Sharpe's Challenge (2006) (TV)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Tom Clegg

Writers:

Bernard Cornwell (novels)
Russell Lewis (written by)

Release Date:

13 October 2007 (Russia)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | War

Plot:

Sean Bean is back as the swashbuckling hero in Sharpe's Challenge, an action packed mini-series to be shot on location in Rajasthan...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | 19th Century | Sequel | India | Come Out Of Retirement

Cast

Sean Bean	...	Richard Sharpe
Daragh O'Malley	...	Patrick Harper
Toby Stephens	...	William Dodd
Padma Lakshmi	...	Madhuvanthi
Aurélien Recoing	...	Gudin
Lucy Brown	...	Celia Burroughs
Michael Cochrane	...	General Sir Henry Simmerson
Alyy Khan	...	Mohan Singh
Peter-Hugo Daly	...	Sgt Shadrach Bickerstaff (as Peter Hugo-Daly)
Thierry Hancisse	...	Bonnet
Karan Panthaky	...	Khande Rao
Shruti Vyas	...	Lalima
Peter Symonds	...	General Burroughs
Graham McTavish	...	Colonel Hector McRae
Gary Dunnington	...	Stokes

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Hindi | French

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:TV-14 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Company:

Celtic Films Entertainment

Trivia:

The character of Davi is a briefly mentioned servant of Sharpe's in the novel "Sharpe's Triumph". He is killed in a raid by William Dodd in the novel.

Quotes:

Madhuvanthi: You must take me with you!
William Dodd: Why? You mean nothing to me!

Movie Connections:

Follows Sharpe's Waterloo (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Girl I Left Behind

An excellent story - but it might confuse the bookworms

It should be said that this will make for tougher viewing by those who have read Cornwell's books than those who have not. For those of you who haven't (and you're missing out) than you will see an excellent story with a higher budget than the original movies and fine acting by the entire cast, in particular Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Michael Cochrane and Toby Stephens. For those of you who have read the books, here is the basic plot - I am doing my best to remain vague so as not to spoil the story: the plot opens with almost a word for word copy of the opening of Sharpe's Triumph (the second Sharpe book set in India). Suddenly the viewer (and Sharpe) are plunged forward thirteen years and Sharpe is sent by Wellington on a mission similar to that which he is sent to in Sharpe's Devil (the final book chronologically). Watching it a second time, readers will realise that while most of the action in India is true to the book, it picks events almost at random from Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe's Triumph and Sharpe's Fortress (the three books set in India), while simultaneously moving them from the period of 1799-1803 to 1817. In order to compensate for heroes and villains parted (or never met) during previous movies, Hakeswill is replaced by Bickerstaff (brilliantly played by Peter-Hugo Daly), Morris is replaced by Simmerson (Michael Cochrane is splendid as the gutless git), Lawford, McCandless, and (if you're picky) Blas Vivar are all replaced by Harper, and the Sultan is replaced by his son. Despite the changes in setting, the events in the movie are still very close to the book - all credit to the authors, and the acting is so professional that the characters are entirely believable.