Review of Sharpe´s Battle/Sharpe´s Sword (2 disc set)

Introduction

This is the fourth volume of Sharpe to be released - the first features Sharpe`s Rifles and Sharpe`s Eagle, and the second volume features Sharpe`s Company and Sharpe`s Enemy, the third volume features Sharpe`s Honour and Sharpe`s Gold and this volume features Sharpe`s Battle and Sharpe`s Sword.

Sean Bean again stars as Bernard Cornwell`s Richard Sharpe, a British soldier in the Napoleonic wars during the 19th Century. The supporting cast includes Daragh O`Malley, Hugh Ross and Hugh Fraser.

In Sharpe`s Battle, Sharpe and his men have to face far more experienced French soldiers - so Sharpe has to drum them into shape in time for the battle.

In Sharpe`s Sword, Sharpe is sent to intercept an assassin who is on the trail of one of Wellington`s most important agents.

Video

As with volumes one, two and three, the video comes in 4:3 full-frame, which is letterboxed at 14:9 giving small black lines at the top and bottom of a standard TV screen, and the resulting headache for those with 16:9 sets without a proper zoom control!

The video itself is of reasonable quality given its TV origins, and like the previous volumes, still suffers from a lack of contrast, looks a bit washed out and is over-exposed at times. The image is free from dirt, but is a bit grainy, and it still isn`t particularly sharp or detailed.

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

Audio

Once again, 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, although obviously a full 5.1 remix would have really helped the atmosphere in the battle scenes.

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

Features

As per the previous volume, both discs contain a photo gallery and production notes, neither of which are very exciting.

The discs are packaged in a clear double-Amaray case, which contains details of the chapter breaks and the fourth token for a bonus DVD if you buy all seven volumes (but remember that you`ll also require your till receipts to claim it!).

Conclusion

Overall, volume four of Sharpe maintains the excellent entertainment of the first three, with the very high production values and interesting stories helping Sharpe remain a very watchable series.

The video and sound are still only average, and the extras are only minimal, but again there is 200 minutes of top-notch entertainment for £15.99, which represents excellent value for money.

Recommended.