The Thorn Birds | |
---|---|
![]() DVD cover | |
Genre | Drama Romance |
Written by | Carmen Culver Lee Stanley Colleen McCullough (novel) |
Directed by | Daryl Duke |
Starring | Richard Chamberlain Rachel Ward Barbara Stanwyck Christopher Plummer Jean Simmons Bryan Brown Philip Anglim Richard Kiley Piper Laurie |
Theme music composer | Henry Mancini |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Edward Lewis David L. Wolper |
Producers | Stan Margulies Lee Stanley (co-producer) Swifty Lazar (associate producer) |
Production locations | William Andrews Clark Memorial Library Big Sky Ranch Kaua'i Los Angeles City Hall Warner Brothers Burbank Studios |
Cinematography | Bill Butler |
Editors | Robert F. Shugrue David Saxon Carroll Timothy O'Meara |
Running time | 467 minutes |
Production companies | David Wolper-Stan Margulies Productions Edward Lewis Productions Warner Bros. Television |
Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Picture format | Color |
Audio format | Mono |
Original release | March 27-30, 1983 |
Chronology | |
Followed by | The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996) |
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) |
The Thorn Birds is an American 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 1977 novel of the same name by Colleen McCullough. The series was enormously successful and became the United States' second highest-rated miniseries of all time behind Roots; both series were produced by television veteran David L. Wolper.