Customer Reviews

The Manions of America [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This story of the Manion family, led by Rory Manion(formerly O'Manion), is an interesting and pretty accurate depiction of the trials and triumphs of the Irish immigrants driven out of Ireland by the Great Famine of the mid-1840's and "washed up" on the shores of America. This was the first time I ever saw Pierce Brosnan (who plays Rory O'Manion)and it seemed very likely that he was going on to bigger and better things because he was the perfect romantic Irish rebel. The saga of how he meets and falls in love with the daughter of the local British landlord (Kate Mulgrew) brings into play a great deal of the history of the Irish struggle for independence from the time of the Young Irelanders through the years of immigration, the American Civil War (and the Irish Brigade) and the discrimination against the Irish when they first came to America. The subplot involving Rory's sister (Linda Perl) and her suitors is less involving but overall the movie captures a great deal of the turbulence of that era and introduces us to the young, and very sexy, Brosnan. My biggest complaint is with the darkness of the tape--I've seen it on video and on TV and it is always quite dark--apparently not just a defective individual tape.

Came upon this series on the Romance Channel quite by accident. Missed about 1 hour of the first part of the series. I was completely caught up in it within minutes. I've always admired the work of Kate Mulgrew. In spite of most of the scenes being very dark....could have been the quality of the cable transmission...the production was absolutely spell-binding.

By in large, it was a marvelous treatment of a part of history not often covered....the reason the Irish left Ireland and their struggles in America.

The cast was stupendous. Lina Purl is a delight.

I would recommend this video to any American History buffs.

This is the story of Rory O'Manion (Pierce Brosnan) from young adult hood and his fight against the oppressive English in Ireland. From the potato famine and loss of his mother, to his love for the English landlord's daughter Rachel (Kate Mulgrew: of Star Trek Voyager),and subsequent flight to the shores of America. From poor to rich in America, but still longing for the freedom for his beloved Ireland. Also starring Linda Purl (The Exorcist), Nicholas Hammond (Sound of Music, Spiderman), David Soul (Starsky & Hutch), and Simon MacCorkindale. Very moving, interesting to watch Pierce Brosnan in the early days of his career.

Grab your tissue you'll need the whole box. Kate did a great job on this movie. So did Pierce Branson. It was a movie that I will continue to watch for a long time. If you love drama this is your movie.

Very interesting story about the lives of the Irish people in Ireland and their progression into America. Series packed with famous and talented actors. Young (pre-Remington Steele) Pierce Brosnan is superb and true to his Irish origins. Brosnan changes from a young insolent horse-boy to a well respected businessman. Kate Mulgrew is also very good as his girlfriend and then wife. Their relation is genuine and lovable. A must-see mini-series!

Pierce Brosnan and Kate Mulgrew lead an otherwise lifeless cast in this tale about an immigrant Irishman coming to America. "The Manions of America" is sometimes educational, depicting the hardships of Ireland during the potato famine, but history quickly submits to romance between Brosnan and Mulgrew, turning the film into an oveblown melodrama. However, it is a must see for romance viewers and for Brosnan fans who are tired of seeing him as James Bond.

This was a very enjoyable story, although the video was a bit dark in places,but this did not spoil the enjoyment. The musical soundtrack was also excellent. The entire cast played very good parts, but I was particularly impressed with Kate Mulgrew, whose English accent for the historical period of the film was flawless [I am an English dialogue teacher, so I am speaking from experience]. I would not hesitate to recommend this mini-series to anyone.

I ordered a "three" cassette set of the mini series "Manions of America". I received a "one" cassette, extended
play movie. I viewed it on two different video players and the quality was terrible, adequate tracking was impossible and the images were fuzzy. The second time I tried to watch the movie, the tape inside broke! I am very dissatisfied with the product and I will not be ordering any more items in the future. Please remove me from your contact list.



'

Boy, did my memory not serve me well on this! I remembered loving this when it came out a thousand years ago - perhaps my mind was clouded by Pierce Brosnan's beautifulness at the time. When I sat down to watch my newly purchased copy a couple of weeks ago and the credits listed Agnes Nixon (who created All My Children & One Life to Live) as the story creator and producer, I should have ejected it from my old VCR immediately and thrown it into the nearest bin. Alas, I was not that bright and managed to make it through about two-thirds of this corny, soapy mess before running screaming. No amount of money I paid was worth sticking it out until the end. The horrible dialog, bodice ripping romance novel storyline and bad Z grade miniseries 80's actors made for an excruciating experience. There's even a bit where Brosnan's poor servant character steals a kiss from Kate Mulgrew's spoiled rich girl, and when she raises up her riding crop to threaten him, he pulls her back down into an embrace by gentling her like he would a horse! "Shh! Shh! Shh! Steady-steady!" GAG. With all the horrible fake English and Irish accents around him, I'm surprised Brosnan made it through filming without throwing up. And thank God NBC paid to have his teeth fixed before he assumed the role of Remington Steele, or we might never have seen him on film ever again. They weren't hideous, but they weren't the pearly whites we're accustomed to. He did a lot of not smiling, but that may have been less about his teeth and more about this rotten production...