Opiniones de usuarios

Reminiscent of the film "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World", this feature takes aspects of several of the earlier Sharpe novels and combines them to create a new plot/storyline. Fine acting by both the main and supporting casts (Toby Stephens is perfect as Dodd), with sets and effects that show a more lavish budget than previously-issued Sharpe installments, this movie may puzzle and maybe irritate devoted readers of the Sharpe novels. At the same time, it addresses the earlier (chronologically in the series, if not in order of publishing) exploits of Private/Sergeant/Lieutenant Sharpe during the Indian campaigns.

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.

Just one word to sum up this fantastic new dose of Sharpe and that is 'SU-BLOODY-PERB'.

It's been ten years since we saw Richard beat the Imperial Guard on the bloody field of Waterloo, and, like many of the life long fans, I believed that was the last time we would see Sharpe on screen. Of course, there was always a rumour that 'Tiger' would be made into a feature film but that hope died after a few years.

Now, we have been treated to an extra long two parter that was excellent in every aspect. A plentiful amount of tension, action and valour. Beano and Daragh were top hold as usual, excellent to see the old faces such as fopp Simmerson, Ramona and Wellington back on the screen.

The new characters were utterly splendid, Stephens as Dodd was one of the most evil villains ever to face Sharpe and Peter Hugo-Daly as Sgt Bickerstaff was a vile sight, yet a great performance. Even prompting Bean to jokingly remark in the 'making of' feature that he looked 'F***ing 'orrible'.

Not enough time to list all of the supporting cast, but none were a disappointment.

In conclusion, one of the best Sharpes to date and I would not be wrong in stating that the series as a whole is THE best historical drama to grace British television.

To any of the Producers that might browse these boards, I hope that another two movies are made to give a complete feel to the saga. Plus if you want any extras who want no pay, there's a huge fan base out there plus plenty of ready-trained re-enactors.

As you can tell, loved the whole show. Can't wait for the DVD on May 1st.

What could be better than spending another 2+ hours in the company of two of TV's greatest heroes, Sharpe & Harper? Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley look a little the worse for wear, but their chemistry is still working and there is plenty of swashbuckling afoot in this Indian adventure. The scenery is magnificent (I'm SO glad they didn't try to film it, let's say, in the UKRAINE!) and the cast is first rate. This new SHARPE has all the ingredients that made its predecessors so enjoyable to watch. And since they've obviously thrown more money at this one it looks better. (For instance, a lot more extras are used in battle scenes than we're used to seeing in earlier installments.) At the risk of being called a "purist" or an "obsessive" (words already bandied about in this forum), I have to say I'm disappointed that we're probably never going to get to see Cornwell's three Sharpe Indian novels presented as they were written. Of course, I realize there were many changes made in the earlier episodes, but here are a couple of reasons why:

1. The three Indian books give us a good look at the very young Sharpe and the formation of his character. But that would require another (younger) actor, which the producers realize would diminish their audience.

2. We miss the wonderful situations involving the young(er) Hakeswill, played so marvelously by Pete Postlethwaite in earlier episodes. The Indian books let us revel in Sharpe's personal battle with this demented enemy. The producers had to come up with about four villains in SHARPE'S CHALLENGE to make up for him.

Bernard Cornwell, realizing he was sitting on a gold mine, has milked Sharpe's adventures, adding battles before, after, and in between those of the original set of books. And long may he milk! However, this means that we will miss authentic dramatizations of these later additions to the Sharpe canon (cannon, geddit?).

I finished watching Sharpe last night. I got the complete collection for Christmas. It's a hugely enjoyable show and probably the best mainstream British television drama ever. It's also a serious slice of 90's nostalgia, and for me Sean Bean's rough and ready Richard Shapre is as iconic as 007.

That's not to say it's a perfect show; there are some frequent and notable flaws. Firstly Sean Bean's acting ability can't always match the quality of the writing and during some of the more wordy 19th Century dialogue he struggles to give it any kind of emotional weight, you can tell he is not comfortable with saying it therefore it's not always believable. However, in every other aspect Bean is perfect as Sharpe and the show is NOT just about period drama it's mainly about action and boys-own adventure with a bit of sex and a fair amount violence.

The second flaw also does a lot to add to the charm and personality of the show. Major historical battles that featured hundreds of thousands of men are staged using about twelve extras and a distinct absence of long or establishing shots! That said though, the battles and action sequences in general are usually very effective and entertaining and some of the stunt work is exceptional, as are the costumes and make up.

