Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-24 09:34:46

Needs to be HBO'd

Interesting story and fair acting but visually disappointing. The distrubutor should run it back trough post production and re-set the look. Or even better, HBO could do a re-make!

2012-05-24 01:24:03

outstanding

Truly amazing story done with realism and great acting. I would've given it 5 stars except for the incredibly graphic (and needless) depictions of sex acts.

2012-05-19 13:09:57

Incredible journey of Mary Bryant

This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD) Based on a true story, this movie is about an Englishwoman who was sent to what became the very first penal colony in New South Wales (Australia). The hardships were more realistically depicted than in most stories of this type. Along the way she finds loves and endures even greater hardships, in her quest for freedom. Highly recommend, but not for anyone under 18.

2012-05-19 05:26:11

Alex O'Loughlin

This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD) Well done movie, very watchable and a great story. I bought this movie to see more of Alex O'Loughlin and was very pleased. He is fantastic in this movie! Anyone needing to see more of Alex, buy this movie. I must add that Romola Garai, Jack Davenport and Sam Neill also did a great job.

2012-05-09 19:49:16

Mary Bryant

I thought this was a very interesting story and very well portrayed by all the actors. I am a big Alex O'Loughlin fan and I loved his part in this series. I never knew the history of South Wales and Australia. I knew that Great Britain sent it's prisoners there to begin a colony but these people were hardly criminals. I would reccomend this movie to all, even if you are not an Alex fan.

2012-05-09 17:15:17

incredible journey of mary bryant video

This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD) If you love Alex O'Loughlin, you will love this movie. It shows his acting abilities along with his beautiful Australian accent. Good story, good acting and the DVD arrived on time in excellent condition.

2012-05-08 13:53:21

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant DVD

An excellent movie based on real life accounts of Mary Bryant. I originally bought the DVD because of other actors in the movie, but Romola Garai was wonderful as Mary Bryant. It is a very touching story about a poor,young woman arrested for stealing food and sentenced to a life of hard labor in a colony in New Zealand. It is a story of a woman's indomitable spirit and determination to live free. A must see!

justsodevo 2012-05-08 02:22:24

good and funny

its funny because we are watchingthe episodes at schooland we have just got up to thebit where its the night of the escape and they are rooting in the bed.oh my goshhilarious. and the rape fest scene was crazy but really weird. butfunny. the teacher saidto remember were we were up to and everyonesaid 'yer we will.....the good bit!'. its funny because she's justgoing at it and hes like rolling hiseyes into the back of his head i mean of course hes enjoying it becauseshe is pretty good

2012-05-02 09:20:59

Great movie

This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD) This is very good movie, and an outstanding performance by Alex O'Loughlin. I totally recommend it.

2012-05-01 23:41:28

History and Nice Looking Men together

This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD) If you are a history buff or a fan of Alex O'Loughlin and Jack Davenport, this movie is a MUST HAVE for your collection.This movie is based on the real life story of Mary Bryant, who was one of the first prisoners sent to Australia. It skims over this and that, but does a good job of telling the story.Alex O'Louglin plays William Bryant, Mary's husband and Jack Davenport plays Lieutenant Ralph Clarke, who stives as much for Mary's attentions as for justice for the convicts.The scenery in this movie is beautiful and the story hooks you in for wanting more.

2012-04-30 13:45:14

Pure Brilliance

Mary Bryant was a simply brilliant portrayal of a young woman'sstrength, vitality, courage and determination. The story encapsulatedher desires for love and lust in a new world of discoveries andunforgiving hardships. From a historical perspective I felt I was there, a truly realisticpicture of English on foreign soil, bringing their flag of imperialismprogressivist ideals, and ethnocentricities. Going back in time thestory revealed the capacities of the unrelentless human spirit, pushingthe boundaries in both mind and body. Being a young woman myself the character of Mary Bryant truly inspiredme, as I thought I have endured hardships. This realistic account of awoman's tale lived 200 years ago discloses how spoilt our lifestyle hasbecome. I am a patriotic Australian and very proud of the blood sweat and tearsof our forefathers that made this country. I have placed the movie inmy top three movies of all time. The script and the actors werefantastic.

