Sharpe's Siege
by Tom Clegg
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Abigail Cruttenden, Daragh O'Malley, Hugh Fraser, James Laurenson, Sean BeanDirector: Tom Clegg
Brand: BFS ENT and Multimedia Limi
Cinematographer: Chris O'Dell
Producer: Malcolm Craddock
Producer: Muir Sutherland
Producer: Ray Frift
Writer: Bernard Cornwell
Writer: Charles Wood
Writer: Eoghan Harris
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-03-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Bfs Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Sharpe's Siege
Movie Review: Sharpe and his Chosen Men finally make it into France
Summary: 5 Stars
The opening scrawl for a lot of the most recent adventures in the Sharpe series have been telling us that Wellington is above to move the British Army from Spain into France itself. The Duke (Hugh Fraser) does not quite make it across the border in this tenth film in the series, but Sharpe (Sean Bean) and his Chosen Men certainly do. The military question is what direction will Wellington go once he crosses into France and Napoleon's spy master Maj. Pierre Ducos (Féodor Atkine) has a plan to force the British to go where the French wish them to go.
Our hero becomes involved when a French noble named Maquerre (Christian Brendel) comes into camp and says that the people of Bourdeaux, loyal to the Bourbons, are ready to rise against Napoleon once the British army shows up. Wellington send a force under the command of Horce Bampfylde (Christopher Villiers), a young colonel who is the son of an old general, along with Sharpe and the Prince of Wales' own men. Sharpe has just married Jane Gibbons (Abigail Cruttenden), but his new bride is down with the fever that is decimating the troops and her worried husband has to leave her behind.
Of course Bampfylde is wet behind the ears and arrogant enough to challenge Sharpe to a duel (the major takes exception to the colonel's bad language in the officer's mess in front of Jane), until it is pointed out that Sharpe is the guy who gunned down French cavalrymen to save Wellington, captured one of Napoleon's eagles, and all the rest of the high points on his military resume. You would think the British army would be running out of idiots to make Sharpe's superior officer, but not even Wellington with an army in the field has managed to find such oafs in short supply. True, this is a recurring element in Bernard Cromwell's stories about this maverick officer, but you do get tired of seeing all those troops in the nice red uniforms being slaughtered because of the incompetence of their commanders.
"Sharpe's Siege" refers to a French fort that Sharpe has to take (Bampfylde has not a clue how to) and then defend (because Bampfylde decides not to hold it despite Wellington's orders). In addition to being fearful for Jane's life Sharpe has to deal with Catherine (Amira Casar), a young French noblewoman taking care of her dying mother and Sergeant Major Harper (Daragh O'Malley) having a toothache that not even the consumption of mass quantities of brandy can help.
There are a trio of things that make this an above average offering in this excellent series for me. The first is that despite the limited resources and extras the defense of the fort at the climax of the story is well handled. For once we really get a sense of what Sharpe and the defenders are trying to do and how it will work. The second is that there is a nice touch with the French colonel (Stephane Cornicard) and his junior officer, Gaston (Ecrument Balakoglu). They are not exactly comic relief in this episode, but you get the sense of two men who are weary of the war they have been waging for so many years and too many miles, where the debacle of Moscow is the base line by which the horrors of war are judged.
Finally, there is the question of who is the best shot in Sharpe's brigade. Young Robinson (Danny Cunningham) feels the title belongs to him, but we all know that Hagman (John Tams, who also does the music for these films) will have something to say about that. How the matter is settled is a nice little scene that follows up on Sharpe's confrontation with the story's traitor, wherein our hero promises that the bad guy he will be shot dead the first chance they get. The guy should have listened.
So, at long last Sharpe and his men are in France with Wellington and the rest of the British army about to join them (at least, I would hope so). Now that we have gotten past that particular milestone the next question is when will Sharpe receive his promotion to colonel? He went from lieutenant to captain to major fairly quickly and with Wellington's own spy master suggesting that Sharpe is ready for the post the time may well be near.
Summary of Sharpe's Siege
Studio: Bfs Ent & Multimedia Limi Release Date: 03/20/2001 Run time: 100 minutesSimilar DVD Movies
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