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I've wanted to write about Sharpe for a while now and after watching Sharpe's Peril recently, I felt it was the right time. I have no idea if anyone here watched Sharpe, but I hope there is. If anything, I'd love to spark some interest for anyone who has never watched.
Sharpe's Peril (2008)
Sharpe's Peril is the last TV episode/TV film in the Sharpe series that was first broadcast in Britain in the 1990s. There were 14 episodes back then. In 2006, they went from France (the original series took place during the Napoleonic War) to India in Sharpe's Challenge. In 2008, they finished the India story with Sharpe's Peril. The original series ran from 1993 to 1997.
2006's Sharpe's Challenge was an incredible disappointment so I was a bit nervous about Peril. Sure, it wasn't easy to see the unkempt hair of Sean Bean, which didn't do much for the older actor. You can say that didn't matter, after all, the story is about Sharpe and all his adventures, but let's face the fact that lovers of Sharpe have another, more important, agenda.
Ahem... it is the admiration of Sean's acting....er...abilities that we watch.
Sean plays the main character, Richard Sharpe, and when he was cast in 1993, Hollywood had barely seen him, and he was just beginning his career in Britain. He stepped in when Paul McCann was injured in the making of the first episode. That injury turned out to be rather lucky for the young blond. Sharpe is based on a series of books by Bernard Cromwell and in the books Sharpe is dark-haired, but legend has it that audiences didn't care nor did the author. Sean was a sure-fire hit as Sharpe, even leading to Cromwell dedicating one of his books to Bean and telling his readers "Bean is Sharpe." He was a perfect fit.
For the uninitiated, Sharpe isn't much different than the Horatio Hornblower or Jack Aubrey characters. While they inhabit the sea, Sharpe is a man who is right at home on the battlefield, but a little awkward whenever he isn't. He can't exactly dance at parties. More importantly, Sharpe is a soldier who rises from "the ranks," at the time when officers were of the higher class. He goes from a Sergeant to a Colonel over the series of stories. Each time he rises in rank, it is because he proved to be brave, clever, and downright lucky. At the same time, each time he rises in rank, he has to deal not only with the French, but with those British officers and soldiers who think he's not "a proper officer."
Of course, this makes for much conflict and storytelling, and soon after I began to watch the series, I realized I had to go with some pretty fantastical stuff. For example, Sharpe is often wounded yet is able to fight off tons of French soldiers at any given time. There are times when his wounds magically disappear. No matter what circumstance Sharpe finds himself in, and the odds are stacked against him, he either figures out some kind of clever way to win the battle -- after all, he's almost always outnumbered -- or someone, even a woman, saves him just in the nick of time. In one episode, he is sentenced to die, and we see a hanging, only to find out that Lord Wellington himself arranged for the "fake" hanging. Of course, we all knew he couldn't die.. but we sure wondered how he would get out of this one!
He is usually surrounded by bumbling fools who think of themselves as "proper" officers yet are completely inept in winning battles, and whenever there is a young "proper" officer there who does admire him, they tragically die. Women cannot resist him and men either admire the hell out of him or are jealous enough to try to ruin him.
All of this makes for a series with its own set of conventions and cliches. Depending on your point of view, you either go with it and enjoy it for what it is -- a rousing adventure show -- or you walk away shaking your head at what you consider to be the unreality of those fantastic situations. This is not to say that the filmmakers didn't do their homework. The uniforms, the battles, the weapons are all pretty true to history, and the placing of Sharpe at important battles during the Napoleonic War reads like a history lesson. Just the name, "Napoleonic War" sounds so darn romantic. I just wanted to add that.
I could be rather cynical here and say that the only reason they rebooted the series in 2006 was that the actors and filmmakers wanted to make a bit of money off a past successful series. Sean has had an up and down career: known for his villainous turns in such Hollywood films as Patriot Games, Goldeneye, Don't Say a Word, and National Treasure, he hasn't exactly become a A-List Hollywood name. Even the success of his portrayal as Boromir in The Lord of the Rings didn't seem to do much for him there. He has stated that American audiences want him to be a villain, and as a fan of Sean's, I hate that he thinks that. My theory is that Hollywood executives want him to be a villain, but I gather we can argue this fact. Britain, on the other hand, has embraced him in certain roles as a hero, and his stint as Sharpe did not go unnoticed. If you google his name, you will find quite a few of those fan websites that litter the Internet landscape.
