Sharpe's Justice/Sharpe's Revenge/Sharpe's Waterloo (1997)

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    Sharpe's Revenge, Sharpe's Justice and Sharpe's Waterloo are three of a series of made for TV films based upon the characters created by Bernard Cornwell. This two disc set has Sharpe's Revenge and Sharpe's Justice on one disc, Sharpe's Waterloo on the other. The three films in this set share good casts, with Sean Bean as Sharpe and Daragh O'Malley as Sergeant Harper, and impressive attention to detail with the sets, uniforms, weapons and drill reasonably accurate to the period. They are all different in setting and tone but all three are very watchable, terrific additions to the Sharpe series. They are not 16x9 enhanced but nonetheless have acceptable video and audio and one feature length extra on the second disc of the box set. With three wonderful films, this box set is an excellent buy for fans of Sharpe or anyone interested in the historical period of the Napoleonic Wars. I have seen the set advertised for as low as $14.95, which makes it tremendous value as well. Highly recommended.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Sharpe's Revenge (1997)

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General		Extras
Category	War	Featurette-Sharp The Legend
Rating
Year Of Production	1997
Running Time	101:28
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Tom Clegg
Studio Distributor	Time Life	Starring	Sean Bean Daragh O'Malley Abigail Cruttenden Philip Whitchurch Cécile Paoli Alexis Denisof Féodor Atkine James Laurenson John Benfield Connie Hyde
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	Box	Music	Dominic Muldowney John Tams

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.56:1
16x9 Enhancement	No
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Sharpe's Revenge is one of a series of made for TV films based upon the character created by Bernard Cornwell. Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) joined the British army as a private and fought in Flanders and India. In a range of adventures, mostly during the wars against Napoleon, Sharpe rises from the ranks to become an officer in Wellington's army. All very fanciful, of course, but that does not stop the books, and the films, from being good, escapist entertainment.

     France 1814. The British Army of Lord Wellington is about to attack Toulouse, the last town in France still loyal to Napoleon, and end the war. Toulouse is defended by the soldiers of General Calvet (John Benfield); inside the town is Napoleon’s treasury and Sharpe’s old enemy Major Ducos (Feodor Atkine). Major Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean), no longer a young dare-devil with nothing to lose, is worried about the impending battle and gives his wife Jane (Abigail Cruttenden) a letter of power of attorney over his savings in England. When the assault succeeds, despite an initial bloody repulse, Ducos steals Napoleon’s treasure and leaves clues implicating Sharpe. Sharpe is arrested and faces a Board of Enquiry and execution if found guilty.

     Meanwhile, Jane Sharpe has fears of her own. Misled and gulled by Lady Molly Spinacre (Connie Hyde), Jane returns to England, exercises the power of attorney and proceeds to spend Sharpe’s savings in company with the foppish Lord Rossendale (Alexis Denisof) who becomes her lover. Back in France, Sharpe escapes aided by the one-eyed Captain Frederickson (Philip Whitchurch) and Sergeant Harper (Daragh O’Malley) and heads to Normandy to find the witness who can clear his name. There he is badly wounded in a case of mistaken identity. He is nursed back to health by the beautiful French widow Lucille DuBert (Cecile Paoli) while Frederickson follows a trail that leads first to General Calvet and then to Ducos and the stolen treasure in Naples. Sharpe must join his old adversary General Calvet and his guardsmen for an attack in Naples that may enable him both to clear his name and to take final revenge upon Ducos.

     Sharpe's Revenge is an exciting addition to the Sharpe series. It has humour, a plot with numerous strands, interesting characters and an impressive set piece battle at Toulouse. As usual, Sean Bean is excellent as Sharpe. In this episode Daragh O’Malley as Sergeant Harper has far less to do; instead we get a wonderful multi-layered performance from Philip Whitchurch as Captain Frederickson that steals the show. Cecile Paoli as Lucille is also good although the transformation of Abigail Cruttenden from wife to lover in London is not altogether convincing. As usual, the sets, uniforms, weapons and drill seem reasonably accurate. With a generally good cast, an interesting plot, authentic period detail and a rousing battle Sharpe's Revenge is an exciting and involving 101 minutes.

Video

Sharpe's Revenge is a made for TV movie and is in an aspect ratio of approximately 1:55.1. It is not 16x9 enhanced but is still quite a good print. Colours are soft and although blacks are solid, shadow detail is only adequate. Sharpness is good. There is occasional grain and minor artefacts but nothing to spoil the enjoyment of the film.

There are no subtitle options although burnt in subtitles translate the French dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The only audio option is English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded. It is a good track and the surrounds are utilised frequently for music and sound effects including gunfire. Dialogue is clear and there are no lip synchronisation problems. My subwoofer did support the explosions.

The music includes an electronic score by Dominic Muldowney plus some period songs by John Tams. This works nicely and provides good support for the film.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Sharpe The Legend (90:20 minutes).