The third persistent flaw in the show is the makers disregard for continuity of characters and a willingness to abandon the procedural nature that made the show so popular, and just plain brilliant, in the early days. This lack of continuity (or you could even say respect) for the minor characters is mostly manifested in the chosen men, who for me, are a great aspect of the show. Some of the chosen men drift in and out from week to week and characters who you like one week and not in it the next and just disappear without explanation. This is most obvious towards the end of the series with Hagman and Harris who aren't given a lot to do and are missing from a couple of episodes.

There is also quite a shift in quality and tone from the start of the series to the end with Sharpe's Rifles, Eagle, Company, Enemy, Honour, Gold, Battle and Sword all being focused on Sharpe and the Chosen Men's adventures; with plenty of action and not much of the (slightly monotonous) period dramatics that were prevalent in the later stages of the show.

These episodes (or movies) represent the golden age and very best of Sharpe; before it got bogged down with recurring plot lines that weren't that interesting. Sharpe jumped the shark with Sharpe's Regiment in 1996. It wasn't' a bad episode but it was the first that abandoned the procedural nature of the show. There were good moments such as Sharpe and Harper (his loyal colleague) pretending to be simple soldiers in the ranks again and also the very end of the show where Shapre gets his first sighing of France. But overall it was definitely downhill from Regiment onwards. Although subsequent episodes like Siege and Waterloo were excellent, the episode Mission was generic (although still very enjoyable) Justice was disappointing and Revenge (apart from the first twenty minutes) was abysmal. All these lesser episodes focused heavily on Sharpe's disastrous relationship with wife Jane who ran off with another man and stole all of Sharpe's money. It could have been quite an interesting storyline but the makers dragged it out for what seemed like an eternity. Thankfully, Sharpe's Waterloo was a return to form (although it still didn't reach the heights of say, Battle.) with more focus on Shapre, his Chosen men and the action and adventure side of things. Waterloo would have been a fitting send of..

In 2006 Sharpe returned to our screens with Sharpe's Challenge which was set in India two years after the events of Waterloo. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Challenge was also disappointing; which is made even more so by the fact that there is a good Sharpe movie in there somewhere.

There were several major problems with Challenge. Firstly the format; all the other movies were approximately 100 minutes long and shown in one complete part. Challenge was a whopping 140 minutes and was split into two parts; which was a fatal mistake as it made the story overly long and bloated in places. The makers also (criminally) abandoned the iconic opening credits and music, which don't look or sound dated, so I really don't understand that decision.

I believe there is a shorter version of Challenge, which although I haven't seen I should imagine is much better than this bloated two part movie. Another major problem was the recycling of old characters, Bickerstaff in Challenge was identical to the legendary Hakeswill of the original series, also the equally brilliant character of Simmerson was brought back to little effect as some kind of ridiculous caricature of his previous self.

Also for the most part in Challenge, Shapre and Harper were pretending to be from the ranks again (ala Regiment) and were holed up in an enemy fort which basically neutered Sharpe from doing anything until the last ten minutes of the movie. The bad guys (and girls) were all pretty forgettable as well (although Toby Stevens is a good actor – and shows it).

There are some good points to Challenge though, it's great to see Sharpe back (albeit having aged significantly) on our screens and the movie clearly had a much bigger budget than previous entries so the action was fittingly epic and the locations and cinematography as a whole were brilliant. Overall though, some poor decision making from the makers and the network executives (two instalments mean double the advertising revenue) meant that Challenge was a disappointing entry in the Sharpe series. However, Sharpe will return later this year with Sharpe Peril and I for one, will be watching.

This one needed a few changes, since (unlike the books) this Indian outing is set *after* the Peninsular war and blends several of the "Indian" Sharpe books. This is of course unavoidable, partly because the cast are all ten years older but also because the first Sharpe film skipped over the Indian books and had Sharpe obtaining his field commission in Spain rather than in India. Thus they need another horrible sergeant to replace Hakeswill, for example. That is only relevant for obsessives and the whole thing is a proper dose of Sharpe- all the usual elements of the formula are well serviced. Some truly excellent moments and clearly with a higher budget that the originals. India provides a spectacular backdrop and the attention to detail is as impressive as ever (even if, as ever in the films, the cannon shot continues to explode inappropriately). Enjoy!

