<p> The collision course is set in the opening scene of “The Manions of America” as lordly, red-coated English fox hunters rudely cut across a piteous Irish funeral procession as priest and family bear a cheap child's coffin to its grave. The mini series begins in Eire in 1845 as the Great Famine adds injury to the many insults endured by the native population. The title gives away much: the hot-headed, handsome young tenant farmer, Rory O'Manion, will find passage to the New World without ever tearing his heart from the Emerald Isle. </p> <p>The 1981 ABC mini series, “The Manions of America,” starred a young Pierce Brosnan as Rory, who takes arms against the British and flees across the Atlantic. He endures prejudice and anti-immigrant violence on the new shores, but also finds opportunities for a workman with a strong back and the determination to push forward. The acting is capable all around and the sets well conceived while the screenplay sugars a Masterpiece Theatre concept with spoonfuls of Hollywood. “The Manions of America” is out on DVD in plenty of time for St. Patrick's Day. </p>
Pierce Brosnan's Premiere
80s Mini Series on DVD