Sharpe's Company (1994) (TV)

Director:

Tom Clegg

Writers:

Bernard Cornwell (novel)
Charles Wood (script)

Release Date:

14 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | War

Plot:

Spain 1812. After Ciudad Rodrigo, Teresa tells Sharpe that they have a baby daughter. In Badajoz, the next siege target...

Plot Keywords:

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

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Sean Bean	...	Capt. Richard Sharpe
Daragh O'Malley	...	Sgt. Patrick Harper
Hugh Fraser	...	Lord Wellington
Michael Byrne	...	Major Nairn
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Sgt. Obadiah Hakeswill
Assumpta Serna	...	Teresa Moreno
Clive Francis	...	Colonel Windham
Nicholas Jones	...	Colonel Fletcher
Michael Mears	...	Rifleman Cooper
John Tams	...	Rifleman Hagman
Jason Salkey	...	Rifleman Harris
Lyndon Davies	...	Rifleman Perkins
Scott Cleverdon	...	Lt. Harry Price
Robert Morgan	...	Major Collett
Louise Germaine	...	Sally Clayton
Soo Drouet	...	Mrs. Grimes
William Mannering	...	Ensign Matthews
Marc Warren	...	Capt. Rymer
Peter Gunn	...	Private Clayton
Peter Birrel	...	Don Moreno
Tat Whalley	...	Hope
Jérôme Pradon	...	Reynier

Directed by
Tom Clegg

Writing credits
Bernard Cornwell		(novel)
Charles Wood		(script)

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

Original Music by
Dominic Muldowney
John Tams

Cinematography by
Arthur Wooster

Film Editing by
Robin Sales

Casting by
John Hubbard
Ros Hubbard
Lisa-Anne Porter

Production Design by
Andrew Mollo

Art Direction by
Philip Elton
Cliff Robinson

Costume Design by
Robin Fraser-Paye

Makeup Department
Fiona Clegg	....	makeup assistant
Charmaine Gruhn	....	makeup artist
Penny Smith	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Clive Hedges	....	production supervisor (as J. Clive Hedges)
Tatyana Shakhgeldyan	....	production manager: Russian crew
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
Marc Jenny	....	first assistant director
Valentina Plugaru	....	assistant director
Valentina Plugaru	....	assistant director: Russian crew
Alex Sutherland	....	third assistant director (as Alejandro Sutherland)

Art Department
Ilia Iovu	....	set dresser: Russia
Alison Stewart-Richardson	....	prop buyer
Colin Thurston	....	propmaster

Sound Department
Colin Chapman	....	supervising sound editor
St. Clair Davis	....	boom operator
Peter Lennard	....	dubbing editor
Colin Martin	....	dubbing mixer
Christian Wangler	....	sound

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

Stunts
Oleg Botin	....	stunts
Sasha Philatov	....	stunts
Dinny Powell	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Sean Connor	....	focus puller
Martin Hume	....	camera operator
Eddie Knight	....	gaffer
Yuri Nugis	....	gaffer
Helen Williams	....	clapper loader

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elena Khramova	....	wardrobe mistress
Steven Kirkby	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Steve Kirkby)

Editorial Department
Richard Milward	....	assistant editor

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

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

Other crew
Liz Bunton	....	production coordinator
Gina Cronk	....	script editor
Andy Hennigan	....	production accountant
Elaine Matthews	....	script supervisor
Lina Merculova	....	production coordinator: Russia
Tom Moriarty	....	armorer
Dinny Powell	....	horse master
Richard Rutherford-Moore	....	military advisor (as Richard Moore)
Cindy Winter	....	contact: London
Zinaida Kravchenko	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Celtic Films Entertainment
• Central Independent Television
• Picture Palace

Distributors

• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• ITV DVD (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• Independent Television (ITV) (1994) (UK) (TV)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1995) (USA) (TV)
• UKTV History (2007) (UK) (TV)

Other Companies

• East-West Creative Association  production services: Crimea

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | Portuguese

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | Finland:K-13 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Ukraine

Company:

Celtic Films Entertainment

Trivia:

Originally, it was a character named Robert Knowles who is shot by Hakeswill. The TV series changed it to Price being the victim.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Hakeswill gets head-butted by Harper, his head is bleeding above his left eye. But when he goes out and gets knocked to the ground the cut and blood are gone.

