Faraway Downs

I almost didn't watch this, but so glad I did. This is filmed on an epic scale especially the big cattle drive. And if you think you don't like Westerns, you might be surprised. It was quite thrilling. The storyline was so good, the actors were perfect and the photography was amazing. It started a little quirky with Nicole Kidman as quite a foolish character and then she morphs into this fantastic strong woman who leads the story. And a great story! It is a western, a love story and a story of the magic of the Aboriginal people. All the actors in this are at the top of their game. And of course, you can never go wrong with an Australian production. Baz Luhrman did an amazing job with this. I highly recommend this!

Cinematography is brilliant and would be amazing on the big screen. Star actors couldn't be bigger names and all bring a compelling presence to the screen. Are there any big surprises or twists to engage the audience? Maybe not, but it's an enjoyable series.

We're pretty spoilt these days which makes us very critical. Let's just look for the positives. It's so good to see so many great Aussie actors on the screen, none bigger than Hugh Jackman, a favourite especially for the ladies. Nicole Kidman still looks beautiful on screen. It's good to see Bryan Brown as well as others. The villain isn't hard to hate so his acting must be spot on. Overall, the acting is good and I especially liked the little boy, Nullah.

The visual aspect alone is a great advertisement for Australia and should bring a big increase in tourism.

I don't know the ending yet as only seen four episodes but I hear it differs from 'Australia' which also faced criticism.

I stand by rating of 8 despite no surprises because visually it is spectacular.

I have an aversion to WWII "stuff" and that's how I originally viewed this from the ads. But then my curiosity of Australia took over and won, so I reluctantly watched it.

Oh my.

This is obviously compared to the movie it is based on, "Australia". And I did watch that! I remember from a few poignant and powerful scenes from Faraway Downs. Brilliant in "Australia". Brilliant in "FD".

This is not too long nor "too" anything. This is an in-depth series that, if you let it, will take your breath away many times, and will replace it with something much stronger.

The cinematography is outrageous! And they have invited us to join them on this journey which isn't always pretty or nice or kind. But it's real and it's heart opening thanks to an ensemble of excellent actors who were brave enough to share their world - the good and the bad - with us.

I hope you enjoy it just a little bit. :)

You must actually get Baz Luhrmann to get the brilliance here. Haunting and eloquent. Insightful and poetic. Tragic and breathtaking. All at once.

This will no doubt be a show that I will watch again and again. And I will encourage my writing students to study the example that Luhrmann demonstrates in this masterpiece of how to put an audience squarely in the skin of the protagonists, give those characters believable, sympathetic qualities and a balance of flaws, and then take the audience on a thrilling ride.

This adaptation sweeps us up from the very beginning and transports us to another world. I fully expect Emmys all around. Nothing was left on the floor.

I absolutely loved the movie Australia. 10 out of 10 stars, so I was intrigued to see the reimagining.

The added scenes are definitely interesting and I would absolutely recommend giving this series a watch. However, while it did give more depth to the characters, it removed a lot of the mystery that made the original movie so fun in unraveling.

The biggest letdown, however, is the score. While a few new aboriginal pieces and 'Waltzing Matilda' were fun additions, the general score is atrocious and a far cry from the original. The new music is so lacking, that it detracts from the emotions on the screen, while the original score had enhanced them.

This is definitely an interesting take, but don't expect the epic feel of the original movie. This just makes for a decent tv show.