Sharpe's Eagle (1993) (TV)

Director:

Tom Clegg

Writers:

Bernard Cornwell (novel)
Eoghan Harris (writer)

Release Date:

12 May 1993 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | War

Plot:

Sharpe is a Captain saddled with the South Essex, a battalion run by incompetents and filled with soldiers who have never been in battle...

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Whipping | Shirtless Male Bondage | Fictional Biography | Historical

Cast

Sean Bean	...	Capt. Richard Sharpe
Brian Cox	...	Major Hogan
Daragh O'Malley	...	Sgt. Patrick Harper
Assumpta Serna	...	Teresa Moreno
Michael Cochrane	...	Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson
David Troughton	...	General Sir Arthur Wellesley
Martin Jacobs	...	Colonel Lawford
Katia Caballero	...	Countess Josefina
Michael Mears	...	Rifleman Cooper
John Tams	...	Rifleman Hagman
Jason Salkey	...	Rifleman Harris
Paul Trussell	...	Rifleman Tongue
Lyndon Davies	...	Rifleman Perkins
Gavan O'Herlihy	...	Capt. Leroy
David Ashton	...	Major Lennox
Neil Dudgeon	...	Lt. Gibbons
Daniel Craig	...	Lt. Berry
Nolan Hemmings	...	Ensign Denny
Paul Bigley	...	Dobbs

Directed by
Tom Clegg

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bernard Cornwell		novel
Eoghan Harris		writer

Produced by
Ted Childs	....	executive producer
Malcolm Craddock	....	producer
Pavel Douvidzon	....	line producer
Muir Sutherland	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Dominic Muldowney
John Tams

Cinematography by
Ivan Strasburg

Film Editing by
Robin Sales

Casting by
John Hubbard
Ros Hubbard

Production Design by
Andrew Mollo

Art Direction by
Philip Elton

Costume Design by
John Mollo

Makeup Department
Margarida Miranda	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Tatyana Shakhgeldyan	....	production manager: Russia
Sasha Stratievsky	....	assistant production manager: Russia
Viktor Taranov	....	production manager: Russia
Sasha Voronin	....	unit manager: Russia

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sam Craddock	....	second assistant director
Valentina Plugaru	....	assistant director: Russian crew

Art Department
Ilia Iovu	....	assistant art director: Russia
Alison Stewart-Richardson	....	set dresser
Colin Thurston	....	propmaster

Sound Department
Colin Chapman	....	dubbing editor
David Lis	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Dima Stesenko	....	special effects technician: russian crew

Stunts
Oleg Botin	....	stunts
Sasha Philatov	....	stunt coordinator
Greg Powell	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Yuri Nugis	....	gaffer

Music Department
Mark Tucker	....	music score recording engineer

Transportation Department
Vladimir Skakun	....	unit transportation coordinator: Russia

Other crew
Slava Burlachko	....	horse master
Gina Cronk	....	script editor
Lina Merculova	....	production coordinator: Russia
Richard Rutherford-Moore	....	technical advisor (as Richard Moore)
Zinaida Kravchenko	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Celtic Films Entertainment
• Central
• Picture Palace

Distributors

• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• ITV DVD (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• ITV DVD (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Independent Television (ITV) (1993) (UK) (TV)
• Masterpiece Theatre
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
• UKTV History (2007) (UK) (TV)

Other Companies

• East-West Creative Association  production services: Crimea
• Ecou Films  the company

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | UK:15 | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Company:

Celtic Films Entertainment

Trivia:

Historically, there was no Eagle taken at the battle of Talavera, though it was a victory for the British.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Sharpe promises to capture an eagle, the dead Major Lennox's eyes blink/flutter twice before the end of the scene.

Quotes:

[During Sir Henry's toast at a dinner party in camp]
Countess Josefina: I'm getting some air. Good night, Major. Enjoy yourself.
Maj. Hogan: [whispering] I will! I've laid ten guineas with Leroy that Sir Henry will talk for a full hour. Five minutes more, and I'll have won my bet.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Sharpe's Gold (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Rogue's March

Justice for the Story

Sharpe's Eagle, especially for those historical buff's out there,is a good feature-length TV show, but that's all it is. If it was given the same sort of budget that, say Lord of The Rings was, then sure it would have had success parallel to that film. This is because the scripting, production and casting (especially with Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley) are on an equal par with it.

The problem with a Sharpe series on TV was always going to be it's scale,and so it turned out. The short action sequences always seem crude, rushed and drastically under budgeted. For people that don't read very much, this is as good a historical drama you can get on TV. For those of us that do, and have read the books, the TV series pales sourly in th light of the book. The emotion, action and mostly scale involved in the Sharpe series can only be justified in the mind's eye.

A Sharpe book for the big screen? Now there's something...