Hornblower: Loyalty (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Andrew Grieve

Writers:

C.S. Forester (novel)
Niall Leonard (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 December 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Plot:

Hornblower is given a dangerous mission to deliver an emigre French nobleman to a secret rendezvous near Brest while coping with enemy agents in his own ranks.

Plot Keywords:

Cowardice | Landlady | Nephew | Horatio Hornblower | Emigre

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd	...	Commander Horatio Hornblower
Robert Lindsay	...	Admiral Sir Edward Pellew
Paul McGann	...	Lieutenant Bush
Lorcan Cranitch	...	Wolfe
Tony Haygarth	...	Master Prowse
Julia Sawalha	...	Maria Mason
Barbara Flynn	...	Mrs. Mason
Paul Copley	...	Matthews
Sean Gilder	...	Styles
Greg Wise	...	Major Côtard
Ian McElhinney	...	Captain Hammond
Christian Coulson	...	Midshipman John 'Jack' Hammond
Ron Cook	...	Steward James Doughty
Jonathan Forbes	...	Midshipman Charles Orrock
Jim McManus	...	Pawnbroker

Also Known As:

Horatio Hornblower 3 (USA)
Hornblower and the Hotspur (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:PG | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

Meridian Broadcasting

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the opening scene entitled "Portsmouth 1803" when the camera pans from right to left, a rowboat can be seen rowing in the same direction, but when the camera pauses, the boat, actually a CGI effect, does not catch up to it and seemingly disappears.

Quotes:

Commander Horatio Hornblower: For a long time now no one ashore cared much whether I lived or died.
Maria Mason: I care, Horatio. My heart leaps when I hear your footsteps on the stairs and when I hear your voice.

Movie Connections:

Follows Hornblower: Retribution (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

God Save the King

Superb entertainment! One of the best Hornblower films yet.

Loyalty is the 8th installment in the Horatio Hornblower series and so far it's one of the best. If you enjoyed the previous Hornblower films you will surely enjoy this one. As we have come to expect from the Horatio Hornblower series the acting is great, Ioan Gruffudd as Hornblower is fantastic as usual and Robert Lindsay and Paul McGann also turn in excellent performances. The rest of the crew is back ( and fans will surely enjoy seeing Sean Gilder and Paul Copley as Styles and Mathews). The script is great and the battles on land and sea are epic and intense. The visual effects are pretty good especially in one scene that has Horatio running as everything is exploding behind him. The music is basically the same material we have heard in the other Hornblower films, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. All in all an excellent production and a great continuation of the Hornblower saga.