Sharpe's Rifles (1993) (TV)

Director:

Tom Clegg

Writers:

Eoghan Harris (written by)
Bernard Cornwell (based on the novel by)

Release Date:

5 May 1993 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | History | War

Plot:

In the Peninsular War, a British sergeant is field promoted to a lieutenant in charge of a disrespectful rifle company.

Plot Keywords:

Portugal | Mission | Part Of Series | War Hero | British Soldier

Cast

Sean Bean	...	Sharpe
Brian Cox	...	Hogan
Daragh O'Malley	...	Harper
Assumpta Serna	...	Teresa
David Troughton	...	Wellesley
Simón Andreu	...	Vivar
Michael Mears	...	Cooper
John Tams	...	Hagman
Jason Salkey	...	Harris
Paul Trussell	...	Tongue
Lyndon Davies	...	Perkins
Julian Fellowes	...	Major Dunnett
Tim Bentinck	...	Captain Murray
Richard Ireson	...	Sgt. Williams
Martin Jacobs	...	Lawford
Malcolm Jamieson	...	Colonel de L'Eclin
Anthony Hyde	...	Man in Black
Jack McKenzie	...	Mr. Parker
Kerry Shale	...	James Rothschild
Karen Tungay	...	Louisa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Slava Burlachko	...	French Dragoon (uncredited)

Directed by
Tom Clegg

Writing credits
Eoghan Harris		(written by)
Bernard Cornwell		(based on the novel by)

Produced by
Ted Childs	....	executive producer
Malcolm Craddock	....	producer
Muir Sutherland	....	executive producer
Neville C. Thompson	....	associate producer (as Neville Thompson)

Original Music by
Dominic Muldowney
John Tams

Cinematography by
Ivan Strasburg		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robin Sales

Casting by
John Hubbard
Ros Hubbard

Production Design by
Andrew Mollo

Art Direction by
Philip Elton
Vladimir Litvinov

Costume Design by
John Mollo

Makeup Department
Sano De Perpessac	....	chief hairdresser
Margarida Miranda	....	chief makeup

Production Management
Christian Abomnes	....	unit manager
Chris Thompson	....	production manager: Portugal

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sam Craddock	....	second assistant director
Marc Jenny	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Irina Sapozhnikova	....	set dresser
Alison Stewart-Richardson	....	set dresser
Colin Thurston	....	props
Tiago Albuquerque	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Colin Chapman	....	dubbing editor
David Lis	....	boom operator
Colin Martin	....	sound mixer
Christian Wangler	....	sound recordist
Richard Spooner	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Viktor Voronoy	....	special effects supervisor (as Victor Voronoy)

Stunts
Oleg Korytin	....	horse stunt coordinator (as Oleg Keratin)
Sasha Philatov	....	stunt coordinator
Greg Powell	....	stunt coordinator
Aleksandr Baranov	....	stunts (uncredited)
Zed Korshoonoff	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dennis Lloyd	....	grip
Yuri Nugis	....	gaffer (as Georgy Nugis)
Richard Philpott	....	camera operator
Mark Strasburg	....	focus

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elena Khramova	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Helen Kharmova)
Barbara Rutter	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Adam Boome	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
David Barry	....	unit driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Lesley Broderick	....	production accountant
Slava Burlachko	....	horse master
José Correia	....	associate: Animedia Audiovisual
Gina Cronk	....	script editor
Pavel Douvidzon	....	associate: East-West Creative Association (as Pavel Duvidson)
Caroline McManus	....	associate: East-West Creative Association
Irene Meldris	....	assistant to director
Igor Nosov	....	associate: East-West Creative Association
Stepan Pojenian	....	associate: East-West Creative Association (as Stefan Pojenian)
Pat Rambaut	....	script supervisor
John Raymond	....	associate: East-West Creative Association
Richard Rutherford-Moore	....	technical advisor (as Richard Moore)
Tatyana Shakhgeldyan	....	associate: East-West Creative Association
Patricia Vieira	....	associate: Animedia Audiovisual
Cindy Winter	....	assistant to producer
Winnie Wishart	....	production coordinator
Zinaida Kravchenko	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Celtic Films Entertainment
• Central
• Picture Palace

Distributors

• Atlantic Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• BFS Entertainment & Multimedia Limited (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• ITV DVD (1998) (UK) (DVD)
• ITV DVD (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• ITV Studios Home Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• ITV Studios Home Entertainment (2010) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Independent Television (ITV) (1993) (UK) (TV)
• Masterpiece Theatre
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Other Companies

• East-West Creative Association  production services: Crimea
• Ecou Films  

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Spanish | French | Yiddish | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Company:

Celtic Films Entertainment

Trivia:

The jacket which Sean Bean wears on the cover picture was actually tailored for the smaller 'Paul McGann', whom Bean replaced in the role of Sharpe, which is why the jacket hangs open at the front.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Aside from the fact that James Rothschild was German/French and not English, had a full head of hair and would have been only 17 in 1809 (the year of the story), it is highly unlikely that as an upper class person such as he would have spoken a word of Yiddish. The three words exchanged by Rothschild and the "Methodist" in the carriage were scarcely distinguishable from German which begs the question: how would Richard Sharpe have recognized Yiddish?

Quotes:

Man in Black:When you bury me... no priests!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Soundtrack:

Over the Hills and Far Away

Excellent start to a classic series

Sharpe is without doubt one of the biggest achievements of British TV drama. All involved have worked wonders with the source material managing to squeeze in all the important elements of Bernard Cornwalls series of novels. Sean Bean is perfect for the role of Sharpe and with excellent support from Daragh O'Malley as Harper and the beautiful Assumpta Serena as Teresa this show really hits the ground running.

Sharpe is all about action and follows a similar blue print to the likes of Bond. Sharpe gets a mission from Wellington then the plot thickens to take in treachery and intrigue and then we get an action filled finale.

Sharpe has it's basis in reality most characters were real people Wellington etc, it takes in real events such as the battle of talevera and the weaponry, uniforms etc are accurate. But from there on in this is adventure in the boys own style and Sharpe is the perfect hero tough and always ready for a fight.

Sharpe is great TV entertainment and a nice change of pace from the reality TV hell we seem to be stuck in at present.

8/10