Sharpe's Regiment (2006)

Blech

I am doggedly watching each of these episodes and one day by golly they will have some connection to the books.

So far, not a chance. I cannot believe everyone is praising these so much. They deserved better than this. Come on, pry some money out of the producers fingers and get a decent village built.

I am almost certain that Wellington had more than 250 men to fight France. Show me the money! August 3, 2008

Regimental Entertainment

Based on Bernard Cornwell's best selling novels, Sean Bean returns as swashbuckling British officer Richard Sharpe.

It is June 1813. After the victory at Victoria, Wellington is preparing the troops for the invasion France.

The depleted South Essex is a battalion at half strength. Wellington sends Sharpe to England to recruit nw soldiers. Sharpe and the newly promoted Sergeant Major Harper (Daragh O'Malley) discover corruption in the highest ranks of the British Army. When their suspicions are reported, they find themselves the targets of an assassination attempt.

In the dramatic race against time to prove their allegations, Sharpe and Harper fake their own deaths and re-enlist in the South Essex... April 23, 2007

sharpe's regiment

Meets my standards as to historical accuracy as regards to weapons, uniforms and geographic locations. Having read the bernard cornwell novels, I found the movies an excellent addition to my knowledge of british military history. February 7, 2007

Sharpe-The Entire Series

All of the series are exceptional. I like period pieces and as a Transplanted Brit. I enjoy anything to do with any part of British history romantisized or not. And as a retired U.S.Army soldier I appreciate reading about and watching stories of one such as Sharpe who came up through the ranks much as I did. This review applies to all episodes in the Sharpe Series. January 10, 2007

Sharpe and Harper (re)join the British army as recruits

It is still Spain and still 1813 at the start of this ninth effort in the Sharpe series, and after his victory at Vitoria the Duke of Wellington is preparing to finally invade France. Meanwhile, the depleted South Essex regiment faces heavy opposition at the French frontier and are actually forced to retreat. Sharpe (Sean Bean) is sent to England to recruit new soldiers so that the regiment can stay together and brings Sergeant Major Harper (Daragh O'Malley) along for the fun. We know that we are in new territory for our hero when he is introduced to the Prince of Wales (Julian Fellowes), who cheerfully insists that he was on the field when Sharpe captured one of Napoleon's eagles (in "Sharpe's Eagle") and also insists on calling our hero "Dick."

The problem is that the South Essex barracks back home are emtpy and the troops that Sharpe wants to take back to Spain are said to exist only "on paper." However, "Dick" has seen evidence to the contrary and soon discovers corruption in the British army that rises to the highest ranks. Sharpe is targeted for assassination and after Harper saves him the pair decide to go undercover. With everybody thinking they are dead they "enlist" in the army, which means that Sharpe goes from attending a party hosted by the man who is supposed to be the next king of England to crawling through the mud while a sadistic sergeant calls him "filth" and other foul names.

The unit Sharpe ("Dick Vaugh") and Harper ("O'Keefe") have joined is commanded by Colonel Girdwood (Mark Lambert), who pays more attention to this appearance than is healthy, orders all deserters shot on sight, and likes to hunt men for sport. But between Girdwood and the highly placed person running this scheme is our old friend, Sir Henry Simmerson (Michael Cochrane), who I thought had been run through by a priest in the previous episode and who remains the person in the Sharpe series who most deserves to die a horrible death (yes, even ahead of Nappy). Simmerson is always bullying somebody around and this time it is his niece, Jane Gibbons (Abigail Cruttenden), who he wants to marry off to Girdwood.

Sharpe's love life takes a significant turn in "Sharpe's Regiment," because not only does Jane look at him with adoring eyes while he feels inclined to protect her from Sir Henry, but there is also a dowager countess, Lady Anne Camoynes (Caroline Langrishe), who has taken a liking to Sharpe as ladies both high born and low are inclined to do and sees him as being part of her own little set of plans. Besides, somebody has to function as the deus ex machina in this adaptation of the Bernard Cornwell novel.

The taste of what it was like be recruited and trained to become a soldier in the British army is what stands out in "Sharpe's Regimen." Sharpe's discomfort being among the high and mighty is also enjoyable, but not as much as when he puts on his own green uniform and starts setting things to rights. The battle sequence that serves as the film's coda seems rather tacked on, giving the actors playing the Chosen Men a day to draw some pay and for one of the recruits to yell out the story's title. If it were not for the way the finale scenes go a bit against the grain of the rest of this 1996 adventure I would have rounded up instead of down. Still, overall the Sharpe series is a triumph of character and story over the constraints of a limited budget.
September 19, 2004

More reviews at Amazon.com ...