Against the Wind

The Australian mini-series "Against the Wind" was by far one of the best I have ever seen on television. Like others, I would love to see this true and heart-warming story repeated which it hasn't been for years. Since a video was not released, perhaps PBS can be urged to re-run it.

I saw this mini-series in the late 70's and fell in love with the characters and story, which told the tale of English and Irish convicts transported to early Australia. It was extremely romantic and had plenty of adventure for non-romos. If it were available on video, I'd buy it. It is a really g ood story.

I am happy to realize that so many people share my personal feelings on these miniseries. I cannot add anything to the fine words said about the acting, the score or the story - I just can add another touch to the tapestry of opinions which I believe a few will be able to add.

Living in Bulgaria during the Communist regime certainly had its limitations :-), including not being able to watch most of the TV shows that the whole world grew with. For obvious reasons, Bulgaria's then-one and only state-run TV station did not care to show the working class of the country how did the working class in the US, Europe or Australia live at the time. Occasionally, the censure treated us with some British costume drama or historical miniseries so we could not really make any 'politically incorrect' parallels. Against The Wind was one of those series that kinda passed the censorship and I can remember streets of Bulgaria getting empty when an episode was on air. I was about 10 at the time but I still remember the score being played on the radio in a café and everybody hushing down to hear it. You couldn't buy the soundtrack it in stores then... A friend of mine still keeps a cassette tape with the opening theme recorded from the speaker of his TV set. It even has the Bulgarian voice-over reciting the title of the series and the names of the leading casts. The series had a huge cultural impact on me and many of my friends in Bulgaria at that time and was a measure for every new miniseries coming on Bulgarian TV for years.

Rarely do I rate anything this highly, but this one cannot be beat! Captivating, intriguing, educational as well. I saw it as a teen, stayed with me thru adulthood, I was lucky enough to score a copy of it from a very generous soul.

In July 2006, this miniseries became available on DVD, but only available for purchase in Australia. You would need a PAL player to view it.

Go to this website for all the information you could ever want on this phenomenal mini-series. You will also find information there on the audio soundtrack: http://web.telia.com/~u22407796/index.htm

I saw this series in 1979 when I was 23 and have been looking for it on video for the past 10 years. Have not seen it since and can find no other information on the series except for this website. The music was lovely and I remember the story line was moving. For the memory of a mini-series to last this long, it must have been good.