Sharpe's Rifles (1993) (TV)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Tom Clegg

Writers:

Eoghan Harris (written by)
Bernard Cornwell (based on the novel by)

Release Date:

5 May 1993 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | History | War

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Portugal | 1800s | Napoleonic Wars | Fictional Biography | Military

Cast

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

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Spanish | French | Yiddish | Portuguese

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Company:

Celtic Films Entertainment

Trivia:

The "proper sword" given Sharpe by Capt. Murray is a the British Pattern 1796 Sword for Heavy Cavalry. It is a single-edged sword with a "hatchet" point similar to that of the Japanese katana. Also like the katana, the 1796 is meant to be a cutting sword, though this blade-heavy weapon is meant for much less elegant work than the well-balanced katana. As such, the 1796 is particularly unsuitable for delicate swordplay; nonetheless it found strong favor among British foot as well as horse troops especially during the Napoleonic Wars due its ability to simply break the blades of lighter infantry and cavalry swords - allowing users to smash their way through opponents. The hefty, sturdy 1796 was reported to cause such terrible injuries that many Napoleonic-era French officers protested its use by the British as a "terror weapon" unfit for civilized combat.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Aside from the fact that James Rothschild was German/French and not English, had a full head of hair and would have been only 17 in 1809 (the year of the story), it is highly unlikely that as an upper class person such as he would have spoken a word of Yiddish. The three words exchanged by Rothschild and the "Methodist" in the carriage were scarcely distinguishable from German which begs the question: how would Richard Sharpe have recognized Yiddish?

Quotes:

[Sharpe is asking his men about their pasts]
Sharpe: Well?
Harris: Harris. From Wheatley in Oxfordshire.
Sharpe: And previously?
Harris: A courtier to my lord Bacchus and an unremitting debtor.
Sharpe: You're a rake and a wastrel, Harris. Is there anything you *can* do?
Harris: I can read, sir.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Oranges and Lemons

An enjoyable action/adventure t.v. series out of the UK.

"Sharpe's Rifles" is the first in a series of about 14 teleplays with Sean Bean playing the rough, tough commander of a motley bunch of sharp shooters who fight for Britain in the Peninsular campaign (circa 1808ish). The film is an enjoyable action/adventure romp with Sharpe as much a ladies' man as a man's man who must prove himself to both in this foray into Spain on a somewhat ambiguous mission. Not to be taken seriously, "Sharpe's Rifles" is just fun stuff for anyone into adventure flix set during the Napoleonic Wars. Note: the video quality on the bare bones DVD I watched was no better than I would expect from broadcast and there were no CC's, subtitles, or extra features. (B-)