Blu-ray Review

Two years after the Duke of Wellington crushes Napoleon at Waterloo, there is news from India of a local Maharaja, 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 general's beautiful daughter is kidnapped by the Indian warlord, the tension mounts, leaving Sharpe no option but to pursue the enemy right into his 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 his life of a general's daughter lie in one man's hands...

Sharpe’s Peril

It's India, 1818 and Lt Col. Richard Sharpe and Sergeant Major Patrick Harper are traveling across India, escorting the beautiful Marie-Angelique Bonnet to meet her fiancé. While in bandit-plagued badlands, they come across the very dregs of the crown's troops: all ill disciplined, rag-tag unit led by boy soldier Beauclare. As Sharpe and company sit down to have dinner with their hosts, the camp comes under attack by the notorious bandit Chitu. When the dust settles, it becomes apparent there have been many casualties and Sharpe realizes that he is the only person now capable of getting this wagon train to the safety of the next army garrison. Little does Sharpe know that the adventure has only just begun and that he has inadvertently stumbled across a massive opium trafficking ring....

Our Take:

”Sharpe, Richard Sharpe.”

The line, spoken by English actor (and 007 film alum) Sean Bean as Lt Col. Richard Sharpe reminded me of James Bond, as does the rest of these Sharpe films. Sharpe’s Challenge (2006)and Sharpe’s Peril (2008) are the latest BBC television adaptations of the novels by author, Bernard Cornwell. They also mark my introduction to the world of Sharpe.

Based on these two features, it seems that Cornwell was a fan of both James Bond and the film Zulu. His lead character, a former soldier commissioned in her majesty’s army that now just seems to get odd jobs to do. Sharpe’s no-nonsense attitude and is Bond-like (at least the current incarnation of Bond), but his ways with the ladies is far more Indiana Jones in that it takes them a while to come around. The action in each of these TV-movies is set in India and the on-location photography is rather stunning and rises to the high quality standard of most British television productions.

Sharpe’s Challenge is presented on the Blu-ray in its shorter “movie version” form. Both TV-movies originally aired in two hour-long parts on British television, but then got condensed into a single feature film length that took out some of the episode footage. Perhaps it is the missing footage, but Sharpe’s Challenge suffers from a pace that seems only concerned with getting from one gruesome battle to the next. The gore, which includes nails being driven through people’s heads, is more than I expected from a TV-movie, but it is not gratuitous. The formulaic plot concerns Col. Sharpe hunting down an over the top villain through India and protecting those in his charge. The battles are many and well shot, but unfortunately Sharpe’s Challenge does not rise above the level of a pleasant Saturday afternoon action adventure.

Sharpe’s Peril is presented on the Blu-ray in both the condensed feature film version and the original longer 2-part television broadcast version, which begs the question why the same was not done with Sharpe’s Challenge released the same day on Blu-ray by BBC. I opted to view the longer original broadcast version for this review. Sharpe’s Peril brings back Sean Bean as the titular Sharpe and also features a similar plot of Sharpe being guilted back into her majesty’s service in order to protect a damsel in distress and take charge of an under trained and under staffed group of soldiers. Yet, Sharpe’s Peril is not merely an action adventure like its predecessor. This Sharpe adventure takes time to ruminate on the human condition, principally about sons carrying the mark or misdeeds of their father with them through life. The villains are no longer one-note and involve the standard bad guy as well as lower level treachery within Sharpe’s own party. The cost of war and the role of a soldier is also explored quite nicely adding the depth much needed in Sharpe’s Challenge.

There are brief instances of ghosting caused by the interlaced transfer in Sharpe’s Peril. Yet, for a 1080i presentation, it looks very good. Sharpe’s Challenge, which was shot in Super 16 is strong in 1080p and Sharpe’s Peril, which upgraded to shooting on 35mm, but is presented in lesser 1080i still manages to look even better. Both transfers evidence the shows’ high production values. Fine detail is clear and well defined. The small flies landing on the coats and faces of the actors in India are defined and never look like mere specks as they might in standard definition. Flesh tones are natural at times and detailed to the point of being able to discern even the most detailed textures of the actors skin, like short hairs and small bumps. DNR was applied to both titles, but it is not as egregious as other instances like in the Blu-ray release of Patton. While the print looks clean and scrubbed, the detail in close-ups is quite good. Blacks are deep with authentic amounts of grain seeping into the picture during night time location shots. Perhaps, they did not bother applying the DNR in those shots.

BBC’s erratic presentation quality continues in the audio department. Sharpe’s Challenge is presented with a lossy Doby Digital 5.1 surround track, which is very good, but still not high def. audio. Sharpe’s Peril on the other hand was treated to a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 mix. It is a shame the more action heavy Challenge was not given such a track as well. The lossless track on Sharpe’s Peril is top notch and exhibits a full sound field and perfect balance as dialogue is never lost among the gunshots and clanking of swords.

Both titles feature English subtitles that may be useful for those that struggle a bit with the accents.