Sharpe's Challenge (2006)

Sean Bean is back as the swashbuckling hero in Sharpe's Challenge, an action packed mini-series to be shot on location in Rajasthan, India. Two years after the Duke of Wellington crushes ... See full summary »

Director:

Tom Clegg

Writers:

Bernard Cornwell (novels), Russell Lewis

Stars:

Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Toby Stephens

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Bean	...	Sharpe
Daragh O'Malley	...	Harper
Toby Stephens	...	Dodd
Padma Lakshmi	...	Madhuvanthi
Aurélien Recoing	...	Gudin (as Aurelien Recoing)
Lucy Brown	...	Celia Burroughs
Michael Cochrane	...	Simmerson
Alyy Khan	...	Mohan Singh
Hugh Fraser	...	Wellington
Peter-Hugo Daly	...	Bickerstaff
Thierry Hancisse	...	Bonnet
Karan Panthaky	...	Khande Rao
Nicholas Blane	...	Crosby
Michael Elwyn	...	Rawlinson
Diana Perez	...	Ramona Harper

Storyline

Sean Bean is back as the swashbuckling hero in Sharpe's Challenge, an action packed mini-series to be shot on location in Rajasthan, India. Two years after the Duke of Wellington crushes Napoleon at Waterloo, dispatches from India tell of a local Maharaja, Khande Rao, who is threatening British interests there. Wellington sends Sharpe to investigate on what turns out to be his most dangerous mission to date. When a beautiful general's daughter is kidnapped by the Indian warlord, the tension mounts, leaving Sharpe no option but to pursue the enemy right into its deadly lair. Deep in the heart of enemy territory he also has to keep at bay the beautiful but scheming Regent, Madhuvanthi, who is out to seduce him. The fate of an Empire and the life of a General's daughter lie in one man's hands...

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Plot Keywords:

india | duke of wellington | hero | cavalry charge | desert | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English Hindi French

Release Date:

14 April 2007 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Die Scharfschützen - Das letzte Gefecht

Filming Locations:

Amber Fort, Amber, Rajasthan, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Celtic Films Entertainment, Kriti Productions, Picture Palace

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Sean Bean (Sharpe) and Toby Stephens (Dodd) are enemies in this series, they have both played enemies of James Bond (Bean in GoldenEye and Stephens in Die Another Day). Interesting to note is that Pierce Brosnan was Bond on both occasions.

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Goofs

They have forgotten all of Sharpe's scars from previous battles in the previous movies.

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Quotes

Patrick Harper: [enemy cavalry have captured him and Sharpe in their land] It's about time!

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Connections

Featured in The Story of the Costume Drama: A Call to Arms (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Over the Hills and Far Away"
Traditional
Adapted by John Tams
Performed by John Tams

User Reviews

A welcome return, but a lost opportunity

What could be better than spending another 2+ hours in the company of two of TV's greatest heroes, Sharpe & Harper? Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley look a little the worse for wear, but their chemistry is still working and there is plenty of swashbuckling afoot in this Indian adventure. The scenery is magnificent (I'm SO glad they didn't try to film it, let's say, in the UKRAINE!) and the cast is first rate. This new SHARPE has all the ingredients that made its predecessors so enjoyable to watch. And since they've obviously thrown more money at this one it looks better. (For instance, a lot more extras are used in battle scenes than we're used to seeing in earlier installments.) At the risk of being called a "purist" or an "obsessive" (words already bandied about in this forum), I have to say I'm disappointed that we're probably never going to get to see Cornwell's three Sharpe Indian novels presented as they were written. Of course, I realize there were many changes made in the earlier episodes, but here are a couple of reasons why:

1. The three Indian books give us a good look at the very young Sharpe and the formation of his character. But that would require another (younger) actor, which the producers realize would diminish their audience.

2. We miss the wonderful situations involving the young(er) Hakeswill, played so marvelously by Pete Postlethwaite in earlier episodes. The Indian books let us revel in Sharpe's personal battle with this demented enemy. The producers had to come up with about four villains in SHARPE'S CHALLENGE to make up for him.

Bernard Cornwell, realizing he was sitting on a gold mine, has milked Sharpe's adventures, adding battles before, after, and in between those of the original set of books. And long may he milk! However, this means that we will miss authentic dramatizations of these later additions to the Sharpe canon (cannon, geddit?).