The Thorn Birds (miniseries)
1983 American television miniseries
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The Thorn Birds is an American romantic drama television miniseries, broadcast on ABC from March 27 to 30, 1983. It starred Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward, Barbara Stanwyck, Christopher Plummer, Piper Laurie, Jean Simmons, Richard Kiley, Bryan Brown, Mare Winningham and Philip Anglim. It was directed by Daryl Duke and based on the best-selling 1977 novel of the same name by Colleen McCullough.
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Romance
by Colleen McCullough
Lee Stanley
| The Thorn Birds | |
|---|---|
DVD cover | |
| Genre | Drama Romance |
| Based on | The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough |
| Written by | Carmen Culver Lee Stanley |
| Directed by | Daryl Duke |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Henry Mancini |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producer | Stan Margulies |
| Production locations |
|
| Cinematography | Bill Butler |
| Editors |
|
| Running time | 467 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | March 27 – March 30, 1983 |
| Related | |
| The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996) | |
The series was enormously successful, being the second most widely watched television miniseries in history at the time, behind Roots. The Thorn Birds scored a staggering 41.9 rating and 59 percent of the audience, and was nominated for sixteen Emmys, winning six.[1] It was followed by a sequel miniseries in 1996, The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, showing some of what the characters experienced during the nineteen-year time gap in the original.
Plot
The series centres on the lives of the Cleary family from the 1920s until the 1960s, who are brought from New Zealand to the Australian outback to help run the ranch of their aunt Mary Carson, and the forbidden love between Meggie Cleary and the family's priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Starring | |
| Richard Chamberlain | Father Ralph de Bricassart |
| Rachel Ward | Meghan "Meggie" Cleary |
| Jean Simmons | Fiona "Fee" Cleary |
| Ken Howard | Rainer Hartheim |
| Mare Winningham | Justine "Jussy" O'Neill |
| Piper Laurie | Anne Mueller |
| Richard Kiley | Padraic "Paddy" Cleary |
| Earl Holliman | Luddie Mueller |
| Bryan Brown | Luke O'Neill |
| Philip Anglim | Dane O'Neill |
| Special guest appearance | |
| Christopher Plummer | Archbishop Vittorio di Contini-Verchese |
| Barbara Stanwyck | Mary Carson |
| Also starring | |
| John Friedrich | Frank Cleary |
| Allyn Ann McLerie | Mrs. Smith |
| Richard Venture | Harry Gough |
| Stephanie Faracy | Judy Sutton |
| Barry Corbin | Pete |
| Sydney Penny | Young Meggie Cleary |
| Stephan Burns | Jack Cleary |
| Brett Cullen | Bob Cleary |
| Co-starring | |
| Antoinette Bower | Sarah MacQueen |
| Dwier Brown | Stuart "Stuie" Cleary |
| John de Lancie | Alastair MacQueen |
| Bill Morey | Angus MacQueen |
| Vidal Peterson | Young Stuie Cleary |
| Holly Palance | Miss Carmichael |
| Meg Wyllie | Annie |
| Wally Dalton | Fair Barker |
| Nan Martin | Sister Agatha |
| Chard Hayward | Arne Swenson |
| Rance Howard | Doc Wilson |
| Lucinda Dooling | Martha |
| Aspa Nakopolou | Phaedre |
Development
The novel was originally developed as a feature film with Ed Lewis attached to produce. Ivan Moffat wrote an early draft of the script. Herbert Ross was the first director, and he saw Christopher Reeve about playing the lead. Then Peter Weir became attached to direct; Robert Redford was the favourite to play the lead. Weir dropped out and Arthur Hiller was going to direct; Ryan O'Neal was mooted as a star. Eventually it was decided to turn it into a mini series.[2][3]
The role of Meggie Cleary became the most sought after role of the production, and was considered the role of a lifetime. Many actresses campaigned and auditioned for the role over a long period of pre-production. British actress Lynne Frederick was one of many actresses who heavily campaigned for the role. Frederick even dyed her hair red to showcase herself. Other actresses who auditioned for the part included Michelle Pfeiffer, Jane Seymour, Olivia Newton-John, and Kim Basinger.
Awards and nominations
Home media
The Thorn Birds was released on VHS in 1991 in the US and Canada; it was re-released on DVD in the US and Canada on February 3, 2004. Both editions were given a "Not Rated" certification. It is rated PG in New Zealand for violence, sexual references, coarse language and nudity.
Sequel
A follow-up titled The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years was broadcast by CBS in 1996. It tells the story of the 19 years unaccounted for in the original miniseries.