself in my life.

Mrs-Misfit 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.