Customer Reviews

Sharpes: Rifles Collection Set

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I had not read any of Sharpe's books before watching the series. However, I love British TV drama and novel adaptations, and I love the period in which Sharpe's adventures are set, so after reading the reviews in Amazon.co.uk, I decided to give it a try. And now I'm hopelessly hooked! All the actors' performances are wonderful, but Sean Bean's is simply stunning. The story is very respectful to the people who lived in Spain in those times, both those who were for and against the French (I'm Spanish. I know), and it is even respectful to the French enemy. The plot is a mixture of adventure and spy story, with quite a bit of criticism of the British class system thrown in.This is as good as a historical novel can be (and I've read quite a few)especially because of the feeling you get that the characters belong to the period in the way they think and the way they act. In fact, it would answer the question What were all those handsome officers from Jane Austen's novels doing when they were not dancing with her heroines?. This is the other side of the same story, without contradicting it. The hero,Sharpe, belongs to the "dregs" of society, he is "scum", although he is more human and braver than the petty officers who have purchased their comissions and who are, otherwise, so elegant and so good at dancing with Austen's heorines. I am also beginning to read all the Sharpe's novels and I love them. Bravo Sharpe! Stand and Fight!

I suppose the idea that Richard Sharpe is sort of Horatio Hornblower on land is apt enough, mainly because both characters have the advantage of stellar British television productions whereas Lucky Jack Aubrey has only the one cinematic adventure to date. But clearly the Napoleonic Wars are the British Empire's answer to the American Civil War without the problematic element of fighting against brother against brother. Napoleon is a secular anti-Christ trying to force the ideals of the French Revolution down the throats of Europe, so no shades of blue and gray here, this is all black and white.

The set up is fairly simple and compelling. One day Sir Arthur Wellesley (David Troughton), early in the career that would see him become the Duke of Wellington, is out for a ride on his horse when French dragoons come after him. Wellesley escapes death through the heroic efforts of Sergeant Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean), who is promoted to lieutenant on the spot by the grateful commander of British forces in Spain. Of course, promoting from the ranks makes Sharpe neither fish nor fowl, with the gentlemen in the officer's office refusing to consider him an equal and the enlisted personal dismissing the idea that he is a "real" officer.

Just to make things interesting Major Hogan (Brian Cox), Wellesley's master spy, sends the new lieutenant off on a secret mission. The story is that the men have not been paid in two weeks, going on three, so the mission is to find a missing banker who has funds (although why the men in the field need money strikes me as odd: after all, we are talking pounds and shillings not Euros). But Sharpe is off to a bad start as he buts heads with sharpshooter Patrick Harper (Daragh O'Malley), the leader of the men, who challenges the new lieutenant's control of his men. Then a wounded Major Blas Vivar (Simon Andreau) has to confide in Sharpe the real nature of the mission.

Based on Bernard Cornwell's first novel in the Sharpe series, "Sharpe's Rifles" has the virtue of strong multiple conflicts. Sharpe has to accomplish his mission and try to earn the respect of his men while that mission becomes more and more complicated. As you would expect, this is a first rate historical drama that has an above average sense of authenticity. Bean's Sharpe is too busy trying to command respect Then we have Teresa (Assumpta Serna), a Spanish lady who has good reason to seek revenge upon the French and another reason for recommending this movie is that the relationship between Teresa and Sharpe is actually an adult one.

The same thing can be said for the relationship between Sharpe and Harper, which is developed properly without any of the cheap shortcuts that can be taken to move things along. The primary quality that Bean brings to the character of Sharpe is the sense of being a real man in real situations, without being overtly heroic. This is a man with a mission and there are other missions to come, not to mention all those books.

Richard Sharpe is on DVD, and better than ever! Sharpe's Rifle's, the first in the series of Sharpe films made for BBC television and aired on Masterpiece Theater in the U.S. is an exciting starting point for people who are not familiar with the brilliant series of novels by Bernard Cornwell. It is also a great showcase for the talents of Sean Bean, who we will see more of next year in The Lord of the Rings. The movie follows Lieutenant Richard Sharpe, a British soldier during the Napoleonic wars, as he takes command of a rifle company and sends whole bunches of Frenchies to their graves. Action galore and interesting period detail. Fans of the book series may be suprised at the early appearance of Teresa in "Rifles" (in the books she doesn't show up until "Sharpe's Gold") but fear not! It won't ruin the story for you. I hope these four DVD's are only the begining, as there are ten movies in all. This price is unbelieveable too!

First the similarities - both fight for the Brits in WW zero (the Napoleonic wars), both are heroic, both have their own books and TV series - but there the similarities end. The differences are interesting, and illuminate the British class system of the time.

We meet Sharpe in this first episode. This is the Peninsular War, fought in Spain and Portugal against the French and, sometimes, the Spanish who have allied with Napoleon. In the eyes of the officers who have quite properly bought their commissions, Sharp is the commonest of common soldiers, a guttersnipe in spite of his new commission earned in the field. Worse, the men he commands refuse to accept him as a "proper" officer. He's an intuitive and well trained fighting man, a nearly ideal non-com, but this is a new kind of fight for him. Hornblower only had to prove his courage and military abilities to be accepted - he was already an officer and a gentleman; Sharpe has to prove everything from the ground up, particularly in this first episode.

