Product Details

• Actors: Ioan Gruffudd, Robert Lindsay, Dorian Healy, Michael Byrne, Robert Bathurst
• Directors: Andrew Grieve
• Writers: C.S. Forester, Chris Ould, Mike Cullen, Patrick Harbinson, Russell Lewis
• Producers: Andrew Benson, Delia Fine
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, French, Spanish
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 4
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• VHS Release Date: May 25, 1999
• Run Time: 400 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (161 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0767014812
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,978 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Based on the rousing sea adventures in C.S. Forester's novel Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, the four-film television series Horatio Hornblower explores the education of a plucky young officer rising through the ranks of His Majesty's Navy. Ioan Gruffudd is all integrity and honor as the ambitious midshipman who is taken under the stern yet nurturing guidance of Captain Pellew (Robert Lindsay) during the war against France in the French Revolution. Through these four adventures he faces a vindictive senior midshipman ("The Even Chance"); meets his hero, a reckless captain whose unorthodox methods are brave but foolhardy ("The Examination for Lieutenant"); is captured by the Spanish in a desperate maneuver to sneak through enemy lines ("The Duchess and the Devil"); and leads his men to French soil in an ill-planned attempt by French loyalists to start a popular front against the revolution ("The Frogs and the Lobsters"). The excellent re-creations of 18th-century vessels and ship-to-ship battles are astounding and reminiscent of such classic Hollywood seafaring adventures as Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk, not to mention Captain Horatio Hornblower, with Gregory Peck as the only previous screen incarnation of Forester's hero. This mixture of swashbuckling adventure and British naval tradition is leavened with well-placed humor and a cast of colorful characters, but at the heart of the tales is Gruffudd's quick-thinking, courageous Hornblower, a starry-eyed officer with the luck of the gods and the steely determination of an old-fashioned hero. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

Huddled against the biting wind of a January gale, a thin young man sits miserably in the stern of a small boat battling its way across the churning waters of Spithead Bay. It is 1793, and Horatio Hornblower is reporting to duty aboard the battleship Justinian... The epic saga of the legendary sea-faring hero comes to life in these epic films based on C.S. Forester’s classic novels. Set against the bloody backdrop of the Napoleonic wars, HORNBLOWER charts a course for high adventure, following the raw recruit as he battles the French, evades capture, and rises through the ranks of the King’s Navy. With a powerful performance by Ioan Gruffud (Titanic) in the title role and produced by the Emmy®-winning team behind JANE AUSTEN’S EMMA, HORNBLOWER brings C.S. Forester’s classic tales to life in all their swashbuckling glory.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

119 of 121 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honor and Duty, Heroes - Not Antiheroes - Make This Special, February 10, 2000

By 

Blackhawk (Huntsville, AL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Horatio Hornblower Boxed Set (DVD)

The four movies in this set (The Duel, The Fireship, The Duchess and the Devil, and The Wrong War) are adapted from C.S. Forester's "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower." The movies' writers have done an excellent job of transferring the novel to the screen. Although they have made changes that may offend some Hornblower purists, I found the changes worked well in this medium. There is plenty of action with sea and land battles, as well as individual acts of heroism. But the characters are also developed in the writing and in the superb performances by a very talented cast.

The DVDs are well done. The video looks very good, considering that this was originally made for television. The picture is sharp and the colors are true. The sound is good, though it won't strain your system. The disks are surprisingly well stocked with supplemental material. The first two movies provide a bio of Forester and a glossary of nautical terms in text. The third disk contains the "making of" documentary that was shown on A&E and the History Channel when the series was originally aired. And the last disk contains a documentary about the Royal Navy, contrasting Nelson's era with the present. This show is hosted by (Prince) Edward Windsor and originally appeared as one of the Great Ships episodes on the History Channel.

Any fan of the Hornblower novels should see this series. Any fan of historical movies should see this series. Any one who enjoys a good movie that tells a story full of heroism and honor should see this series! I can't recommend it enough.

65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best DVD drama boxsets available, June 17, 2000

By 

Colin Neal (Reading, Berkshire. England United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Horatio Hornblower Boxed Set (DVD)

The Hornblower series, a joint venture between ITV's Meridian and A&E consists of 4x 90 minute TV Movies following the life and times of Midshipman Hornblower.

The DVDs are top quality, with a clear full screen image and great sound effects in Dolby Surround. The extras on the DVD are also excellent with a decent 'making of' documentary.

It's the variety in the movies that makes the box set so amicable. The Duel is a good introduction to the characters and Hornblower's rise through the ranks, the fire ships is a tense sea battle (with a great scene with the ships in the fog).

Ioan Gruffudd is brilliant and destined to be a new James Bond I'm sure. With Robert Lindsey as a very Captain Picard Captain too! It's really really good, buy it!

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Confusing description of this item, September 29, 2004

By 

Paul - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Horatio Hornblower Boxed Set (DVD)

I wanted to get the whole series of these because they are great films, but the descriptions of the episodes on this boxed set are misleading. "("The Even Chance"); ("The Examination for Lieutenant"); ("The Duchess and the Devil"); and ("The Frogs and the Lobsters")" are actually called "The Duel," "The Fire Ships," "The Duchess and the Devil," and "The Wrong War" and are also part of the 6 movies Complete set.