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The Thorn Birds

  • TV Mini Series
  • 19831983
  • 7h 40m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
9.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,353
187
Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds (1983)
  • Drama
  • Romance
In the arid 1920s Australian Outback, a Catholic priest and the beautiful niece of a vast sheep station owner stand powerless before God's will, tormented by desire. How far are they willing... Read allIn the arid 1920s Australian Outback, a Catholic priest and the beautiful niece of a vast sheep station owner stand powerless before God's will, tormented by desire. How far are they willing to go in the name of love?In the arid 1920s Australian Outback, a Catholic priest and the beautiful niece of a vast sheep station owner stand powerless before God's will, tormented by desire. How far are they willing to go in the name of love?
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
9.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,353
187
  • Stars
    • Richard Chamberlain
    • Rachel Ward
    • Christopher Plummer
Top credits
  • Stars
    • Richard Chamberlain
    • Rachel Ward
    • Christopher Plummer
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 74User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 6 Primetime Emmys
      • 15 wins & 18 nominations total

    Episodes4

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated
    1 Season
    1983

    Photos382

    Christopher Plummer in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    Rachel Ward and Brett Cullen in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    Christopher Plummer in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    Barry Corbin in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    Richard Chamberlain, Christopher Plummer, Rachel Ward, and Mare Winningham in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    The Thorn Birds (1983)
    Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    The Thorn Birds (1983)
    The Thorn Birds (1983)
    Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds (1983)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Chamberlain
    Richard Chamberlain
    • Ralph de Bricassart
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    Rachel Ward
    Rachel Ward
    • Meggie Cleary
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    Christopher Plummer
    Christopher Plummer
    • Archbishop Vittorio Contini-Verchese
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    Bryan Brown
    Bryan Brown
    • Luke O'Neill
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    Brett Cullen
    Brett Cullen
    • Bob Cleary
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    Stephanie Faracy
    Stephanie Faracy
    • Judy
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    Barry Corbin
    Barry Corbin
    • Pete
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    John de Lancie
    John de Lancie
    • Alastair MacQueen
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    Barbara Stanwyck
    Barbara Stanwyck
    • Mary Carson
    4 episodes4 eps • 1983
    Jean Simmons
    Jean Simmons
    • Fiona 'Fee' Cleary
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    Piper Laurie
    Piper Laurie
    • Anne Mueller
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    Earl Holliman
    Earl Holliman
    • Luddie Mueller
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    Philip Anglim
    Philip Anglim
    • Dane O'Neill
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    John Friedrich
    John Friedrich
    • Frank Cleary
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    Stephen W. Burns
    • Jack Cleary
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    Bill Morey
    Bill Morey
    • Angus MacQueen
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    Holly Palance
    Holly Palance
    • Miss Carmichael
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    Allyn Ann McLerie
    Allyn Ann McLerie
    • Mrs. Smith
    3 episodes3 eps • 1983
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown fell in love on the set. They were married in 1983 and have three children.
    • Goofs
      The name of the farm is mispronounced. It is named after the Irish town Drogheda. The American cast did not know that 'gh' in Irish is pronounced like an 'h' in English. The cast said Drow-Geeda whereas the proper pronunciation is Dro-huh-duh, where Dro is pronounced like in "drop".
    • Quotes

      Ralph de Bricassart: [telling the legend of the thorn bird to Meggie] There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its nest, it searches for a thorn tree... and never rests until it's found one. And then it sings... more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. And singing, it impales itself on the longest, sharpest thorn. But, as it dies, it rises above its own agony, to outsing the lark and the nightingale. The thorn bird pays its life for just one song, but the whole world stills to listen, and God in his heaven smiles.

      Young Meggie Cleary: What does it mean, Father?

      Ralph de Bricassart: That the best... is bought only at the cost of great pain.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 35th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1983)
    • Soundtracks
      Main Title
      Written and Performed by Henry Mancini

    User reviews74

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Wow... i loved it!
    My mother was given the box set DVD for Christmas, we sat down to watch it on Christmas day at about 8 o'clock, and didn't move until the early hours of the next morning. I simply couldn't drag my eyes away from the screen for one second. I became such an instant fan that as soon as I could I rushed off and bought the book, and before I knew it, I'd finished that as well! Towards the end of the film I felt myself identifying more with Justine, than I had done with Meggie the younger and elder throughout the film. Fate is always so cruel, how could Dane leave Meggie, and how could Justine desert her mother, and just how long did Fee live? That women seemed everlasting! Overall, I loved every second of it, and felt, as every women does, a very strong attraction to Richard Chamberline THROUGHOUT! I probably would've starved and gone without sleep if the book hadn't been prised away from my hands.
    helpful•31
    6
    • lnchaplin
    • Jan 19, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 27, 1983 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Die Dornenvögel
    • Filming locations
      • Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • David Wolper-Stan Margulies Productions
      • Edward Lewis Productions
      • Warner Bros. Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      7 hours 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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