[.ca] Sharpe: Sharpes Honour

Sharpe's New Fan:
I am hopelessly addicted to the Sharpe series. As a history major I find the story line fascinating, especially since it's a period they don't teach us much about here in the States. I was drawn in from scene one and haven't come up for air yet. Superb acting, witty dialogue, great battle scenes, lots of action/suspense, endearing characters, wonderful ensemble casts...and a dashing hero to boot! Need I go on? Throughout the series there are some great episodes and some not-so-great, but none truly bad (except perhaps Sharpe's Gold). Sean Bean absolutely *becomes* Richard Sharpe. He's fabulous (and not bad looking either). Daragh O'Malley is wonderful as Sharpe's best friend Harper. Any history fan, military fan, action fan, or swashbuckler fan needs to check out Sharpe. Be warned, though--you can't buy just one. Wonder why don't they show it on American TV? This series is truly a secret that needs to get out.

Good not great:
Honour was dissapointing as it marked my switch to DVD from VHS in the series. I agree sound and picture quality are poor. This series is crying out for a repackaging in a DVD box set with digital quality and behind-the-scenes stuff. That said, Honour is fairly entertaining. A good plot and some decent action, along with the traditional kick-to-the-groin fight scenes. The climatic battle sees Sean Bean catapulted over over a downed cart, sword in hand. Great stuff that. The romance is downplayed a bit, with one exception ("He was at her all night sir") and the scene where Sharpe rescues the Marquesa from the band of nuns is hilarious. Worth the time. I'm looking forward to getting further into the series from this point on.

Sharp's Honor:
I was disappointed in the screen play of this great book. I found the book much richer in story. In the book Sharp and the (golden Whore) had known each other in a biblical way from a previous book (Sharps Sword) wherein he also slaughters her evil brother(Colonel Leroux ). In the screen play they do not know each other at all. Also Harper did not accompany Sharp on this Mission to capture La Marquesa,this role was better served by the Spanish boy Angel. Last the Movie did not do justice to the horror of 1700th century warfare and it made the battle of Vitoria look like a platoon Action instead of the Clash of whole Army groups that it was.

DVD or Video tape?:
I was very disappointed in the DVD picture quality; it's on the same level as video tape. I was expecting a much sharper (no pun intended,) clearer transfer. The movie itself was 5 star. I can only hope the next Sharpe Collection transfered to DVD will move up to a DVD quality picture.