Stars: Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane

Director: Tom Clegg

Summary: In 'Sharpe's Battle' Sharpe is a hard taskmaster who prepares the Royal Irish Company for their first battle. 'Sharpe's Sword' sees the return of Major Richard Sharpe whose latest mission is to protect the master spy, El Mirador, from an assassin sent by Napoleon. Based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell.

This collection includes two Sharpe tales: SHARPE'S BATTLE and SHARPE'S SWORD. In SHARPE'S BATTLE, British officer Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean, of course) is charged with preparing the Royal Irish Company, a largely ceremonial outfit led by Lord Kiely (Jason Durr), for their first battle. Sharpe, whose orders are to make their lives miserable, finds an unlikely assistant in Lord Kiely's wife (Allie Byrne), who asks a personal favour of Sharpe in return. As the troops ready to take on the French, one of Napoleon's spies infiltrates the ranks and disseminates an incendiary rumour. In SHARPE'S SWORD, Sharpe--behind enemy lines, as usual--comes up against Colonel Leroux (Patrick Fierry), the best swordsman in the entire French army. Along the way, Sharpe befriends a beautiful mute (Emily Mortimer) who becomes an invaluable ally.

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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on May 2, 2006 4:11 PM

Richard Sharpe is back causing more mayhem .
Sharpe's Battle : French forces led by the ruthless Guy de Loup
( Oliver Cotton ) are laying waste to the Spanish countryside , burning villages and butchering families . Sharpe's orders are to stop them . But all he has to do it with are his own men and an inexperienced ceremonial unit .
Sharpe's Sword : Intelligence reports indicate that a French officer is on his wat to Villafranca to assassinate one of Wellington's most valued agents . If he succeede , Wellington's intelligence network will be in tatters . Sharpe must intercept , and kill the assassin .

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Based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe(1993-7) ran to 14 full-length television films that follow the adventures of the titular soldier through the later years of the Napoleonic Wars. The programmes are an outstanding achievement for the small screen, dominated by Sean Bean's central performance as the heroic, troubled outsider who turns out to be a resourceful and loyal leader. Bolstered by a strong supporting cast, particularly Daragh O'Malley as Harper and (in later episodes) Abigail Cruttenden as Jane, Sharpeis often visually striking, the action tense and gripping. Consistency is maintained by all 14 episodes being directed by Tom Clegg.

On the DVD: Sharpeon DVD's sound is full-bodied stereo while the very "sharp" (pun intended) picture has been transferred slightly letterboxed at 14:9. Though looking much better than the original TV transmissions the occasionally cropped framing makes it apparent the films were shot in 16:9 widescreen, so it is regrettable they have not been transferred to DVD in that format. Otherwise these are first-rate releases. --Gary S Dalkin

Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Production Gallery, Sharpe Fact File
Year:	1995
Release Date:	July 8, 2002
Runtime:	202 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	37115 02753
Keywords:	Action, Battle, General, Sword, Romantic, Tv, Adventure, Sharpe's
Genre:	Action/Adventure