JamesRoy 2012-04-30 07:57:17

Yikes, what a shocker

I wonder if the makers of this piece of garbage actually bothered to goto the actual site of the first-fleet landing. I say this because theplace where they filmed the first settlement scenes bears no realresemblance to the actual place. Sure, I know that you can't film it inthe exact spot, since it would be hard to film without gettingaccidental shots of the Botanical Gardens pavilions, the Opera Houseand the Bridge, but seriously! Also, any reading of the seminalhistorical text "The Fatal Shore" by Robert Hughes will tell you thatmost of the women on the first fleet were raped on the first nightashore, not once buildings and storehouses had been set up. I know it'sonly a small thing, but when you set out to make an historical film,get the simple bits right and you're halfway to making the rest fallinto place. Get lazy with the little things, and the whole deal looksshabby.

2012-04-27 05:53:23

Graphic portrayal of a harsh life

First off, if you're thinking that this is going to be another british type period drama with just a hint of realism, this isn't the series for you. Some scenes are VERY graphic and sometimes painful to watch (a woman is severely whipped for an offense while aboard ship....chaos reigns when the prisoners finally arrive in Botany Bay -- rape and violence). The conditions aboard ship while on the way to Australia are horrendous and graphicly shown. In other words, this is not a series for the faint fo heart. As for why the film makers felt the need to show such scenes, I can only surmise that they wanted the audience to experience at least a part of what these prisoners lived through. Warnings aside, I have to say that I enjoyed the series as a whole. The actors involved were tremendous, especially Romola Garai (Mary Bryant) and Jack Davenport (Lt. Clarke). Romola managed to make me both hate and yet feel compassion for her character; a hard feat indeed. Mary, is manipulative to the extreme. She fought with everything she had in order to insure the survival of her children, her husband (fellow prisoner played by Aussie Alex O'Loughlin) and herself. The object of most of that manipulation is one Lt. Clarke, a man most certainly out of his depth and obsessed with Mary. My one and only criticism of the series is that because of the way that certain scenes were shot and edited, you almost feel as if you should be rooting for Mary to end up with Clarke instead of the husband. Overall, a definitely worthwhile viewing. High production values and beautifully shot. But be warned, this is most certainly not for the faint fo heart.

Jackson Booth-Millard 2012-04-26 20:53:38

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant

It is a story based on true events, but when I saw the trailer Ithought it was a story about a female pirate or something. StarringRomola Garai as Mary Broad/Bryant, it is the story of one woman'sjourney as a slave/prisoner, then an island villager, then mother andwife, then escapee, and finally near criminal. She started out on aboat run by Lt. Ralph Clarke (Jack Davenport, Mastercard's "Priceless"voice). When the boat found an island where they started a new life andvillage, she met Will Bryant (Alex O'Loughlin) who she married and hadher second child with. But they soon got sick of their life on theisland and escaped with four other companions. Towards they "film" theybecome members of a class, but are found guilty in court. Mary iscourageous and says she will face the consequences as she lost herchildren and husband, but the other two she wanted to be released. Alsostarring a quite good Sam Neill as Governor Arthur Phillip. Very good!

evitabarbara 2012-04-26 05:32:37

Comment on '... Journey of Mary Bryant'

The reaction to the British miniseries 'The incredible journey of MaryBryant' seems to be a sign of the times: Whereas the accolades pouredin for the portrayals of Mary and her husband, the masterfullyportrayed character of Officer Clarke was misunderstood / brushed overand his complex relationship with Mary largely ignored. In my book Marywas a selfish b..., solely driven by the will to survive, with littleregard for the feelings of others except those of her immediate family.Officer Clarke, on the other hand, is a much more complex character:The product of a morally strict and repressive upbringing, he isbasically a decent, kind man who ends up acting mercilessly (within theframework of the cruelty sanctioned or even demanded by his job) whenhis pride is wounded. That is his Achilles' heel. He suffers intensehumiliation when Mary, in pursuit of her own selfish agenda, at firstliberates him from his inhibitions and then betrays his trust and makesa fool of him in front of his peers. The realization of her callousexploitation of his kindness and his feelings seriously wounds hiswhole identity. Nevertheless, he can't get himself to kill her when hehas her at his mercy (in his musket's visor): Twice he lets her escape;it's only the third time that he finally 'delivers her to justice' -and had Mary not once again revealed her falseness to him by sidling upto him again, he probably would have let her escape once more. All thetime he finds himself in the struggle to keep his dignity. JackDavenport's superb portrayal of this emotionally rich and complexcharacter deserves the highest praise. To me it was the actual focus ofthe film. Barbara N.

