Horatio Hornblower: The Wrong War (1999) (TV) Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters (original title)

Director:

Andrew Grieve

Writers:

C.S. Forester (novels)
Chris Ould (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 April 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Plot:

Lt. Hornblower and his mates are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France.

Plot Keywords:

French | Invasion | British | Bridge | Battle

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd	...	Horatio Hornblower
Robert Lindsay	...	Capt. Sir Edward Pellew
Antony Sher	...	Colonel Moncoutant
John Shrapnel	...	General Charette
Samuel West	...	Major Edrington
Peter Vaughan	...	Admiral Lord Hood
Jean Badin	...	Fauré
Jamie Bamber	...	Acting Lt. Archie Kennedy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Copley	...	Matthews
Jonathan Coy	...	Lt. Bracegirdle
Sean Gilder	...	Styles
Ian Lindsay	...	Collins
Colin MacLachlan	...	Master Bowles
Simon Sherlock	...	Oldroyd
Estelle Skornik	...	Mariette

Directed by
Andrew Grieve

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
C.S. Forester		novels
Chris Ould		screenplay

Produced by
Andrew Benson	....	producer
Delia Fine	....	executive producer
Vernon Lawrence	....	executive producer
Peter Richardson	....	line producer

Cinematography by
Alec Curtis

Costume Design by
John Mollo

Makeup Department
Elizabeth Minshull	....	hair stylist (as Liz Minshull)
Elizabeth Minshull	....	makeup artist (as Liz Minshull)

Art Department
Augusto Mayer	....	art director: Portugal

Sound Department
Rudi Buckle	....	production sound mixer
Colin Codner	....	boom operator
Sue Lenny	....	sound effects editor
Dave Sloss	....	foley recordist
Julie Ankerson	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Graham Aikman	....	special effects assistant: pyro supervisor
Jeremy Lovett	....	special effects senior technician: model unit
Mark Roberts	....	special effects technician: model unit

Visual Effects by
Mark Thomas-Stubbs	....	digital effects

Camera and Electrical Department
David Bourke	....	best boy
Paul Donachie	....	focus puller
Tom Gates	....	gaffer
Jon Head	....	grip
Micky May	....	generator operator
Steve Murray	....	camera operator
Jamie Summers	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gordon Harmer	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Matthew Tucker	....	first assistant editor
Marc Eskenazi	....	on-line editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Jon Baker	....	armorer
Anna Callaghan	....	production assistant
Matt Cooke	....	production runner
Dani Gordon	....	assistant to producer
Pauline Granby	....	production accountant
Amanda Lean	....	script supervisor
Erhan Ozogul	....	assistant accountant
Gerry Savage	....	nurse
Adele Steward	....	production coordinator
Chris Tarry	....	assistant accountant

Production Companies

• A&E Network (in association with)
• Meridian Broadcasting
• United Film and Television Productions

Distributors

• A&E Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• A&E Home Video (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• A&E Television Networks (1999) (USA) (TV)
• Cinema Club (2002) (UK) (VHS)
• Cinema Club (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• ITV DVD (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Independent Television (ITV) (1999) (UK) (TV)
• NHK-BS2 (2002) (Japan) (TV)

Other Companies

• Celtic/Picture Palace  developed by

Also Known As:

"Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters" - UK (original title)

Runtime:

Brazil:100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Peniche, Portugal

Company:

A&E Network

Trivia:

Captain Pellew's line, "As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean," is a quotation from the second part of 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by Coleridge. It was first published, anonymously, in 1798.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The invasion is supposed to take place in Brittany (Bretagne), which has an oceanic climate, with abundant rain leading to a green countryside. However the location used for filming seems to be Mediterranean, warm and dry, dusty, and with typical vegetation (less grass, coniferous trees like pines), possibly Provence.

Quotes:

Major Edrington:I take it the welcoming ceremony is now over.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Story of the Costume Drama: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (#1.1)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

The Girl I Left Behind Me

The best in the current series!

The 4-part made for tv-series comes to an end, at the moment that is, with a terrific final episode! This episode is the best installment of all four movies! It has everything from espionage, intrigue, murder, war, horror to romance and beyond, you name it! It is a classic! Each minute of the movie is filled with great drama! This is Horathio Hornblower at its best! BTW the use of music in this episode is excellent. So now that the series comes to an end I hope that we will see Horathio Hornblower very soon again on the little screen, until then, it is back to the novels of Forester to fill in these waiting days!

Conclusion: The series is highly recommended! It is an oases compared to the desert of day to day tv-fare!