Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Nonureva Really Surprised!

Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

lsgm1 This movie is a sleeper - I've watched every miniseries that was ever on TV, some many times, and this one is the best. Wonderfully cast, superbly acted, and the characters are well-developed. Helen Morse perfectly fits the part of Jean Paget - strident, in control, sharp, and a bit belligerent. She bounces well off of Joe Harmon, the cowboy/taciturn/"It'll be okay" sort of guy. I was sorry that the movie didn't stick to the book, in that there was no romantic interest between Noel Struan and Jean Paget. For those who don't know, this is taken from a true story about English women marched around Malaya for 3 years by the Japanese, who indeed did not know what to do with them. Very few of them survived. Neville Shute talked to one of them, and this is her story. This movie deserves to be in everyone's collection who loves WWII stories.

cathie454 I don't know where this movie was shot, but because it was shot on location, it has the authenticity that this story deserves. It is the story of a young English woman who is taken prisoner by the Japanese in southern Asia at the beginning of WWII, with a group of other English women. There is no prison camp for women so they are forced to march for months from place to place, because the Japanese don't know what to do with them. The courage and resilience of the English women, and the bravery of the Australian soldier who tries to help them, is the core of the movie. This movie is very long, maybe 10 hours, so you can watch it as it was shown on PBS, as a series, which actually adds to the feeling of the endless journey this woman makes from England, across this remote island, and finally Australia. Story, cinematography, location and actors combine to make this a movie not to miss. My only question is why this hasn't been released on DVD!

moley75 I have read the book and I have seen the 1956 film version and I remembered this mini series with great fondness. However, I have just watched the original five hour version on video and it is flawed. There is far too much of Gordon Jackson's character and his endless repetition of events we have just seen and his weary soul searching (and since when has Strachan been pronounced Strawn?) and the second half in Australia is so dull (when it ought not to be). The programme only comes to life when Helen Morse is on screen and the first half in Malaya when she dominates is gripping at times. Dorothy Alison was also exceptional as Mrs Frith and I regret the programme makers didn't make up a scene to show or tell us what happened to her.

cooper-11 Beautifully filmed, it tells the story of the book in wonderful detail. Conveys the courage of the heroine against horrible conditions in Malaya and her commitment to the virtue of productivity in turning a decrepit Outback village into a thriving "town like Alice (Springs)". No environmentalist her, she's definitely pro-development. The only downside, rather minor, is the injection of a gratuitous (and out-of-character) conflict between the two leads. Also captures the spirit of the Outback and inspires one to visit it (as it inspired me to visit Alice Springs and a Queensland cattle station).