The Dirtwater Dynasty

I watched this epic when it was first released on Aussie TV. I was 18. I watched it again this week and enjoyed it even more. THis drama is well written, the cinematography is simply stunning and the talent is fabulous.

Hugo Weaving plays a magnificent portrayal of a man who's life long quest to build an empire in the Australia Outback.

Living in the Central West and well not really that far from Nevertire where the story is based, I understand the trials and tribulations of life in the bush.

Steve Jacobs by far is my favourite in this film.

I could watch this over and over. There are no special features, no fan fare or special effects. The film relies sole on a wonderful story and fantastic actors.

I highly recommend this to anyone!

A very compelling saga spanning three generations of one family on both sides of the world. All characters were portrayed well adding to the emotional value. It also explained some of the usually unmentioned treatment of prisoners of war at the hands of the Japanese.

'This is the land of my childhood. The oldest land on earth. The place of endless summer and soaring skies. This is Australia. The Outback. A harsh and unforgiving land. I can look back on it now across the track of 80 years and still remember what it was like. Standing on the very edge of a new frontier. Nature seemed much grander then, the stars are closer, the sun is hotter, the rivers wider and in my minds eye I can see all of us, moving through this giant landscape like a strange nomadic tribe. We were the drovers, the prospectors, squatters, and shearers. We were bushmen, simple men. The shape of our lives hammered out by drought and fire. All except for one. The outback could never forge him. He forged the outback. Tonight I want to tell you about the only man who ever tamed this land. Richard Eastwick. From out of nowhere he built an empire, yet like any man who tries to write his will across the sky, he paid the price'

To everyone (including my Mum) who SO desperately wanted to see this released on DVD: the 3-disc box set came out on 16th June 2005.

Dirtwater Dynasty" is the story of embittered rivalry, triumph and despair. The life of Richard Eastwick is told in a story spanning three generations and eight decades. Born in the London slums in 1878, he comes to Australia at age 20, with nothing but a handful of courage and a dream. He acquires land, marries and raises a family, wins loyal friends and makes bitter enemies, and builds a land and cattle ranching empire. Both world wars and the economic depression take their toll on his family. But his dream to create a dynasty gives him a reason to continue. Released: Friday, 17 June 2005 Actors: Hugo Weaving Ernie Dingo Peter Phelps Bruce Spence Aust/Foreign: Australian Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 16:9 Enhanced Transfer Format: Widescreen Category: TV Series Region: 4 Year: 1988 Distributor: Roadshow Rating: M15+ Languages: English Subtitles: English - HI Running Time: 450 mins

It's PAL, so US fans might have trouble. The RRP is AUS$44.95 and should be available from anywhere you'd normally buy DVDs.

Just read the last post on here and the person who posted it was saying how much they would love to own the DVD. Well, I got it,3 disc boxset,off ebay and it came from Australia,costing me a mere £21. So I just thought I would share this info with you as I had previously tried for years to get hold of this fantastic little known miniseries without success.Remembered watching it when it originally aired on BBC in 88/89 and since then it has always stuck in the back of my mind as aone of those "Must own" series. But now you know from someone who physically has it, it IS available on DVD. If ebay don't have it for sale,a trawl through the net may be in order but to be honest I would have paid twice as much to get hold of this. If I had any gripe with the series it was probably the absolute bad luck that befalls Mr Eastwick throughout his life seems to be never-ending.As smart as the ending is,I couldn't help but feel gutted for him at the way events had panned out and hoped it would give a happy ending.You will just have to watch all 8 hours of it if you have never seen it before to find out what happens. Like the previous entry said,have a box of hankies ready.I hope this helps any prospective owners out.