Those websites are inhabited entirely of...er... women. I know, I'm a member of one of them.
After watching Sharpe's Challenge, it seemed Sean wanted to return to the series that made him a household name in the UK, and after watching it, I decided that had to be the only reason. It surely wasn't the story, and he looked so darn dirty and not at all attractive, and I walked away deciding that Sharpe had ended at the battle of Waterloo. Yep, none of this silly nonsense of a much older and unkempt Sharpe in a stupid story was going to sully my memory of that last moment in 1997 when Wellington gave Sharpe his final promotion to Colonel.
Then I saw Sharpe's Peril. While the hair was still unkempt, there is magic in this film that its predecessor didn't possess. All the cliches were there -- the wound that didn't matter, the saving in the nick in time, the "death" of Sharpe and his resurrection, the mutual love and admiration between Sharpe and his sidekick, Harper (played wonderfully by Daragh O'Malley), the beautiful woman who wants his attention, the bumbling officer (Sir Henry Simmerson, an old nemesis, who gives us a wonderful moment at the end), the dying young officer, the heroic battle victory, the ending sword-fight between Sharpe and the resident bad guy (Sharpe always seems like he's about to lose the fight when a moment later he wins), and even a bad guy Frenchman. You simply cannot forget the French.
All that is Sharpe and all that we loved about the series was here in glorious detail. It was a fitting sendoff to our beloved Sharpe, the hero who proved it didn't matter how you were born, it only mattered in how you lived. Corny as hell, but oh so marvelous. There was love here from the filmmakers. They embraced all that was fun about their show and stacked it full with every Sharpe trick in the book. It felt as if they were saying goodbye, and it wasn't just with a wave, it was a full-fledged going away party complete with balloons and parting gifts.
Still, I wished Sean had combed his hair. In the end, though, it turned out to be a minor quibble. This was a fitting and final sendoff for our hero. Sean said this is the "last Sharpe," and I can accept that now.
If you read all this, wow....
Sharpe's Peril (2008)
Sharpe's Peril is the last TV episode/TV film in the Sharpe series that was first broadcast in Britain in the 1990s. There were 14 episodes back then. In 2006, they went from France (the original series took place during the Napoleonic War) to India in Sharpe's Challenge. In 2008, they finished the India story with Sharpe's Peril. The original series ran from 1993 to 1997.
2006's Sharpe's Challenge was an incredible disappointment so I was a bit nervous about Peril. Sure, it wasn't easy to see the unkempt hair of Sean Bean, which didn't do much for the older actor. You can say that didn't matter, after all, the story is about Sharpe and all his adventures, but let's face the fact that lovers of Sharpe have another, more important, agenda.
Ahem... it is the admiration of Sean's acting....er...abilities that we watch.
Sean plays the main character, Richard Sharpe, and when he was cast in 1993, Hollywood had barely seen him, and he was just beginning his career in Britain. He stepped in when Paul McCann was injured in the making of the first episode. That injury turned out to be rather lucky for the young blond. Sharpe is based on a series of books by Bernard Cromwell and in the books Sharpe is dark-haired, but legend has it that audiences didn't care nor did the author. Sean was a sure-fire hit as Sharpe, even leading to Cromwell dedicating one of his books to Bean and telling his readers "Bean is Sharpe." He was a perfect fit.
For the uninitiated, Sharpe isn't much different than the Horatio Hornblower or Jack Aubrey characters. While they inhabit the sea, Sharpe is a man who is right at home on the battlefield, but a little awkward whenever he isn't. He can't exactly dance at parties. More importantly, Sharpe is a soldier who rises from "the ranks," at the time when officers were of the higher class. He goes from a Sergeant to a Colonel over the series of stories. Each time he rises in rank, it is because he proved to be brave, clever, and downright lucky. At the same time, each time he rises in rank, he has to deal not only with the French, but with those British officers and soldiers who think he's not "a proper officer."
