Sharpe's Rifles (1993) (TV)

Director:

Tom Clegg

Writers:

Bernard Cornwell (novel)
Eoghan Harris (writer)

Release Date:

5 May 1993 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | War

Plot:

In the Penisular War, a British seargent is field promoted to a lieutenant in charge of a disrespectful rifle company.

Plot Keywords:

Fictional Biography | Historical | Military | Napoleonic | 1800s

Cast

Sean Bean	...	Lt. Richard Sharpe
Brian Cox	...	Major Hogan
Daragh O'Malley	...	Sgt. Patrick Harper
Assumpta Serna	...	Teresa Moreno
David Troughton	...	General Sir Arthur Wellesley
Simón Andreu	...	Major Blas Vivar
Michael Mears	...	Rifleman Cooper
John Tams	...	Rifleman Hagman
Jason Salkey	...	Rifleman Harris
Paul Trussell	...	Rifleman Tongue
Lyndon Davies	...	Rifleman Perkins
Julian Fellowes	...	Major Dunnett
Tim Bentinck	...	Capt. Murray
Richard Ireson	...	Sgt. Williams
Martin Jacobs	...	Colonel Lawford

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Spanish | French | Yiddish | Portuguese

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Company:

Celtic Films Entertainment

Trivia:

Sharpe's 95th Regiment and its green jackets are fact based. The 95th was a direct ancestor of the modern Royal Green Jackets

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the abandoned cottage, Harper bends and reacts to Sharpe's kick to his groin a split second before Sharpe's foot actually connects, even though Harper's face is turned away looking behind him.

Quotes:

Richard Sharpe: Gimme a pick-lock, Cooper.
Cooper: Pick-lock, sir? Catch me with a pick-lock!
Patrick Harper: They did, Coop. But when you got out of Newgate prison, you got another set, and that's the one the officer wants.
Cooper: Do I get it back, sir?
Richard Sharpe: Trust me.
Cooper: It's very hard to trust a man who wants to borrow your pick-lock, sir.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Salamanca

Great Movie Even If You're Not Historically Inclined

The Napoleonic Wars are not typically my historical period of interest. A friend of mine had seen some of the Sharpe's movies on Public Television, bought the first set of videos and basically browbeat me into watching them. We watched Sharpe's Rifles, the first of the series, one night when I was over for dinner, and he gladly let me borrow the rest of that first set when I left. I was greatly, and pleasantly impressed. Sean Bean is, of course, a spectacular actor, and he brings a realistic personality to a character of the period. Richard Sharpe is a hero that's not always behaving quite like a hero, but when one realises that he was a commoner from a world where if he didn't join the army, he would've ended up a criminal, one can at least appreciate his behaviour, even if one doesn't always agree with it. The supporting cast also does a wonderful job. The series puts Sharpe in the forefront of actual historical events, specifically battles, and one is tempted to believe that he was a real person. If you're a fan of Sean Bean, if you're a fan of period movies, or Hell! if you're a fan of movies...period, you should check out at least the first set of Sharpe's movies, starting with this one.