paulaucla97 Oh, it's so romantic. Like another girl wrote, the moment when young Meggie comes down the stairs and Father Ralph sees her finally as a woman and not a child, is so extremely breathtaking. You know that they are in love even if it's a sin for the priest to be with a woman. I feel for Meggie because she is so torn between obligation to her family (who are pretty cruel) and her love for Father Ralph, who is truly a man of God. This movie follows the book pretty closely and relates to the deepest emotions of us as human beings who crave love and intimacy, but sometimes with the people who can't love us back because they don't know how to express love or they feel like they are disobeying God if they love a person more than a friend. Not to give away too much, but Father Ralph is a hero in my book. I really like that they chose Rachel Ward for this part because she is beautiful and Australian, which is good because the book is set there and they did good to choose a local actress. Father Ralph is so handsome and of course, what woman would not want a Godly man even though sadly, he is a priest. I think he does try to quit the priesthood at some point, but I forgot how that part went. I should definitely watch it again.

CinefanR Never been a fan of love stories, but this one I enjoyed a lot, on repeated viewings. The story is dripping with passion and repressed desires, Oedipal complexes, love, hate, anger, guilt, sacrifice… And of course, there's the eternal struggle between body and spirit, the search for truth and meaning, and its disastrous personal consequences. The series is well written, and the acting is very good, especially from the supporting cast. Unfortunately, Rachel Ward is obviously the weak link. In fact, one of her very first lines, a simple exclamation like "Oh, no!" sounds unbelievably false. In addition, she seems to have a speech impediment, a lisp, which is very grating. She sounds like Daffy Duck. Casting Ward for this role was one gigantic, inexcusable mistake.Nevertheless, the story is poignant, endlessly entertaining and "feels" real on many levels, no matter how outrageous it gets. The movie resorts to shameless manipulations, but it's the subtleties of fine acting and clever direction that elevate the melodrama and make it compelling. Art direction and editing are splendid! The story's twists and turns are plausible, and the characters' reactions are always reasonable - they remain believable to the very last minute, even if sometimes the dialogue gets overly dramatic (as in "exquisitely over- the-top"). Strong character development is one of the film's great achievements. Christopher Plummer is simply unforgettable in a key supporting role, as well as Jean Simmons and Barbara Stanwyck, who often steal the show from Chamberlain himself. The chemistry between all actors is palpable, and it's a rare delight to see all those energies cross-fire. Take for instance Ralph and Mary or Frank and his mother- their encounters are sizzling! "Star Trek" fans will be delighted to discover John "Q" De Lancie in a cameo.I was also very surprised to see that the "aging make-up" was excellent, in fact much better that what we see in movies today. The best part of "The Thorn Birds" is arguably the first episode, which includes, among other highlights, the legendary party scene. The last episode was a bit "overdone" in my opinion, more specifically the last 4 scenes or so contain too much unnecessary, explanatory dialogue, that undermines the power of those scenes. Less words would have been preferable. "The Thorn Birds" never gets old, it's a classic for a reason. Die-hard romantics will cherish it, while cynics will enjoy it too for its heavy theatrics and great old-school entertainment value. It's a spectacular three-hankie like no other.A WARNING for those who watch the DVD: there's a completely unnecessary "preview" at the beginning of each episode, where they show the outline of the entire film. It contains many spoilers and will ruin the whole experience for you. Movie trailers were lame back then, but these ones are galactically stupid. So make sure to skip that extra-footage!

jamezynj My wife wanted to see this so I rented it on DVD & we saw it last night.There was one thing that bothered me during the movie...When Meggie went to and from Matlock Island, she had to be shuttled by boat. When Ralph showed up on the same island, he was dropped off by car. Why didn't he need a boat as well? I believe this deserves a filming oops! Perhaps as a holy man, he could drive on water??BTW, I also thought that Father Ralph and the other priest had a great chemistry together! Itis too bad the movie wasn't about a homosexual relationship within the church, cause those two appeared to be way into the man-on-man kissing scenes.

bryan71086 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 ?