2012-04-25 23:47:40

Mary Bryant

I have watched this DVD more than once. The content and presentation is great, not to mention Alex O'Loughlin, which is why I purchased it in the first place.

clairelouise-ridgway 2012-04-24 18:32:25

great production from the UK and Australian networks

I haven't seen this mini series yet but from what I have seen on thetrailers shown on UK TV it looks great. I do not like however that theAustralians seem to think that the mini series was totally done bythem, the UK network did some of it as well so the UK should bementioned. it may of been made in Australia but it has good Britishcast. and is well made. so if any Australians are out there pleaseremember that the British had a hand in making the production as wellas Australia it makes me mad that a mini series that is done outside ofthe UK is not mentioned and only the country that it is being made ismentioned. but I think the British will love this mini series as wellas the Australian's did.

2012-04-24 14:26:56

Mary Bryant's incredible journey

This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD) This is a most excellent film based on a true story that occurred in 1788...the actors are superb.... the sets/scenes, the costuming, everything!!!!! It is R rated but there is no vulgar language. There are explicit sex scenes which I'm certain were necessary to tell this story based on it's true facts. It is both endearing and suspenseful. I have watched it three times thus far and received a deeper insight to what a real slave ship was like...I've shared it with my friends who also found it to be both enjoyable and educational entertainment! Thanks to the fine direction, I truly appreciated this period film!

2012-04-24 16:52:05

Great film, really enjoyed watching it.

This review is from: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (DVD) I bought the DVD because Alex Oloughlin was in it, and I am a fan of his work. The film was excellent, with many good actors in it, I would highly recommend this mini series.

merilynd 2012-04-24 00:18:09

Deadly dull and full of obvious errors

I sat through Mary Bryant and I was completely bored. It was a totallyoverblown and long drawn out saga, heavily padded with long, lingering,meaningless close ups and many trivial mistakes. Without those closeups which added nothing, the piece would have been half as long whichwould have been better. It was also totally unrealistic and laughableto watch.In the very first scene Mary (Romola Garai) robbed a women in anisolated wood in Cornwall and then, from nowhere, up came two men andarrested her. That was just funny. It looked for all the world as ifthe robbed woman had called the police on her mobile. Where did theycome from? How did they get there?Then Mary was sentenced to go to Australia, and the appallingconditions on the boat were depicted in great detail. People werestarving and dying of disease, the lucky ones survived. Mary's baby was born on this boat and then arrived at Sydney Cove fit,clean and healthy. Yes, Mary's baby truly did survive this voyage,presumably fed by Mary, but if Mary herself was starving, how was thebaby so bouncing? In spite of the desperate hunger and hardship thebaby then grew up to be quite a sturdy little girl (Charlotte). At Sydney Cove there was one scene where a character wrote a list ofsupplies with what looked suspiciously like a ball point pen, it couldhave been a fountain pen, but it certainly wasn't a quill pen. Thequills appeared later.Then Mary Bryant had another baby. This one also thrived and stayedhealthy looking throughout the drama never losing any weight duringit's long 3,000 mile journey in a boat with few supplies and what didthey do for water? In fact none of the actors lost so much as an ounceon that long journey. They did have signs of scurvy at one point butthat miraculously disappeared in sight of land. Also realisticallytheir white skins would have been terribly burnt in that open boat. Whywas that not shown?The scenes in Timor were just ludicrous. Jack Davenport (as Lt. RalphClarke) is always worth watching, but even his endless close-ups beganto pall, and Mary Bryant's husband (Alex O'Loughlin) was very handsomein a 2006 way and had cosmetically perfect, shiny, white teeth whichhelped very much with his close-ups, but added not atouch of realism tothe drama.Romola Garai was great in "I captured the Castle", but I did get tiredof staring at close ups of her. Her expressions were rather blank aswell.As befits British people arriving in Australia the convicts all hadBritish accents, bar one, actor David Field, who had an Australianaccent, however he was one of the few convincing looking convicts. Idon't expect accents to be uniform, but uniformly British would bedesirable.As this was a true story I stayed with it in order to see what happenedto Mary.At the end Mary Bryant all dressed up, clean and looking not a minuteolder, returned to Cornwall. Presumably she had received financialassistance, however she had absolutely no luggage. With nothing in herhand at all, she walked cheerfully down to her village, which we neversee (and in which she was originally starving) and then we do not knowwhat happens to her. Not even a little hint in the credits at the end.I think when actors are portraying great suffering they should miss afew meals on location and perhaps a smaller baby could be used to showmalnutrition. I also expect more from the make-up department. I do notexpect the children to be starved for the role, but perhaps less bonnylooking children could be used, and less obviously well fed actors.A lot of money went into this production but God is in the details andthe details weren't there.My husband's comment was "Well I'll sleep well tonight!"