Sharpe's Rifles (1993)
During the Peninsular War in Spain against the French, Sergeant Richard Sharpe saves the life of Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington and is promoted to Lieutenant. In order to pay the troops Wellesley needs a money draft from the banker Rothschild, but fears he has been captured by the French and sends Sharpe behind enemy lines to find him. Sharpe is given command of a platoon of crack riflemen, led by the surly Irishman Harper and including Hagman and Harris, who resent Sharpe as not being a 'proper officer'.
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The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
*Spoiler/plot- Masterpiece- Sharps Rifles, 1993. Come-up-from-the-ranks Captain Sharpe of The King's Rifle unit fights in the Napolenonic Wars on mainland Europe against all opponents and deserters.*Special Stars- Sean Bean, Assumpta Serna, Elizabeth Hurley, Hugh Fraser, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Byrne, Jeremy Child. *Theme- Honor and ethics wins battles and makes comrades.*Trivia/location/goofs- British TV series, Masterpiece Theater. Enjoyable historic uniforms, songs and locations to be seen.*Emotion- It's very satisfying, rich and moralistic tale of Iberian Campaign of the Napoleonic wars. Full of action and intrigue with a few melodrama ethics added for viewer enjoyment. Think Horatio Hornblower on land in the British Army.*Based On- Best selling book.
What red-blooded girl could argue with 102 minutes of a mud-smeared Sean Bean swashbuckling in tight breeches? (Excuse me while I have an attack of the vapors...) It's a fun movie with a lot of action and great costumes, acting, and production values. BUT. . . I think the strong point of this series of movies is that it's likely to make you want to read the series of novels by Bernard Cornwell. Even for people who don't normally like to read historical/military fiction, they're a rollicking great read and packed with fascinating detail and character development. The movie is a tasty appetizer; the book is a satisfying meal. In this case, watching the movie won't ruin the book for you, and vice versa. Differences aside, they're done in the same spirit.
"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-)
For those of you who AREN'T hearing impaired, this is a great series. The DVDs aren't exactly laden with exclusive features, but the Sharpe series is a compelling retelling of an exciting period of world history. And Sean Bean is, as always, great. Check them out!