This is basically just a rehash of the novel Sharpe's Tiger, with some minor recasting with Sergeant Hakeswill as Sergeant Bickerstaff, The Tippoo as Major Dodd, and Lieutenant Lawford as Harper. But in the book, the point of infiltrating the fortress was to rescue Colonel McCandless, who knew about that mine planted in the western walls. Because the new plot is to rescue some girl, It just doesn't hold up. And historically, there WERE no major uprisings in India after the Napoleonic war, so any historical accuracy is out the window. Sean Bean, Darugh O' Malley and Toby Stephens all did well, but any time one of the girls or that French guy opened their mouths I just thought "You probably should've done more than one take of that scene." I liked the flashback to Sharpe's Triumph when Sharpe was almost killed by Dodd, but the idea that Dodd would have been allowed to live for 14 years is just ridiculous. Equally as ridiculous is the idea that the french would help Sharpe not 3 years after Waterloo. The explosions were fabulous and the production values were the highest they've been for any Sharpe, but the story, script, and supporting actors were the weakest they've ever been. If only they'd done "Sharpe's Devil" instead. This gets a B/B-

You'll need a program to tell you what is going on, because like most modern actors, these bores cannot enunciate. Without closed caption, forget it.

Which is just as well, because it is garbage by any standards.

It's set in the early 1800s, with British and French soldiers in the middle East. There's a lot of killing and action, but it doesn't work, because you have no idea why it is going on, or how it is going on. It is a muddled mess.

The poor speaking skills of the actors are across the board, which means the director and casting crew are to blame more than anyone. And no one cares.

The action doesn't work, because it is just another neo Nazi idealist director and writers contriving every instance to save blonde women and butcher brown eyed brunettes. The director is so heavy handed at this, that the audience just doesn't care, and is thoroughly bored by the same old routine. Obviously made for the neo Nazi and female market, since anyone else will be completely turned off by this.

Not much else to say about this garbled garbage.

I've seen all 14 previous episodes of the Richard Sharpe series. I'm a very devoted fan and was incredibly surprised to learn that new episode would be aired on BBC America August, 2006. The last time the episodes aired was way back in 1997. Hooray for Sean Bean's devotion to this TV program. He first portrayed Richard Sharpe in 1992, unknown in Hollywood, and only a star in England. Now he's an international Hollywood blockbuster star since LOTR, but still agreed to return to TV for Sharpe, took a huge pay cut to do TV because he loves the part of Sharpe.

The production values, sets, costumes are outstanding. The biggest budget production in the entire 14 episode series. Toby Stephens is deliciously evil as the villain, Lucy Brown gives a touching, luminous performance. Padma Lakshi cannot act her way out of a paper bag and the other Indian actress who played the princess should have been cast in the courtesan role. I loved it, although there were a few flaws.

The battle scenes are much more complex and with an enormous cast of extras compared to the previous 14 episodes. It is an international cast of very fine supporting actors. However, the actor who portrays Sgt. Bickerstaff is very "hammy" and over the top. However, the few flaws I mentioned don't hamper a very fine production, which is a classic!

The welcome return of Sean Bean and Darragh O'Malley to the screen in Sharpe was so overdue. I love historical drama and the feature length really did the period justice. Fantastic production. All the actors were excellent. Completely in role. Excellent casting. I felt irritated I wasn't aware of the 'Making of Sharpe's Challenge' so didn't record it. Now I've missed it. I wish some historical dramas were preceded with an actual documentary about the events including famous works of art. There's a famous oil painting of the forlorn hope attacking a fort similar to this isn't there? I'd have liked to have looked out for the depictions in the film. Thanks to Sean Bean, Darragh O'Malley for their work. Don't give up on us. Also Shaggrat 'don't you know we're at Warrr? where have i heard that before!!!! Boromir?

When I first heard about this film I had just finished watching the somewhat disappointing region 1 DVD set published by BFSs. As a result my expectations were somewhat mixed. I had high expectations for the film itself, but figured on another poor PALCAM video translation to NTSC format. Fortunately this wasn't the case. :-) What's more is that the locations, actors, props, sets, and everything one could expect from a Sharpe production were staged and coordinated with great care. This was the kind of scale of production that is a TV producer's dream. The ability to shoot large scale action on location must have been a thrill. It took the expectant production values from the original Sharpe series, and kicked them up a notch higher.