The series is based on Bernard Cornwell's superb books, and does Cornwell proud. It's hard to overpraise this series, particularly now that it's starting to be available on DVD. Excellent acting, directing, and casting, but most of all, excellent writing - the proverbial rattling good yarns.

Even if you don't like Hornblower (who is, after all, a tad stuffy) you may still love Sharpe, who really should have emigrated to America or Australia, rather than take the King's shilling. He'd have been in good company with Andy Jackson or Ned Kelly. See the films, read the books, and venture with Sharpe to Waterloo and beyond.

The BBC Sharpe's Series DVDs are a very very poor picture (the worst I've seen). I bought all four original Sharpe's episodes on DVD and they all are much worse quality (picture and sound) than are the VHS copies I had purcahsed years ago [and VHSs deterioriate with use]!

The Richard Sharpe series based on the novels by Bernard Cromwell are absolutely fabulous, and they deserve a FAR better treatment than is presented here! The viewer does not even have the option of going directly to a menu screen, but is forced to fast forward through the opening titles and theme song.

Whomever transferred these made-for-tv episode films to MPG2 should be publicly humiliated - this is a disgrace! The picture is fuzzy and grainy as heck! The VHS cassettes actually look better, if you can believe that! I never thought VHS would beat DVD in quality until I compared the Sharpe's series side-by-side. The VHS won out every time.

The sound quality is extremely poor on the DVDs too, it has a hiss and sounds muffled. Again, the VHS wins out!

Buy these on VHS until enough of us complain and they discontinue these "Joke DVDs" and deliver the public the Sharpe's Series at a transfer rate that is not just acceptable - but worthy of this incredibly brilliant historic series!

This film is the first of a great series following the career of an English soldier in the Napoleonic wars. The adventures are seen from the viewpoint of Richard Sharpe, played convincingly by Sean Bean,who is always at the fore-front of the action. This first film is mostly about getting to know the characters who will appear in the rest of the series , yet has one of the most interesting storylines , and stays faithful to the book it's based on (written by Bernard Cornwell).

Action,adventure,romance - this series has the lot,and comes highly recommended. Also worth mentioning are the books - absolutely fantastic ,and strongly recommended for anyone interested in the Napoleonic period , as is the epic film "Waterloo".

I just bought the complete collection at Sams Club for 5 x $24.88. Five, three-disk sets that include all 14 episodes and the finale special. I had this on my wish list since I saw part of the series on A&E on cable and am delighted to have the full set now. Please make this available to Amazon customers at a more affordable price, less than half the price of your listing for the full set.

You might want to make it easier to tell you something like this other than writing a review.

Sharpe's Rifles, (and the rest of the Sharpe series), is a more gritty "version" of Horatio Hornblower (series from A&E). No, Sharpe is in no way related to Horatio, just for your information, this takes place in the Army while Horatio's was at sea.) Actually made BEFORE the Hornblower series, this one will engage you and make you want to see them all! (I've seen 4 in the series now.)Although some reviews have commented badly about the video quality, I would rate it as very good. It is about a B+ in my book, above VCD or VHS quality. Set during the early 1800's, Sharpe is an enlisted man that becomes an officer after saving the life of a lord from England. This series details his adventures as an officer, following him through many battles, promotions and romances. It focuses on his inability to fit into the "officer corp," as most officer's from that period were wealthy men who bought their commissions. The ONLY problem I have had is figuring out the ORDER of the DVD's. They are technically "mini movies," so you can watch them in any order, but watching them in their true order is most enjoyable. Here's what I have so far just so you know, (in order:) Sharpe's Rifle, Sharpe's Eagle, Sharpe's Company, and I THINK the next one is Sharp's Enemy. Hint: look on the side binder of the DVD, their are little codes, these should go in numerical hierarchy, for example, "98579-D,98580-D,98598-D". These won't necessarly be in sequence, (i.e. 1,2,3,4,5) but more like 2,7,11,14 for example. So you should be able to figure it out when you get them. Bottom line: if you like mini-series like the early 80's "Shogun," and "Horatio Hornblower," you'll like this one too.

I've read all the previous reviews here about the Sharpe series. I also saw many of them on TV. So I was prepared when I got the DVD of Sharpe's Rifles the other weekend.

Yes, the quality of the DVD is no better than a VHS master.

In short, who cares? Watching the movie, I quickly forgot about the quality and simply enjoyed a great telling of a great story.

It would have been nice if it were a little sharper (sorry about the pun) but look at it this way - in five years, the comparable VHS master will be so much video snow, and the DVD will still look the same as it did today!

I gave it 4 stars simply because I've come to expect "extras" with DVD's - cast and crew notes, bloopers, etc...none of which were present here. The presentation strikes me as a "rush it to the market" approach by the DVD maker. The original story more that makes up for it, though.

This is a great old fashioned heroic adventure story filmed with a lot of action, color and heart. These characters are wonderful and alive. The costumes, sets and battle scenes are great, especially since this was just a kind of TV movie.

I probably don't have to praise the actors to anybody who has read the cast list but here I go anyway. Sean Bean is a great action star as the hero, Richard Sharpe, an officer who has come up through the ranks. Asumpta Serna, as the Spanish guerilla leader and Sharpe's love interest, is beautiful and soulful. Brian Cox, an actor seemingly incapable of anything other than perfection, gives another one of his flawless performances as Wellington's staff intelligence officer. And high praise has to go to Daragh O'Malley as Sergeant Harper.

This is grand adventure indeed.