    There are various releases of Sharpe's adventures in Region 1 and 2 including a full box set that includes Sharpe The Legend and various dual episode DVDs. All seem to have similar video and audio; some include minor extras but nothing that would lead one to go beyond Region 4.

    Sharpe's Revenge is a good addition to the Sharpe series. It has a good cast, humour, a plot with many strands, interesting characters and an impressive set piece battle. Sharpe's Revenge is presented on a DVD with acceptable video and audio and one feature length extra on the second disc of the box set. Sharpe's Mission is included with Sharpe's Justice on one disc, Sharpe's Waterloo and Sharpe The Legend on the other. The box set presents good value for Sharpe fans.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Sharpe's Justice (1997)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Featurette-Sharpe The Legend
Rating
Year Of Production	1997
Running Time	101:22
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Tom Clegg
Studio Distributor	Time Life	Starring	Sean Bean Daragh O'Malley Abigail Cruttenden Caroline Langrishe Philip Glenister John Tams Douglas Henshall Alexis Denisof Tony Haygarth Karen Meagher Philip Anthony
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	Box	Music	Dominic Muldowney John Tams

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.56:1
16x9 Enhancement	No
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    England 1814. The long wars against Napoleon are over. The end of the war, however, has not brought prosperity for the English workers of the midlands. Conditions in the cotton mills are dangerous, the workers and their families facing starvation and disease in poor living conditions. In contrast the mill owners, including the newly wealthy Sir Willoughby Parfitt (Tony Haygarth), live a life of wealth and privilege, protected by a company of yeomanry commanded by Captain Wickham (Douglas Henshall). Major Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) is posted to the town in Yorkshire where he was born to command the yeomanry. He is to suppress unrest among the workers fermented by agitators such as Matthew Truemen (Philip Glenister), a man who Sharpe grew up with. So in Yorkshire Sharpe, born in the gutter the child of a prostitute, is required to defend the position and privileges of the wealthy mill owners against his own people.

     Arriving in Yorkshire Sharpe sets out to find the grave of his mother, in the process learning far more about his mother’s other child than he could have expected. To add to Sharpe’s difficulties, his wife Jane (Abigail Cruttenden) and her lover, Lord Rossendale (Alexis Denisof), have moved into a country house nearby as Rossendale intends in invest in the mills. When the wages of the mill workers are cut further Captain Wickham orders the yeomanry to break up a worker’s meeting which goes badly wrong. With workers and soldiers killed, Sharpe is blamed. Helped by Sergeant Harper (Daragh O’Malley), ex-rifleman Daniel Hagman (John Tams) and Lady Anne Camoynes (Caroline Langrishe), with whom Sharpe had a brief affair in Sharpe’s Regiment, Sharpe must clear his name. Perhaps even more important, Richard Sharpe, child of the gutter, must decide just where his values and allegiances truly lie.

     Sharpe's Justice is one of a series of made for TV films based upon the character created by Bernard Cornwell. Unlike most of the series, however, Sharpe's Justice has limited action. This does not mean it is uninteresting; rather the contrary. Instead, we get a much closer look at the England that was defended by the armies of Lord Wellington; an England of wealth, greed and privilege juxtaposed with the workers’ abject poverty. An England where justice only exists to defend the wealth and property of important men. In this world of peace Sharpe’s skills as a fighting man are almost useless and Sharpe is out of his depth whether attending the balls of the rich or fighting with a “gentleman’s” rapier. He is, as Jane taunts him, “an animal”, whose only skill is killing. Having won the war, can Sharpe survive the peace?

     In Sharpe's Justice Sean Bean is even better than usual as Sharpe as he examines his values, his conscience and wrestles with family ties and relationships in an environment in which he is out of his depth. Daragh O’Malley as Harper is also good and this episode gives a bigger role to John Tams as Hagman. But perhaps more surprising is that Lord Rossendale (Alexis Denisof) develops into far more that the fop he seemed in Sharpe’s Revenge while Abigail Cruttenden as Jane shows a streak of ruthlessness that would do justice to Lady Macbeth! With a good cast and an interesting plot Sharpe's Justice is a great 101 minutes.

Video

Sharpe's Justice is a made for TV movie and is in an aspect ratio of approximately 1:55.1. It is not 16x9 enhanced but is a reasonable print. The autumn colours look great although somewhat flat, blacks are solid but shadow detail only adequate. Sharpness is acceptable. There is frequent grain and some minor artefacts, such as aliasing (34:20), but nothing to spoil the enjoyment of the film.

There are no subtitle options.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The only audio option is English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded. It is a reasonable track and the surrounds are utilised for music and sound effects. Dialogue is clear and there are no lip synchronisation problems. There is no subwoofer use.

The music includes an electronic score by Dominic Muldowney plus some period songs by John Tams. This works nicely and provides good support for the film.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Sharpe The Legend (90:20 minutes).

