Hugo Weaving, The Dirtwater Dynasty, portrait

n. Hugo Weaving ~ The Dirtwater Dynasty

AU miniseries 1988:     Hugo Content: appx 80%%  10hours (US? 5 hrs)
Character: Richard Eastwick, driven, tragic self-made man
Cast: Hugo Weaving     Richard Eastwick, Harold Hopkin s  Rev. McBride, Anne-Louise Lambert   Emma Tarbox,   Victoria Longley  Kate/Nancy/Sarah, Dennis Miller  Hasky Tarbox, Judy Morris  Frances Eastwick, Peter Phelps  David Eastwick, Bruce Spence  Lonely Logan
Dir: Michael Jenkins and John Power
Wri:John Duigan, Terry Hayes    Prod: Kennedy-Miller
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Hugo Weaving: The Dirtwater Dynasty Plot/Comments:

The Dirtwater Dynasty is an ambitious, epic saga spanning eight decades of one man's life. It is a "rollicking melodrama" with a huge scope, covering ten hours of broadcast time.
The series follows Richard Eastwick's life: from the slums and mining pits of England; to his immigration to Australia; to his struggle to raise himself through determination and ruthlessness; to his becoming one of Australia's wealthiest and most influential men.
Hugo Weaving, The Dirtwater Dynasty, kiss

Within weeks of travelling to Sydney in 1895, Eastwick meets and falls in love with Katie McBride, daughter of the incestuous Reverend McBride. Before he can marry her, he must find a job and a home and build himself up from the rags that he stands in.

Eastwick claims a piece of his land as his own; a godforsaken stretch of barren land, which only seems good for harvesting dirt. He is taught the ropes of outback living by Josh McCall; a friend for life and one of the few men who is not put off by his ruthlessness and drive. He also strikes up a firm friendship with the local eccentric 'Lonely' Logan (Bruce Spence, naturally) who becomes something of a faithful sidekick.
However, Eastwick is no ordinary immigrant and an trial with an experimental bore allows him to tap into a commodity that is as rare as gold in the area, and in much more demand: water. 
  He can replace his slab hut with a luxurious mansion...but as ever, there is a price to pay.

As Eastwick's dreams come to fruition, Kate's sudden death leaves him distraught and mourning. Meanwhile, the  Reverend McBride steps in, using Eastwick's time of grief to wreak revenge. McBride has also developed unsavoury designs on his granddaughter...
    Although Eastwick owns more land than anyone in Australia,  he loses it all and has to build himself up all over again, becoming obsessed with hatred for his old enemy, Hascy Tarbox (a very dastardly Dennis Miller).
       As the years drag by and he re-establishes his empire, Eastwick's overpowering loathing for the Tarbox family costs him the respect of his son David, who is in love with Emma Tarbox. 
  Consumed by hatred, he is an embittered and isolated old man.

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Comments

  • George Miller also produced Bodyline and  Babe, and directed  Babe: Pig in the City. Bruce Spence was also in Wendy Cracked a Walnut ,  Exileand Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. See The Usual Suspects for a huge list of regular Weaving co-workers

 

 

This seems to have been a sprawling and unashamedly OTT production : drought and famine; poor British miners; wealthy Australian landowners; villains; eccentrics; violence; dirty brawls; romance; revenge; a touch of incestuousness; tragedy; father-son conflict; and an epic Citizen Kane style character scope.
  TV Week wrote "the look of it goes from desolate to lavish and back again without taking a breath. It has the feel of those big Westerns they made way back when".
Hugo Weaving, The Dirtwater Dynasty, fisticuffs

Hugo Weaving Content


Richard Eastwick provides Hugo Weaving with the opportunity to cover the hopes and failures of a man's entire life.
Appearing in nearly 80% of the huge 10 hour production, and playing Eastwick from his late teens to 80, Weaving was praised by critics for his "remarkable performance".
 

For 20 days of the shoot, Weaving had to age 50 years, spending a total of 4 1/2 hours each day in the makeup chair.
Hugo Weaving, The Dirtwater Dynasty, ageing