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.
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.