    There are various releases of Sharpe's adventures in Region 1 and 2 including a full box set that includes Sharpe The Legend and various dual episode DVDs. All seem to have similar video and audio; some include minor extras but nothing that would lead one to go beyond Region 4.

    Sharpe's Justice is a look at England at the beginning of the industrial revolution. While not a typical example of the Sharpe series, it includes an excellent performance by Sean Bean and is interesting and involving in its own right. Sharpe's Justice is presented on a DVD with acceptable video and audio and one feature length extra on the second disc of the box set. Sharpe's Justice is included with Sharpe's Revenge on one disc, Sharpe's Waterloo and Sharpe The Legend on the other. The box set presents excellent value for Sharpe fans.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Sharpe's Waterloo (1997)

This review is sponsored by

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General		Extras
Category	War	Featurette-Sharpe The Legend
Rating
Year Of Production	1997
Running Time	101:20
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Sided	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Tom Clegg
Studio Distributor	Carlton Entertainmnt Time Life	Starring	Sean Bean Daragh O'Malley Abigail Cruttenden Alexis Denisof Cécile Paoli Hugh Fraser Paul Bettany Oliver Tobias
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	Box	Music	Dominic Muldowney John Tams

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.56:1
16x9 Enhancement	No
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Belgium 1815. Napoleon has escaped from Elba, gathered an army and invaded Belgium. Facing him at Waterloo is a ramshackle force comprised of English, Dutch and Belgian soldiers under the command of the Duke of Wellington (Hugh Fraser). Sharpe leaves the farm in Normandy to join Wellington and is assigned as a Lieutenant Colonel to the Dutch forces of the Prince of Orange (Paul Bettany), a vain and ignorant commander. Also answering the call are ex-chosen men Hagman (John Tams), Harris (Jason Salkey) and ex-sergeant major Harper (Daragh O’Malley), who maintains he is there only in an advisory capacity! In the heavy cavalry is Lord Rossendale (Alexis Denisof) who has brought with him to Brussels Sharpe’s wife Jane (Abigail Cruttenden). Jane is determined to be free of the threat of Sharpe and urges Rossendale to find a way to kill Sharpe during the coming battle.

     After a preliminary skirmish at Quatre-Bras, Wellington falls back on Waterloo. Sharpe and the chosen men find themselves in the centre of the defensive line at the La Haye-Sainte farm house where they take part in the desperate battles to hold the position. Meanwhile, the Prince of Orange twice shows his incompetence as a commander resulting in the needless deaths of many men of the South Essex Regiment. As the fierce bloody battles rage and Napoleon throws in his Imperial Old Guard in an attempt to break the allied line, old friends die and Sharpe must take life or death decisions as he and Harper make a final stand.

     Sharpe's Waterloo is an exciting, action packed climax to the Sharpe series. Filmed in Turkey, the battle scenes look tremendous and, while as a TV movie the budget cannot stretch to thousands of extras, the film makes excellent use of smoke and the numbers it does have to create a rousing experience. And of course, by now we know and identify with Sharpe, Harper, Hagman and Harris, not to mention Wellington, so that we are drawn into their world as they fight for survival. As usual, Sean Bean and Daragh O’Malley are excellent and they get tremendous support from John Tams, Jason Salkey and Hugh Fraser. As well, the sets, uniforms, weapons and drill seem reasonably accurate. With a good cast and rousing battle action Sharpe's Waterloo is a breathtaking climax to the Sharpe series.

Video

Sharpe's Waterloo is a made for TV movie and is in an aspect ratio of approximately 1:55.1. It is not 16x9 enhanced but it is an acceptable print. Colours including skin tones are natural, if flat, and although blacks are solid shadow detail is only adequate. Sharpness is good although camera pans tend to lose a lot of clarity. There is occasional grain but nothing to spoil the enjoyment of the film.

There are no subtitle options although burnt in subtitles translate the French dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The only audio option is English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded. It is a good track and the surrounds are utilised frequently for music and sound effects including gunfire. Dialogue is clear and there are no lip synchronisation problems. My subwoofer did support the cannon fire and explosions.

The music includes an electronic score by Dominic Muldowney plus some period songs by John Tams. This works nicely and provides good support for the film.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Sharpe The Legend (90:20 minutes).

There are various releases of Sharpe's adventures in Region 1 and 2 including a full box set that includes Sharpe The Legend and various dual episode DVDs. All seem to have similar video and audio; some include minor extras but nothing that would lead one to go beyond Region 4.

Sharpe's Waterloo is an exciting, action packed climax to the Sharpe series. It has a good cast, excellent attention to detail and impressive set piece battle sequences. Sharpe's Waterloo is presented on a DVD with acceptable video and audio and one feature length extra on the same disc of the box set. Sharpe's Revenge is included with Sharpe's Justice on one disc, Sharpe's Waterloo and Sharpe The Legend on the other. The box set presents fantastic value for money for Sharpe fans or anyone interested in the period of the wars against Napoleon.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall