Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

TheNorthernMonkee SPOILERS Based on the novels of C.S. Forester, the television adaptations of the life of Horatio Hornblower are well loved and well watched. With superb, albeit far from perfect, set designs, the series thrives due to it's excellent scripting, acting and realism. In this first encounter with the legendary Hornblower, we are given a perfect introduction to the lives of the man and his shipmates.As a young midshipman, Horatio Hornblower (Ioan Gruffudd) is hardly the most likely of heroes. Serving under Captain Keene (Michael Byrne), he is constantly sea sick and bullied by the sadistic Jack Simpson (Dorian Healy). When war is declared against the French however, Horatio is transfered to the command of the inspirational Captain Pellew (Robert Lindsay). There, getting used to the sea and free from his tormentor, he begins to flourish into a man of strength and intelligence.The amazing thing about the series in general is the way that Gruffudd's Hornblower meta-morphs from a young boy into an amazing Gentleman. In this first episode, he is superb as an inept boy who, when given the chance to flourish, succeeds with ease.Gruffudd is also helped by some brilliant casting including Lindsay, Healy, Paul Copley, Sean Gilder and Jamie Bamber. All these actors become regulars in the series and they all perform admirably throughout.Realism is another crucial part in the beauty of the Hornblower series. For a series to be based almost completely on a ship, it requires large amounts of effort to deal with the water vibrations. This series knows this and manages to capture the experience perfectly. Whilst not possessing the funding of recent Hollywood blockbuster "Master And Commander" (2003), it might not benefit from the ability to show two ships side by side without even slightly having a green screen effect, but it does manage to capture events on the boat perfectly, and for that it deserves praise.Ultimately for the Hornblower series, all credit should go to Russell Lewis' superb scripting. Based on the books, Lewis brings to Hornblower to a new audience and manages to catch our interest with ease. Desperate to watch the next episode straight after it's predecessor, audiences fall in love with the nautical adventures and are hooked.As a first episode, the Hornblower series could not have had a better production than "The Even Chance". Introducing the young and quiet Hornblower, it manages to catch the audiences interest and by the end of the episode we're obsessed. Warning, watching this first episode will cause you to spend large quantities of time watching the entire series. Brilliant!

Looney Toon joe I Have just finished watching the entire series of Hornblower and must say that few seafaring adventures can beat it.It ranks up there with the original Mutiny on the Bounty,The Sea Hawk and Master And Commander as one of the greatest of its kind. Ioan Gruffudd is perfectly cast as young Hornblower,a seasick midshipman who tranforms gradually into a courageous leader of men. Robert Lindsay offers great support as Capt.Edward Pellew,one of the most important characters in the story who guides Hornblower along his journeys.Jamie Bamber,Paul Copley and Sean Gilder are all excellent as Hornblower's loyal shipmates. Ireally can't pick any one episode as they are all magnificent.I also liked Paul McGann who portrays Lt.Bush. All in all i just hope that in the future their will be more parts to this truly brilliant adventure series!!! EASILY 10 OUT OF 10 !

TexasRedge If America only knew how good this was,it would be the highest rated Made-For-TV movie series of all time(hard to believe there are more people out there that would rather watch "The Columbo Mysteries" than Horatio Hornblower- that just goes to show the power of major network name-brand advertising.The Hornblower movie series has been television at its finest. I have seen all 6 of the A&E Horatio Hornblower movies,"The Duchess and the Devil" is my favorite of the 6 films. However I tune in to A&E everytime they air a new Hornblower movie. So far all 6 movies have been based on the Horatio Hornblower adventure novels written by C.S. Forester(the same author who wrote African Queen). Each Movie chronicles the on-going adventures of Horatio Hornblower who is a Brittish Lt. in the Brittish Navy during the late 1790's-to early 1800's during the Napoleonic era in Europe. I sincerly believe that each one of these 6 Films has been good enough to have shown at the movie theaters,if the producers had wanted to. Unlike other Made-For-TV films,The Hornblower films do not have that Made-For-TV feeling to them,like most television movies have.A common misconception that people who havent seen these movies have is that all 6 of these films go to gether as a mini-series- that is not true. The Hornblower movies are not a mini-series,all 6 of these films are individual movies about the same charactor- with all the same actors playing the same roles in each film(EXAMPLE:think of the James Bond films-They are not sequels, but they are all about the adventures of James Bond- that same principle applies to the Hornblower movies) I give the entire Horatio Hornblower movie series 5 out of 5 stars. Its Perfect entertainment- but you cant please everyone, so for those of you dont like epic battleship battles,historic style drama,high stakes adventure, and danger on the high seas,if you dont like stuff like that-there is always Columbo re-run for you to watch.

Imnozy I viewed this show with some trepidation, as the name Hornblower to me (as with many others) is synonymous with Gregory Peck. But this is a different Hornblower and the magic is very much the same - fancy uniforms, good guys and bad guys, lots of sailing ships and lot of blood and thunder. What more can one ask for?Add to this an excellent cast, from the principals down and you come up with a rip roaring piece of entertainment. The producers on the whole avoided the urge to "modernise" the story, the speech and demeanour of all concerned rang true, this in itself is worthy of note.So, if like me , you were reluctant to see this show as you didn't want your memories of the Peck movie spoilt - do take the opportunity if it comes to your screen again. It is a classic example of when the British do something well, they do it extra well - Recommended.