Twenty years have passed since I last saw the Thorn Birds on TV, and there were so many things in the series I had forgotten or just did not notice at the time. But now, thankfully, they are all there for me to see once again. My grown children, who were too young at the time, are anxious to watch this DVD as well.
Anybody who ever saw this mini-series waited in breathless anticipation for the romantic love union of Father Ralph and Meggie, and had their heart strings tugged and torn when the two of them had to separate once again. There was so much drama as Dane decided to become a priest, and how Father Ralph did not know Dane was his son. The beautifully haunting melody of the dulcimer in the musical score as yet another family member was carried to be buried at Drogheda caused many tears.
This is just an incredible DVD - one that should be on everybody's collection list. I am thankful to Amazon.com for making it available to me. I will enjoy it for years to come.

What is the film about? In short, it is a love story between a woman and a priest spanning over four or five decades. She is denied his love because he chooses God, but for both of them it is an on going battle as he does love her too. As the story unfolds you will see if he stays faithful to the cloth or if she stays loyal to him.....even two decades is a long time to stay committed to anything! Watch it....and you will find out what happens...

The story is passionate and charismatic with a well chosen cast that will linger in your thoughts well after you have watched it. Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward are exemplary in their performances but I have to say some of the supporting actors like Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Simmons and Richard Kiley are truly outstanding!

I give this a 5 Star rating and would recommend it to everyone!

Every character has meaning in "The Thorn Birds", just as every minute of the story has its significance. This is not a story renouncing the papacy, and what its priests stand for, but how love always prevails; whether it be for God or for His creatures. People may call Ralph a pedophile, while I say a strong NO to that statement. Ralph's love for Meggie as a child was just what she was to him, like his own child. He saw her that way for years, which is his "excuse" to stay away from her, for his heart needed her. He had to see her as a child to shun her love from him, but his heart was stronger than his mind for it gives way to her beauty, love, and devotion to him for so many years. Crisis can never tear them apart time after time, for their love is like the wind; has always been there, will always be there, and cannot be told to stop. "The Thorn Birds" is not only a tender account of endless wanting and growing affection to last the decades, but almost an on-screen history of the Church, family, hate, beauty, and love through the eyes of flawlessly written charcters who are revealed seamless and emotionally ideal through the gift of true performance. Long live great theatre like "The Thorn Birds:, for it is our true expression of emotion. May we all learn what love can overcome, and how much it can give.