Maybe it was impossible to successfully film a story as a mini series and a feature film at the same time... or maybe this was just wrongly executed. I'm looking here at ep 1 of the mini serires.
It has some of the pleasures of 1980s 10BA filmmaking - a healthy budget, impressive production values, stunning photography.
It lacks star power apart from Sam Neill, though Steve Vidler is fine in what is really the biggest role. Tommy Lewis is excellent as Warrigal.
Episode one seems to have a lot of padding - horse galloping and jumping, shenanigans, people punching each other out (there's a lot of that), a cricket match.
We don't have any character development - no real exploring of the relationship between the brothers, or the brothers and their father. Neil and Lewis are just outlaw and sidekick. I got the women mixed up. This a shameful waste of time.
Chris Cummins, who had a moment in the mid 80s (Anzacs) is the innocent brother. Deborah Coulls, who I recently saw being murdered in Lady Stay Dead gets the best female part, the one of Kate.
It's interesting this was directed by Don Crombie and Ken Hannam, two directors who started their careers with a bang then who trailed off. Hannam was probably the better director but seems to have been the more temperamental, sooking during filming.
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