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Ptaki ciernistych krzewów 

The Thorn Birds (original title)
This mini series covers 60 years in the lives of the Cleary family, brought from New Zealand to Australia to run their aunt Mary Carson's ranch. The story centers on their daughter, Meggie,... See full summary »
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1  
1983  
Won 4 Golden Globes. Another 11 wins & 17 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Series cast summary:
...
 Ralph de Bricassart (4 episodes, 1983)
...
 Meggie Cleary (4 episodes, 1983)
...
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 Luke O'Neill (4 episodes, 1983)
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 Bob Cleary (4 episodes, 1983)
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 Judy (4 episodes, 1983)
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 Pete (4 episodes, 1983)
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 Alastair MacQueen (4 episodes, 1983)
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 Mary Carson (4 episodes, 1983)
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 Fiona 'Fee' Cleary (3 episodes, 1983)
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 Anne Mueller (3 episodes, 1983)
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 Luddie Mueller (3 episodes, 1983)
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 Dane O'Neill (3 episodes, 1983)
John Friedrich ...
 Frank Cleary (3 episodes, 1983)
Stephen W. Burns ...
 Jack Cleary (3 episodes, 1983)
Bill Morey ...
 Angus MacQueen (3 episodes, 1983)
...
 Miss Carmichael (3 episodes, 1983)
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 Mrs. Smith (3 episodes, 1983)
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 Rainer Hartheim (2 episodes, 1983)
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 Paddy Cleary (2 episodes, 1983)
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 Justine O'Neill (2 episodes, 1983)
Richard Venture ...
 Harry Gough (2 episodes, 1983)
...
 Stuart Cleary (2 episodes, 1983)
...
 Sarah MacQueen (2 episodes, 1983)
...
 Arne Swenson (2 episodes, 1983)
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Storyline

This mini series covers 60 years in the lives of the Cleary family, brought from New Zealand to Australia to run their aunt Mary Carson's ranch. The story centers on their daughter, Meggie, and her love for the family's priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart. Meggie tries to forget Ralph by marrying dashing stockman Luke O'Neill, but she and Ralph are soon reunited, with tragic consequences for them both. Written by Eric Sorensen <Eric_Sorensen@fc.mcps.k12.md.us>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Love unattainable. Forbidden forever. See more »

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

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Language:

Release Date:

27 March 1983 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Ptaki ciernistych krzewów  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

(DVD) | (TV)

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Producers found the conditions of shooting in Australia to be impossible. Most of the sheep ranches were to far out in the middle of nowhere for film crews to get to, and the requirements placed on American film crews to shoot in Australia were unrealistic. So the entire ranch, Drohgeda was built in California. See more »

Goofs

When Mary Carson is discovered dead, you can see Barbara Stanwyck's chest moving as she continues to breathe. See more »

Quotes

Meggie Cleary: Oh, go away! I can't bare to look at you anymore! And there's one thing you've forgotten about your precious roses, Ralph, they've got nasty *hooky* thorns!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Tutti gli uomini del deficiente (1999) See more »

Soundtracks

THe Thorn Birds Theme
Written and Performed by Henry Mancini
See more »

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User Reviews

 
My opinions
30 August 2000 | by (Ontario Canada) – See all my reviews

I was only 2 when the miniseries first came out, but when I was in the 6th grade it was on TV, and the part that I saw that hooked me, was when Meggie was coming down the stairs at Mary Carsons birthday party. Ever since then it has been my most loved film of all time. I even showed it to my boyfriend and he actually liked it.

I wouldn't change anything from the miniseries and I believe that everyone in it were excellent, especially Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward, and Christopher Plummer. I believe if anyone was played by a different person, it wouldn't completely satisfy us viewers. About a year ago I created a webpage dedicated to The Thorn Birds (only) so if you would like to see it, e-mail me or click through under the photos link if it is listed. Or just go to yahoo and do a search.

I also am writing a sequal of my own to it so if anyone is curious as to what it's about, don't hesitate to email me.

On a down note, they shouldn't have made the sequal 'the missing years'. The people in it weren't good enough at their character, only Richard Chamberlain was in it, and the storyline just didn't do anything for the original. If you haven't seen The Thorn Birds yet, just see Thorn Birds, and do not see the sequal unless you just want to see it to see how disappointing it is compared to the original. It also wasn't good to alter the actual characteristics of the original characters (such as Fee). Quite disapointing in my opinion, and many others seem to agree with me.

Enjoy! Long live The Thorn Birds! P.S if anyone knows if thorn birds will be coming out on DVD or know where I can contact someone to ask, please please PLEASE let me know!


14 of 17 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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