Dom Robinson reviews
Sharpe's Rifles
Distributed by Carlton Home Entertainment
Cat.no: 37115 00043
Cert: 15
Running time: 101 minutes
Year: 1993
Pressing: 1998
Region(s): 2, PAL
Chapters: 11 plus extras
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Stereo)
Languages: English
Subtitles: None
Widescreen: 1.66:1 (15:9)
16:9-Enhanced: No
Macrovision: No
Price: £19.99
Extras : Scene index, Cast/Crew Biographies
Director:
Tom Clegg (McVicar, TV: "Bravo Two Zero" (1998), "Between
The Lines", "Space 1999", "The Sweeney" )Producer:
Screenplay:
Eoghan Harris (based on the novel by Bernard Cornwell )Music:
Dominic Muldowney and John Tams Cast:
Richard Sharpe: Sean Bean (Black Beauty, Goldeneye, Patriot
Games, Shopping, When Saturday Comes, TV: "Bravo Two Zero" (1998), "Inspector
Morse", "Lady Chatterley", "Scarlett" )
Hogan: Brian Cox (The Boxer, Chain Reaction, Desperate Measures,
Hidden Agenda, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Manhunter, Rob Roy, TV: "Inspector
Morse" )
Patrick Harper: Daragh O'Malley
Teresa: Assumpta Serna (Chain of Desire, The Fencing Master,
Matador, Nostradamus, The Shooter )
Wellington : David Troughton (TV: "The Stranger" )
S harpe's RiflesSean Bean ) in
the midst of the desperate missions and battles of the Napoleonic wars
in 19th century Spain. Sharpe is promoted to Lieutenant after saving the
life of Sir Arthur Wellesley and he is soon given a dangerous mission -
to command a band of war-hardened riflemen behind enemy lines.
Their task is to escort Sharpe's lover, the beautiful Spanish guerilla
leader Teresa (Assumpta Serna ) and a nobleman soldier who are carrying
a mysterious box across the country and are being hunted by the French
cavalry. What does the box contain and why must Sharpe and his men risk
their lives in a battle to protect it.
The picture quality is mostly brilliant with a very clean picture. However,
there does appear to be a soft-tone about it which I've never experienced
before, but I presume that the film has been shot that way to resemble
the look of the period. That said, there are three moments during the film,
all in dark scenes and one lasting between 50 and 55 minutes, when the
picture reminds you of the days of Video CDs.
The film is presented at 1.66:1 (approx 15:9), not the fullscreen format
specified on the back. I don't know if it has been shot in 16:9 like a
lot of television dramas these days, but the picture on show doesn't appear
to have been zoomed-in or pan-and-scanned so it could well have been shot
at this ratio. The disc has an average bitrate of 5.14Mb/s and is not enhanced
for 16:9 televisions - this is not possible since it's not that wide.
The sound is stereo (presented in Dolby Digital 2.0) and serves its
purpose, but even in the battle scenes it doesn't sound too involving so
your speakers won't get the sort of workout they deserve.
Extras :
Biographies :
The disc contains two-page biogs for novelist Bernard Cornwell and
cast members Sean Bean, Brian Cox and
Assumpta Serna .
Chapters :
The packaging and scene selection screen states there are ten chapters,
but there are eleven because it doesn't include the start of the film in
those, which can be accessed by clicking on "Play Feature" from the main
menu. However, eleven is not enough for a film of 100 minutes in length
and two of these (chapters 9 and 11) are approx. 17 minutes apiece.
Languages/Subtitles :
There's just the one language on this disc - English - with no subtitles,
except when a foreign person speaks and subtitles were intended for that
line of dialogue, but these cannot be controlled as per regular subtitles.
Menu :
The interactive menu is functional and static. Dragging the mouse pointer
over an option highlights it, and selecting that option works fine.
On inserting the disc, a copyright logo is shown before the film begins.
Then you can go back to the menu and select specific scenes or the biographies.
Overall, this is a fine release. It's the first Sharpe story I've seen
and while I didn't find it particularly enthralling, fans of the series,
as well as devotees of this Mr. Bean, are encouraged to take a look at
it due to the mostly excellent picture quality.
It's also interesting to see Carlton bringing a range of old films and
TV drama to a new format so soon and in Dolby Digital, but it would be
an idea to include subtitles and a decent number of chapters.
FILM : **½
PICTURE QUALITY : ****
SOUND QUALITY : ***½
EXTRAS : *
-------------------------------
OVERALL : ***
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1998.
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