Quotes:

[Harper, framed by Hakeswill for theft, is being flogged]
Drummer Boy: Ninety-three! Ninety-four! Ninety-five!
[Harper has spit out his gag and is grinning widely as the lash lands]
Drummer Boy: Ninety-six! Ninety-seven! Ninety-eight! Ninety-nine! One hundred! One hundred and all's done, sir!
[Harper is released. Still grinning, he starts to walk away]
Colonel Windham: Harper? Come back here.
Sgt. Patrick Harper: Sir?
Colonel Windham: You're a brave man. I salute you for it.
[He tosses Harper a golden guinea. Harper catches it]
Sgt. Patrick Harper: Thank you, sir. Thank you.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Followed by Sharpe's Mission (1996) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Heart of Oak

Sharpe firmly established

Sharpe's Company really marked the beginning of what the series would become. It was bigger than the previous two entries, and everyone involved in the series seemed to be settling in. Sean Bean seemed to really slip into his own comfort zone with the character here, and Tom Clegg seemed to be comfortable as a Director as well. And Daragh O'Malley stepped right up and made Harper a major player in the franchise.

I saw it mentioned in another review that Sharpe's Company is the one movie of the series that can really stand on it's own. I have to say, even though it's not my very favourite, I totally agree. This was my introduction to Sharpe, and it is the perfect place to start. In fact, I didn't even see the first 2 movies, Rifles and Eagles, until much later on. Maybe the reason why this is so good as a stand alone movie is because everything seemed to really begin here. Like I said, Company was the beginning of what the series would become. Rifles portrayed Sharpe as a very different character in very different circumstances. Eagles kind of set up him as a leader of the Riflemen. Here in Sharpe's Company, Sharpe has become a leader and has softened up a bit as a character. He's very trusting and sympathetic to his men, he takes the role as a mentor to a young boy, and he's about to become a father. But of course we still get several great scenes of Sharpe the arrogant bully, tormenting his enemy, Obadiah Hakeswill. The way Sharpe does torment Obadiah would normally set him up as a despicable guy in most movies, but thanks to Pete Postlethwaite's performance as Obadiah, you can't help but cheer Sharpe on as he constantly lays into him. And Pete Postlethwaite's performance is phenomenal. It's insane and mad, while just sitting on the right side of being over-the-top. Not many people can mumble their way through a movie and talk into their hat, and not be a laughing stock to the audience. Instead, Postlethwaite develops himself as a menacing villain. He's despicable and entertaining at the same time.

The final siege is where Sharpe's Company really shines. Instead of filming it like an action piece, Tom Clegg directs the sequence in a very personal way. All you see for most of the Siege is close up shots of the Red Coats charging forward. Since he focuses right on the soldiers the whole time, the explosions and gunshots around have more effect. You're not seeing the enemy firing on them, so there's more suspense. It's a powerful sequence full of soldiers marching and dying right on camera. If it had been shot like most War movies, the scene would have no impact. To Tom Clegg's credit, not showing us a lot of the mayhem around is really what made the end of this so worth watching. And then of course there's the long awaited showdown between Sharpe and Obadiah (which is an especially long wait when you consider the India series that was never made into movies). Although it's brief, there's enough pure energy between Sean Bean and Pete Postlethwaite to end with a bang. I think it's unlikely that someone can watch Sharpe's Company and not enjoy it. I think it's downright impossible to watch Sharpe's Company and not be interested in seeing what happens next in Sharpe's Enemy. This movie was the perfect launching point for the series, and it sets up the next movie while still giving the audience closure. Every time I see the end of Sharpe's Company, I immediately make plans to see Sharpe's Enemy. I suggest everyone else check that one out as well.

And a final message to Tom Clegg. If you're reading this, and you've never considered it, I urge you to get to work on a new Sharpe movie. PLEASE! There's still so much more to do.