Product Details

• Actors: David Ngoombujarra, Stephen Dillane, Max Cullen, Ernie Dingo, Alan Cinis
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 4
• Studio: Bfs Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: January 2, 2001
• Run Time: 200 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000549AU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #308,303 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As powerful as "Roots"; a must-see film, January 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Kings in Grass Castles [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This little-known, beautifully filmed drama introduces us to the real-life Durack family, who as poor farmers living in early nineteenth century Ireland, fled their homeland to seek a better life in Australia. The story tells of the hardships the Irish people faced living under British rule, and how they willingly gave up their freedom to become indentured servants in the new land in the hopes of finding a better life.

Although thousands of miles away in the new land, the Duracks found themselves suffering under the same British repression. In order to be truly free men, they had to travel thousands of miles again into the unsettled areas of Australia. This story tells of that struggle and how the Duracks, in their success at settling the new land, unknowingly helped the very same British empire that they so desperately despised and helped to displace the aborigine people that they came to love.

This is a first-class production with a first-rate cast, beautifully filmed in Ireland and Australia and is a must-see for anyone who is interested in that history. The script captures the spirit of the Duracks, showing their strengths and shortcomings, their wit and humanity. You will laugh with them and cry at their pain and heartache.

Stephen Dillane, who plays the patriarch of the Durack family in Australia, won the Ausralian Film Institute Best Actor award for this 1998 mini-series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "How the Australian West Was Won", July 14, 2007

By 

David Schweizer "Almawood" (Kansas, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Kings in Grass Castles (DVD)

Television, which can be so awful, can also be magnificent, breathtaking, and memorable. "Far Pavilians" is such a work of television art. So is "Kings in Grass Castles," a brilliantly well-acted, stunningly photographed study of the westward movement of white settlers into the aboriginal lands in the 19th century. All the main characters are a marvelously charismatic lot of Irish peasants who brought their wits and charm to the new lands. The dynamics of the native population in conflict with the new settlers is at times tragic, but the film makers bring enormous compassion and intelligence to the subject. It is a drama, not a sentimental tirade against whites, nor a reactionary celebration of the civilized against the savage. It is a human drama, well told, against the background of the seemingly endless Australian landscape.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars dvd, October 19, 2009

By 

Cheryl Young "dvd haven" (australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kings in Grass Castles (DVD)

I am very happy and impressed with the quality of the dvd Kings in Grass Castles
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