Sharpe's Battle (1995) (TV)

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 | Historical | Military | Napoleonic | Sequel

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
Robert Hands	...	Lt. Jenkins
Maria Petrucci	...	Miranda

Directed by
Tom Clegg

Writing credits
Bernard Cornwell		(novel)
Russell Lewis		(writer)

Produced by
Chris Burt	....	producer
Ted Childs	....	producer
Malcolm Craddock	....	executive producer
Pavel Douvidzon	....	line producer
Ray Frift	....	associate producer
Muir Sutherland	....	producer

Cinematography by
Chris O'Dell

Film Editing by
Michael Parker

Production Design by
Andrew Mollo

Costume Design by
Robin Fraser-Paye

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
Michael Mallinson	....	first assistant director
Valentina Plugaru	....	assistant director: Russian crew

Art Department
Ilia Iovu	....	assistant art director: Russia
Ilia Iovu	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Colin Chapman	....	supervising sound editor

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

Stunts
Oleg Botin	....	stunts

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
Marissa Cowell	....	script supervisor
Lina Merculova	....	production coordinator: Russia
Richard Rutherford-Moore	....	military advisor (as Richard Moore)
Zinaida Kravchenko	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Carlton Films
• Celtic Films Entertainment
• Central
• Picture Palace

Distributors

• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• UKTV History (2007) (UK) (TV)

Other Companies

• East-West Creative Association  the company
• Ecou Films  the company

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Ukraine

Company:

Carlton Films

Trivia:

According to Bernard Cornwell, author of the 'Sharpe' series, he only finished half the novel in time for filming, so the beginning half of the book is followed quite accurately, but the endings are different.

Quotes:

Loup: You have two of my men?
Richard Sharpe: Not for long.
Loup: Might I remind you, Major, of the rules of war?
Richard Sharpe: Raping women? Killing babies and young children? What you did here isn't war!
Loup: I police these mountains, Major, to protect our supply lines from guerillas. The chief weapon of the guerilla, Major, is horror. Horror! So, I make sure that I am more horrible than my enemy.

Movie Connections:

Follows Sharpe's Company (1994) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Johnny is Gone for a Soldier

Another great adventure for the heroic rifleman

Sharpe's Battle is in my humble opinion, one of the finest entries in the entire movie series and despite the slight hiccup of Sharpe's Gold, shows the team behind them going from strength to strength. For while the formula of Wellington having a problem, sending to Sharpe to solve it, a beautiful woman getting involved and everything culminating in a massive pitched battle was well and truly in place by now, Sharpe's Battle takes pains to develop its characters further. The finished film, is nothing but satisfying.

For one thing, this is one of the most action packed episodes of the lot. The battles are a lot smaller scale than normal and have more of a guerrilla war flavour to them, but they are still as gripping as ever and the fights come fast and frequent. One minute they're engaging in bitter street fighting, ducking and diving from alleyways to doors and back again, snatching off rifle blasts at their darting foes. The next they're defending their fortress from the massed ranks of French infantry, engaging in bloody hand to hand combat as the fires of battlefield immolation roar around them. And while it may be a small point, they're given a subtle veneer of freshness by the absence of the standard red and blue infantrymen uniforms, replaced by the green and white of the palace guards and the fantastic looking French wolf pack with their grey uniforms decorated with wolf fur.

What's more, Sharpe's Battle goes some way towards developing the characters beyond their normal roles. Sharpe will of course be familiar to any fan of the series but here, is a tad more weary of the endless fighting and more embittered than usual, the lack of a romantic female lead for him to bed this time around revealing the creative teams willingness to toy with the familiar pattern. Daragh O'Malley meanwhile puts in perhaps his finest turn to date as Sergeant Harper. As per normal, he is a genial and charming man who can put a smiling face on the war, but late in the episode this changes and he is overcome by a berserk rage, but at no point does this feel forced.

Best of all though is Jason Durr's performance as Lord Kiely, commander of the Royal Palace guard and a man obsessed with making his name and the name of his regiment go down in military history. Kiely could very easily have been another pompous gentleman for Sharpe to clash with, but while he may fit the bill somewhat, he is far less stereotypical than the likes of Henry Simmerson, the slimy brute from Sharpe's Eagle. Instead, Kiely is a conflicted persona who simultaneously loves and hates his wife, unable to bed with her thanks to a disastrous miscarriage that has stained their relationship. At turns you will loathe him, at others you will sympathise and once or twice its even possible to admire him, Durr putting in a fine job as the tormented man.

Elsewhere, we get another tremendously unlikable villain in the form of Brigadier General Loup, a one-eyed, mustachioed French scumball and even Rifleman Perkins getting a much needed boost of characterisation. You also have the Royal guard themselves, men of pride who have to come to terms with the knowledge that they are the laughing stock of the army and as they grow in the art of war, it's hard not to cheer for them. Best of all though, you get another hour and forty minutes of dashing heroism, unchecked violence and daring-do, but with a bit more humanity this time around. Highly recommended.