Sharpe's Challenge DVD

Advantages: another Sharpe film
Disadvantages: very far fetched

...and the recent addition of Sharpe's exploits in India have breathed new life into this great series. The films too are great and the original series boxset still fetches a good price on Ebay, I know Ive been outbid often enough! So getting to the point Sharpes challenge, I have one question for sharpe fans to think about, did we really need it? The plotline is loosely based on the recent books tracing Sharpes beginnings in India, but it's set after ...
...find Harper, after finding him in India they set about infiltrating the Indian Fortress of Sarangpatan as Deserters, here Sharpe meets Dodds, his nemesis throughout the India Books, and lets say saves the day. Sean Bean is great, Sharpe is Great, and the production is great, but I really dont think this works. I think that if they were going to cover the India campaigns they really needed a younger actor and set it where it should be, before Sharpes ... Read review

Advantages: Superbly shot, great casting
Disadvantages: none really!

...ensue! Despite the fact that over a decade had passed between waterloo and challenge, Sean Bean and Daragh O Malley work together as well as always, complete with their usual humour, and bizarre dignity. All in all, I was very impressed with the DVD - the extra's aren't great, but you still need to watch them to see whats going on behind the scenes, and its a great overview of how the cast view sharpe. Technically, it's a very well shot episode (I won't call it a film, its a two parter!), with the set and pyrotechnic effects being fantastically done, the cast are, as always, accurately dressed and armed, and the scenery is uncannily accurate, which you come to expect from this series. News is, theres another new one in the pipeline, and I'm looking forward to it in the hopes it's up to the same standard... Read review

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Advantages: Sean Bean in those trousers, reasonable storyline, lots of action
Disadvantages: Poor editing, presentation doesn't match previous set

...I must admit I'm a bit of a romantic, I've read every one Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe books, and already owned the Sharpe boxset on DVD. So when Sharpe's Challenge was advertised on the TV I was looking forward to watching it. Sadly, due to a family crisis, I only managed to catch the first half on the TV, so when I discovered that it would be available on DVD very shortly after, I jumped at the chance of buying it, for the extortionate price of £16.49. --The Episode-- After the battle of Waterloo Colonel Richard Sharpe thought he'd left his life as a soldier behind him as he settled down to life as a farmer in France. The fairy tale ending was just not to be and an urgent message from Wellington summons him back to England for a new mission….. What follows is standard Sharpe fare, albeit in a new setting as Sharpe travels to India... Read review

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