Review of Sharpe´s Rifles / Sharpe´s Eagle (2 disc set)

Introduction

It`s hard to believe that it is now some nine years since Sharpe was first broadcast, as I vividly remember watching Sharpe`s Rifles when it was first on, and thoroughly enjoying it. I then made a point of watching all of the subsequent films in what turned out to be one of the best series of TV movies ever made. This DVD features two feature length movies - Sharpe`s Rifles and Sharpe`s Eagle.

Sean Bean stars as Bernard Cornwell`s Richard Sharpe, a British soldier in the Napoleonic wars during the 19th Century. A great supporting cast includes Brian Cox, Daragh O`Malley and Assumpta Serna.

In Sharpe`s Rifles, Sharpe is promoted to Lieutenant and given control of a company of soldier who have no respect for him. After heading behind enemy lines, Sharpe teams up with Spanish partisans in the search for James Rothschild who has much needed funds for the British Army.

In Sharpe`s Eagle, Sharpe and his company have to turn the South Essex into a fighting force. After the South Essex embarrassingly lose their colours in battle, Sharpe vows to regain their Honour by capturing a French Imperial Eagle.

Video

The video comes in 4:3 full-frame, which is in fact letterboxed at 14:9 giving small black lines at the top and bottom of a standard TV screen, and a headache to those with 16:9 sets without a proper zoom control.

The video itself is of reasonable quality given its TV origins, but suffers slightly from a lack of contrast, giving it a slightly washed out look. The image is free from dirt, but is a little grainy, and isn`t particularly sharp.

The visuals however are excellent, and in general the quality of production is up to movie standard, with superb locations which look very authentic.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, which is about as much as you could expect from a made for TV series.

The sound is reproduced very well, with dialogue and sound effects very clear.

The wailing electric guitar used for the soundtrack is also well reproduced by the stereo soundtrack.

Features

Sharpe`s Rifles contains a photo gallery and production notes.

Sharpe`s Eagle contains a photo gallery, production notes and a very interesting twenty five minute documentary called "Sharpe Shooting".

The discs are packaged in a clear double-Amaray case, which contains details of the chapter breaks and a token for a bonus DVD if you buy all seven volumes.

Conclusion

Overall, Sharpe was every bit as good as I remembered, with a superb cast, very high production values and interesting stories. Sharpe succeeds on all fronts - entertainment, drama, performances, relationships between characters, storyline and quality.

The video and sound are only average, and inclusion of a good documentary is a bonus for a TV related disc. However, having said that, 200 minutes of top-notch entertainment for £15.99 represents excellent value, and if DVD Reviewer don`t send me the other volumes as they come out, I`ll be buying them myself. I can`t really say much more that that!

Recommended.