There's been some complaint by Sharpe fans about the apparent cobbling of the original stories by Bernard Cornwall into what one might call a "ex-post-facto" revisit to where Sharpe started. The only drawback that I can see is the fact that Sean Bean is a little old to be playing his younger self in the opening scenes. I don't want to be nitpikcy, but that's partially the fault of makeup and partially the fault of the cinematographer for not trying to make Bean look a little younger. Ironically enough Bean looks younger in the making of featurette included on this disk than he does in the actual production. Probably due to a softer lens and lower level of information gathered by video.

The only thing missing from this latest installment of Shapre were some panoramic shots of the location. With all of the natural scenery available I'm surprised it wasn't taken more advantage of. Even so the film is rich with detail of all sorts. Definitely a high water mark in the Sharpe series.

The acting is on par for this series. It's not Oscar material, but right for a Sharpe adventure. Bean gives Sharpe a little more world weary demeanor. Sharpe is a soldier who's fought, and is not looking forward to the possibility of more battle. He's also domesticated, which reinforces his reluctance for the challenge presented to him. Other cast members deliver respectable performances, though Simerson's character wasn't as cold hearted and self centered as I recall from the previous films.

An unexpected plus was seeing corrected crisp footage from the previous films included in the making of featurette. Those clips showed that the original films, though shot on either 16mm or low grade 35mm film stock, provided more detail and richer colors than what is currently available from the North American BFS release. Kudos to the BBC for producing this film and providing this DVD.

My only real complaint is that the film is short. Compared to the other Sharpe films it may actually be a bit longer, but it looks like there was a lot of footage cut from the film.

Regardless, even though Sharpe is more mature and older, and acknowledges this as a character, he's still Sharpe, and keeps his zest for right and wrong when the moment of truth comes. Enjoy! :-)

India tells of a local warlord Maharaja named Khande Rao who is threatening the British interests in the area. Wellington sends Sharpe out to investigate the matter and one of the general's daughter is kidnapped by Rao. Sharpe has his hands full as his has to enter the lair of Rao and he has the beautiful Madhuvanthi out to seduce him. The Empire and the life of a general's daughter are at stake - can Sharpe compete this challenge?

6/10.

In my private library Bernard Cornwell's novels are the most read. And the Sharpe novels do show some wear and tear. As it is with the movies. As soon as my partners hears the song "Over the Hills..." she knows it is time to visit her friend. I am so glad they succeeded in merging the first three books into one movies and make it believable that everything takes place after Waterloo. There is of course one setback: I do so miss Obediah Hakeswill. But Sergeant Bickerstaff is a worthy replacement. And that while Bickerstaff is such a nice guy in the novel. But Dodd is there as evil as he is in Sharpe's Fortress. A great movie and a worthy successor to series. Am I the only one who misses the rest of the gang? Micheal Mears (Rifleman Cooper), John Tams (Daniel Hagman)and Jason Salkey (Rifleman Harris. A pity but not all of us have the luck of the Irish.

1817. Sharpe has retired from the army but is summoned by the Duke of Wellington for an important mission. An agent in India has gone missing while trying to track down a traitorous British officer now advising a rebellious local leader. That agent is Sharpe's old friend Patrick Harper. In India things are complicated when the daughter of the commanding general is kidnapped.

I wasn't expecting much from this. The Battle of Waterloo was the ideal way to end Sharpe's story and Sharpe's Waterloo made for a decent finale. So when this was made nine years after Sharpe's Waterloo it seemed unnecessary and just a cash grab.

However, it's not bad. Like many Sharpe episodes the plot is a bit shaky at times but there've been worse episodes in that regard. The action scenes are great, there's great momentum and the film is never dull. We also have Toby Stephens, of Black Sails fame, putting in a solid performance as the turncoat British officer.

Highly entertaining.

As having followed the complete film series of Sharpe I was anticipating a follow up to this remarkable series! Sharpe's challenge has his flaws (begin of second part the story goes a little flat) but the last half hour makes up for this and is as great as it should be. There wasn't much action in this movie as in the previous movies. This of course there is no real war going on. Although Dodd is a great villain,you never get the feeling he is a real threat. For me this could have been done better. I mean India is a very large continent and can provide for great battles with ease. The story could have been bigger. But maybe this will happen in the future. For now I enjoyed this movie a lot and surely wasn't disappointed.