Sharpe's Battle (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Tom Clegg

Writers:

Bernard Cornwell (novel)
Russell Lewis (writer)

Release Date:

8 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | History | War

Plot:

When Sharpe is ordered to whip the King of Spain's Irish Royal Brigade into shape, he faces dissent from the men who believe the British are slaughtering their relatives in Ireland and a spy from within. |

Plot Keywords:

Fictional Biography | Military | Sequel | Napoleonic Wars | Based On Novel

Cast

Sean Bean	...	Major Richard Sharpe
Daragh O'Malley	...	Sgt. Patrick Harper
Hugh Fraser	...	Lord Wellington
Hugh Ross	...	Major Mungo Munro
John Tams	...	Rifleman Hagman
Jason Salkey	...	Rifleman Harris
Lyndon Davies	...	Rifleman Perkins
Jason Durr	...	Lord Kiely
Allie Byrne	...	Lady Kiely
Ian McNeice	...	Colonel Runciman
Oliver Cotton	...	Brig. General Loup
Siri Neal	...	Juanita
Liam Carney	...	O'Rourke
Phelim Drew	...	Donaju
Diana Perez	...	Ramona

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Company:

Carlton Films

Trivia:

The book upon which this is based is dedicated to Sean Bean, the actor who plays Richard Sharpe.

Quotes:

Patrick Harper: O'Rourke! I'll find you, O'Rourke!
[a group of the renegade Irish appear, and Harper blasts them with his volley gun. Only O'Rourke is left standing]
O'Rourke: Sergeant Harper... you know I've no quarrel with a fellow Irishman.
[He raises his musket and pulls the trigger. It clicks empty]
Patrick Harper: A good soldier always looks after his weapon, Private O'Rourke.
[O'Rourke yells and charges with his bayonet. Harper disarms him and spins him around]
Patrick Harper: O'Rourke, this one's for Perkins...
[stabs him]
Patrick Harper: This one's for Ireland...
[stabs him again]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Followed by Sharpe's Peril (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Over the Hills and Far Away

One of Television's all time best movie series

If America only knew how good this was,it would be the highest rated Made-For-TV movie series of all time(hard to believe there are more people out there that would rather watch "The Columbo Mysteries" than Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe Chronicles- that just goes to show the power of major network name-brand advertising.

The Richard Sharpe movie series has been television at its finest. I have seen all of the BBC Sharpe series movies,"Sharpe's Waterloo" is my favorite of the films. However I tune in to PBS everytime they air the Sharpe movies. So far all the movies have been based on the Sharpe Chronicles - adventure novels written by Bernard Cornwell(the same author who wrote "Rebel"). Each Movie chronicles the on-going adventures of Richard Sharpe who is a Brittish Lt. in the Brittish military during the late 1790's-to early 1800's during the Napoleonic era in Europe. I sincerly believe that each one of these Films has been good enough to have shown at the movie theaters,if the producers had wanted to. Unlike other Made-For-TV films,The Hornblower films do not have that Made-For-TV feeling to them,like most television movies have. However each of the Sharpe Movies picks up exactly where the last one left off. The only negative thing I can say about this movie series is the use of an electric guitar as the background music- I have to take points off for that, because the sometimes screeching guitar noises can become annoying at times.

A common misconception that people who havent seen these movies have is that all of these films go to gether as a mini-series- that is not true. The Sharpe movies are not a mini-series,all of these films are individual movies about the same charactor, However they are sequels to each other each picking up where the last film left off.- with all the same actors playing the same roles in each film(EXAMPLE:think of the James Bond films-that same principle applies to the Sharpe movies,but unlike Bond, the Sharpe films are sequels)

If you have seen the Sharpe movies and you liked them and you wish to see more similar themed programing, I will suggest A&E's Horatio Hornblower movies(6 movies in all- same basic priciple as the Sharpe movie except Hornblower is in the Brittish Navy to whereas Sharpe is a ground soldier)

I give the entire Sharpe movie series 4 out of 5 stars. Its near Perfect entertainment- but you cant please everyone, so for those of you dont like epic Napoleonic era battles,classic historic style drama,high stakes adventure, and danger on the European battlefields,if you dont like stuff like that-there is always a Columbo re-run for you to watch.