Of course, this makes for much conflict and storytelling, and soon after I began to watch the series, I realized I had to go with some pretty fantastical stuff. For example, Sharpe is often wounded yet is able to fight off tons of French soldiers at any given time. There are times when his wounds magically disappear. No matter what circumstance Sharpe finds himself in, and the odds are stacked against him, he either figures out some kind of clever way to win the battle -- after all, he's almost always outnumbered -- or someone, even a woman, saves him just in the nick of time. In one episode, he is sentenced to die, and we see a hanging, only to find out that Lord Wellington himself arranged for the "fake" hanging. Of course, we all knew he couldn't die.. but we sure wondered how he would get out of this one!
He is usually surrounded by bumbling fools who think of themselves as "proper" officers yet are completely inept in winning battles, and whenever there is a young "proper" officer there who does admire him, they tragically die. Women cannot resist him and men either admire the hell out of him or are jealous enough to try to ruin him.
All of this makes for a series with its own set of conventions and cliches. Depending on your point of view, you either go with it and enjoy it for what it is -- a rousing adventure show -- or you walk away shaking your head at what you consider to be the unreality of those fantastic situations. This is not to say that the filmmakers didn't do their homework. The uniforms, the battles, the weapons are all pretty true to history, and the placing of Sharpe at important battles during the Napoleonic War reads like a history lesson. Just the name, "Napoleonic War" sounds so darn romantic. I just wanted to add that.
I could be rather cynical here and say that the only reason they rebooted the series in 2006 was that the actors and filmmakers wanted to make a bit of money off a past successful series. Sean has had an up and down career: known for his villainous turns in such Hollywood films as Patriot Games, Goldeneye, Don't Say a Word, and National Treasure, he hasn't exactly become a A-List Hollywood name. Even the success of his portrayal as Boromir in The Lord of the Rings didn't seem to do much for him there. He has stated that American audiences want him to be a villain, and as a fan of Sean's, I hate that he thinks that. My theory is that Hollywood executives want him to be a villain, but I gather we can argue this fact. Britain, on the other hand, has embraced him in certain roles as a hero, and his stint as Sharpe did not go unnoticed. If you google his name, you will find quite a few of those fan websites that litter the Internet landscape.
Those websites are inhabited entirely of...er... women. I know, I'm a member of one of them.
After watching Sharpe's Challenge, it seemed Sean wanted to return to the series that made him a household name in the UK, and after watching it, I decided that had to be the only reason. It surely wasn't the story, and he looked so darn dirty and not at all attractive, and I walked away deciding that Sharpe had ended at the battle of Waterloo. Yep, none of this silly nonsense of a much older and unkempt Sharpe in a stupid story was going to sully my memory of that last moment in 1997 when Wellington gave Sharpe his final promotion to Colonel.
Then I saw Sharpe's Peril. While the hair was still unkempt, there is magic in this film that its predecessor didn't possess. All the cliches were there -- the wound that didn't matter, the saving in the nick in time, the "death" of Sharpe and his resurrection, the mutual love and admiration between Sharpe and his sidekick, Harper (played wonderfully by Daragh O'Malley), the beautiful woman who wants his attention, the bumbling officer (Sir Henry Simmerson, an old nemesis, who gives us a wonderful moment at the end), the dying young officer, the heroic battle victory, the ending sword-fight between Sharpe and the resident bad guy (Sharpe always seems like he's about to lose the fight when a moment later he wins), and even a bad guy Frenchman. You simply cannot forget the French.
All that is Sharpe and all that we loved about the series was here in glorious detail. It was a fitting sendoff to our beloved Sharpe, the hero who proved it didn't matter how you were born, it only mattered in how you lived. Corny as hell, but oh so marvelous. There was love here from the filmmakers. They embraced all that was fun about their show and stacked it full with every Sharpe trick in the book. It felt as if they were saying goodbye, and it wasn't just with a wave, it was a full-fledged going away party complete with balloons and parting gifts.
Still, I wished Sean had combed his hair. In the end, though, it turned out to be a minor quibble. This was a fitting and final sendoff for our hero. Sean said this is the "last Sharpe," and I can accept that now.
If you read all this, wow....
Last edited by tramp; 07-28-10 at 07:07 PM.
And I do try to see all of Sean's stuff, which isn't always easy because I live in the U.S, lol.
