Sharpe's Challenge
- Episode aired Apr 14, 2007
- TV-14
- 1h 9m
1817. Sharpe has retired from the army but is summoned by the Duke of Wellington for an important mission. An agent in India has gone missing while trying to track down a traitorous British ... Read all1817. Sharpe has retired from the army but is summoned by the Duke of Wellington for an important mission. An agent in India has gone missing while trying to track down a traitorous British officer. That agent is Patrick Harper.1817. Sharpe has retired from the army but is summoned by the Duke of Wellington for an important mission. An agent in India has gone missing while trying to track down a traitorous British officer. That agent is Patrick Harper.
Photos
- Col. Gudin
- (as Aurelien Recoing)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe project required more than 4,000 extras during filming.
- GoofsThey have forgotten all of Sharpe's scars from previous battles in the previous movies.
- Quotes
Davi Lal: [Sharpe is asking him to steal from two merchants] But that would be stealing sahib. How am I to be a good British soldier if you make me into a thief again?
Richard Sharpe: It isn't thieving when you're hungry, Davi. That's the first thing any soldier learns. Now go on.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Story of the Costume Drama: A Call to Arms (2008)
There's been some complaint by Sharpe fans about the apparent cobbling of the original stories by Bernard Cornwall into what one might call a "ex-post-facto" revisit to where Sharpe started. The only drawback that I can see is the fact that Sean Bean is a little old to be playing his younger self in the opening scenes. I don't want to be nitpikcy, but that's partially the fault of makeup and partially the fault of the cinematographer for not trying to make Bean look a little younger. Ironically enough Bean looks younger in the making of featurette included on this disk than he does in the actual production. Probably due to a softer lens and lower level of information gathered by video.
The only thing missing from this latest installment of Shapre were some panoramic shots of the location. With all of the natural scenery available I'm surprised it wasn't taken more advantage of. Even so the film is rich with detail of all sorts. Definitely a high water mark in the Sharpe series.
The acting is on par for this series. It's not Oscar material, but right for a Sharpe adventure. Bean gives Sharpe a little more world weary demeanor. Sharpe is a soldier who's fought, and is not looking forward to the possibility of more battle. He's also domesticated, which reinforces his reluctance for the challenge presented to him. Other cast members deliver respectable performances, though Simerson's character wasn't as cold hearted and self centered as I recall from the previous films.
An unexpected plus was seeing corrected crisp footage from the previous films included in the making of featurette. Those clips showed that the original films, though shot on either 16mm or low grade 35mm film stock, provided more detail and richer colors than what is currently available from the North American BFS release. Kudos to the BBC for producing this film and providing this DVD.
My only real complaint is that the film is short. Compared to the other Sharpe films it may actually be a bit longer, but it looks like there was a lot of footage cut from the film.
Regardless, even though Sharpe is more mature and older, and acknowledges this as a character, he's still Sharpe, and keeps his zest for right and wrong when the moment of truth comes. Enjoy! :-)
- Blueghost
- Oct 25, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Desafío en la India
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro