Overrated and overhyped

Nice effects though.

How sad is this?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Having not actually read any of the Cornwall books on which this series is based, I can look upon this and the other movies in the Sharpe series as solely a viewer instead of one constantly comparing them to the books (which I now seem to consistently do with the Harry Potter series)so I consider this to puts me at an advantage whilst writing a review.Sean Bean makes the role of Napoleonic hero Richard Sharpe his own right from the very start, as he plays the working class, son-of-a-whore Sergeant plucked from the ranks and given officer status for saving the life of the future Duke of Wellington.Wellington repays Sharpe by giving him command of a tough and unruly bunch of riflemen, who are forced to escort a small guerrilla army of Spanish Freedom fighters through French held territory to the tiny town of Torrecastro to help start and support an uprising.To add to Sharpe's duties he is also under orders to find and protect James Rothchild, a banker trying to journey through enemy territory with a much needed bankers draft in order for Wellington to pay the British Army.Although it this a great 100 minutes of classic swashbuckling entertainment, this story only seems to serve as a means to an end with this episodes sole purpose being to introduce us to the characters, and show the building relationships that will see Sharpe through fifteen sequels to date.We see Sharpe develop several strong relationships throughout the series, and in this episode we see the basis of most of them. We all know Sharpe soon becomes one of Wellington's favoured officers but here they meet for the first time. He also meets Teresa, who will become his wife, and Patrick Harper whom after a shaky start soon becomes Sharpe's best friend and right hand man. It is here he also meets Hagman, Harris, Perkins and Cooper other ongoing characters throughout the series.A great start to the series and one that set the bar pretty high for the future.

It's a crying shame this mini series didn't catch on in the US. It still stands as the best made-for-TV-movie series ever made.Following the adventures of Richard Sharpe, a rough-and-tumble, tough-as-nails lieutenant in the Peninsular Wars, the series at first strikes you as, well, shoddy. There definitely is a made-for-TV vibe of cheapness, and the wailing electric guitars may turn off some viewers.But then......it hooks you. You become introduced to a wonderful cast of ragtag characters. Hagman, Harper, Harris, Thomas, Perkins, and of course, Sharpe. Over the course of the series they're fleshed out and given their own personalities. By the time of the last addition to the series, they're almost like old friends. You cheer their victories and weep for their defeats. As they slowly die off, you feel real grief. At the end of Sharpe's Waterloo, in a heart-breaking scene you see both Hagman and Harris die. I nearly cried when I wasn't pumping my fist at the screen and shouting obscenities at the villainous, treacherous scum that was the Prince of Orange. When Sharpe killed him later on......so satisfying... Few characters in all media can claim the same. The action scenes are intense once you get past the made-for-TV feeling I mentioned earlier, and are truly exciting. The music may strike you as cheesy, but once you hear Hagman singing the truly awe-inspiring " Over the Hills and Far Away", all your doubts will melt away. That song is easily one of the best I've ever heard.Perhaps the series' strongest point is it's lead: Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe. He absolutely dominates the role, snarling and growling with animalistic charisma. Never once do you doubt that Sean Bean is in fact Richard Sharpe. I mean, Bean must be the best middle-aged English actor there is. Bar none.At the very end of the series, aside from Sharpe's Challenge because I haven't seen that, when Sharpe is marching off into the sunset accompanied to " Over the Hills and Far Away," my heart swelled. It was such a beautiful moment.....I couldn't help but hurrah at the end. A truly touching moment to one of the best series ever made.

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.

What red-blooded girl could argue with 102 minutes of a mud-smeared Sean Bean swashbuckling in tight breeches? (Excuse me while I have an attack of the vapors...) It's a fun movie with a lot of action and great costumes, acting, and production values. BUT. . . I think the strong point of this series of movies is that it's likely to make you want to read the series of novels by Bernard Cornwell. Even for people who don't normally like to read historical/military fiction, they're a rollicking great read and packed with fascinating detail and character development. The movie is a tasty appetizer; the book is a satisfying meal. In this case, watching the movie won't ruin the book for you, and vice versa. Differences aside, they're done in the same spirit.