Sharpe's Eagle
- Episode aired May 12, 1993
- TV-14
- 1h 40m
General Wellesley sends Major Hogan, Sharpe, the chosen men and the South Essex Regiment to destroy a bridge. Sharpe is immediately in conflict with two junior officers of the South Essex an... Read allGeneral Wellesley sends Major Hogan, Sharpe, the chosen men and the South Essex Regiment to destroy a bridge. Sharpe is immediately in conflict with two junior officers of the South Essex and their incompetent commander.General Wellesley sends Major Hogan, Sharpe, the chosen men and the South Essex Regiment to destroy a bridge. Sharpe is immediately in conflict with two junior officers of the South Essex and their incompetent commander.
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Did you know
- TriviaHistorically, there was no Eagle taken at the battle of Talavera, though it was a victory for the British.
- GoofsA number of the South Essex are equipped with French rather than British muskets. Both sides would often pick up equipment from the enemy if it was of better quality, for example weapons and packs.
- Quotes
[about the first defeat of the South Essex]
Wellesley: This is a report from Major Hogan, which differs somewhat from your account, Sir Henry.
Sir Henry Simmerson: Major Hogan is merely an engineer, sir.
Wellesley: Major Hogan's coat buttons up tight over a number of other duties, Sir Henry.
[he glances over at Hogan, then continues:]
Wellesley: Major Hogan reports a number of losses, Sir Henry. He says you first lost your head, and instead of destroying the bridge, you marched over it. He says you then lost your nerve, and ran from a small French patrol. He says you lost ten men, a Major and two sergeants. He says you finally lost your sense of honour and destroyed the bridge, cutting off a rescue party led by Lieutenant Sharpe. Major Hogan leaves the worst to the last. He says you lost the King's Colours.
Sir Henry Simmerson: [nervous] The fault was not mine, sir. Major Lennox must answer.
Wellesley: [shouting] Major Lennox answered with his *life*! As you should have done if you had any sense of honour! You lost the Colours of the King of England! You disgraced us, sir. You shamed us, sir. *You* will answer.
- ConnectionsEdited into Masterpiece: Sharpe's Eagle: Part 1 (1993)
Eagle gets its title from the French army's gold Eagle standards and this entry in the series shows Sharpe's attempts to restore the honour of his regiment by capturing one. Needless to say, this involves a lot of fighting and while the limits of the budget are all too apparent in this day and age, it lends the fights a more personal edge, zeroing in on one regiment in the midst of an epic clash between the armies and our view of the field is exactly the same as theirs would be; we see the immediate threat and little else, the rest of the army shrouded in smoke. The bruising clash between English and French cavalry near the start is just the prelude to the climactic battle for Talavera where Sharpe and the boys take on an entire French army in a hail of musket fire followed by some bloody close quarters fighting.
The violence aside, the other chief focus point is Sharpe himself, ably portrayed by Sean Bean. He may be better known to audiences nowadays for playing villainous roles, but he actually suits the rough and ready hero far better. He doesn't so much act as inhabit the character completely; this isn't Sean Bean playing Sharpe, he simply is Sharpe. Brian Cox meanwhile puts in a fine supporting role as Major Hogan and Daragh O'Malley as always is effortlessly charming and dangerous as Sergeant Harper, Sharpe's right hand man.
But a hero is only ever as good as his enemies are bad and Sharpe's Eagle has two of the most detestable oafs to ever crop up in the series. With the French army a distant threat, his main encounters come with authority figures and rival officers, in this case Michael Cochrane's inept Colonel Simmerson and Daniel Craig's Lt. Berry. Simmerson is a snarling, beast of a man, addicted to scarification and with a stubborn belief that flogging and corporal punishment will keep his men in line. Craig on the other hand is delightfully slimy as an upper class villain with a penchant for abusing women, a cool headed and calculating evil to Simmerson's over the top cad.
In short then, a highly enjoyable two hours of swashbuckling. It is a far more intimate portrayal of a colossal historical war than it would have been if it was made in Hollywood, but it is one that takes us right down onto the front line with the red and green jacketed troops. Sean Bean is so good its a bit of a shame that he has been relegated to playing the same evil English men that he comes to blows with here, but ultimately this is one of the most enjoyable transitions of a novel to screen I can name. And given that it deviates little from the (highly recommended) book, one of the most respectful ones too.
- ExpendableMan
- Jan 31, 2007
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- Sharpe y el águila del imperio
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