Maidexpl
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
AutCuddly
Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Blueghost
When I first saw the "Sharpe's Rifles" series here in the United States on Public Broadcasting I was very much enamored with it. A few years later the series became available on VHS, but I didn't want to spend all that money on a format that I knew was going to be phased out in a few years.Ho boy, how I wish I had.I just recently purchased the Region 1 NTSC five-episode DVD set for North America, and I have to say that I've rarely come across a poorer video transfer than has been done by BFS Entertainment.BFS Entertainment somehow managed to wrangle an exclusive license for the United States and Canada for the video distribution rights to this series, and, as usual, we the customers are paying for a lack of quality control on behalf of the producer's and owners of the property.BFS Entertainment's other claim to fame was their DVD release of another British mini series drama entitled "Flambards." And, given the extremely poor video transfer I saw of that series my heart sank when I saw BFS's logo and public domain music scroll across my TV screen.In short the few five episodes that have been released for North America have a grainy image due to poor video compression, bleed color (if you can believe that from optical media), and have equally poor sound quality to match the video.If you must purchase this magnificent series on video then try to find an old VHS from PBS/Mobile Masterpiece Theatre, or invest in a region 2 DVD player and buy the series from an online store in England.Don't waste your money on the BFS release.*EDIT* I bought a set of Region 2 DVDs from the UK, and they are superior in every way to the US Region 1 release.
no-skyline
Sharpe is without doubt one of the biggest achievements of British TV drama. All involved have worked wonders with the source material managing to squeeze in all the important elements of Bernard Cornwalls series of novels. Sean Bean is perfect for the role of Sharpe and with excellent support from Daragh O'Malley as Harper and the beautiful Assumpta Serena as Teresa this show really hits the ground running.Sharpe is all about action and follows a similar blue print to the likes of Bond. Sharpe gets a mission from Wellington then the plot thickens to take in treachery and intrigue and then we get an action filled finale.Sharpe has it's basis in reality most characters were real people Wellington etc, it takes in real events such as the battle of talevera and the weaponry, uniforms etc are accurate. But from there on in this is adventure in the boys own style and Sharpe is the perfect hero tough and always ready for a fight.Sharpe is great TV entertainment and a nice change of pace from the reality TV hell we seem to be stuck in at present.8/10
katiepoppycat
**SPOILER**As a fan of the books, I'd never actually seen the tv films until very recently. I wasn't disappointed. Sean Bean excels as the maverick Richard Sharpe, and there are some sterling supporting performances - my favourite being Hogan. In the light of LOTR and others, the battles probably don't seem as spectacular as they once may have done, but this doesn't detract from the action at all. The adaptation has been sensitively done, although Wellesley's promotion of Sharpe is a little spurious. Teresa is feisty and sexy, Harper is just as he should be, and Hagman is exactly as I imagined him to be in the book.My only criticism is that whoever was responsible for the scoring of this film deserves to be garrotted with the strings from their electric guitar. Historical dramas should not date, but that music certainly does. Nonetheless, tons of fun!
kokhar
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!
