Sharpe's Siege - Reaction Post
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I've finally come to the conclusion that there is nothing - no book, no tv, no music, no writing - that I want to do right now so much as watch a Sharpe episode I haven't seen before. Happily I still have about 5 left so here goes.
Ooh, from the thumbnail this is the one with the scene in the Officers' Mess. I remember now, the awful Jane accepted his hasty proposal at the end of Regiment.
I know it's daft, but it puts such a smile on my face every time, pointing at the screen at the moment Sean Bean's name is about to come up. Really cheers me up.
Hugh Fraser gets the "...and" and he also gets "as Wellington". Which is presumably double cookies in some way.
2:25 Nice bit of Sharpe shooting. We get told in the books that he's a good shot but we don't often actually see him being any good in the show.
3:45 Argh, for the scene in French the Spanish subtitles are on top of the English ones so I can't actually read either very easily.
Major Ducos tells General Calvet that Calvet will march on Ducos's orders.
4:45 Sharpe's wearing black leather gloves for sick parade.
5:15 "Pox? What you whispering for, Harper? Think I haven't seen plenty of pox in my time?" And the lovely (argh) Jane is stood right behind him. I really wonder whether we're actually supposed to hate the bitch right from the beginning or whether that's just because we know what happens later.
8:35 Ross calling the Comte's bluff. "Give us your castle and I may see my way clear to supporting this expedition". Sharpe wants to go just for the fight and the up-and-at-em I'm guessing, though he's supposed to be getting married the day after tomorrow.
9:00 Ah, Henri Lassan commands Maquerre's castle for Bonaparte. Lucille's brother or husband iirc.
10:25 Ross suggests promoting Sharpe to Colonel for the expedition to take the castle but Wellington has already chosen Bampfylde, a new arrival. This is to replace Colonel Girdwood? Who replaced Colonel Berkeley? And before him was the bloke who liked to hunt, played by ?Clive Francis? and before him was Lawford and before him Simmerson.
10:50 Ah, Sharpe and Jane entering the Mess. Haven't seen this bit before.
11:30 Bampfylde is a snidey little shitbag. And a stupid little snob. He's not interested in Maquerre until Frederickson tells him he's a guest of Wellington. Who is now a Field-Marshal.
12:10 Frederickson is rocking false teeth, false eye, false hair, broken jaw, and Bampfylde asks him "Seen much action?"
Bampfylde's captain is looking less than impressed at this moment.
14:15 Sharpe got his hair all slicked down flat from his centre parting, presumably dressed up for the occasion, and it doesn't suit him.
Captain Palmer: "Your opponent's name?"
Frederickson: "Sharpe. Of the 95th Rifles. Favourite of the Prince of Wales."
Palmer: "The same Sharpe who shot 3 Dragoons saving Wellington's life? The same Sharpe who took the Eagle at Talavera?"
Frederickson: *nods, grinning*
OMG the look on Bampfylde's face is so funny.
And Jane has this very slight smirk as she looks up at him. Which he deserves.
16:25 "Bloody hell, I'm getting too old for this." Climbing onto the balcony and into Jane's room. Sharpe is 36 at this point and Sean is 37.
16:55 Nope, don't like her. She says "to fresh woods and pastures new", and he says that sounds like poetry (meaning, I think, to compliment her on her way with words) to which she says rather smugly that it IS poetry. On second watch she looks a bit shocked that he doesn't know it, and her tone of voice is a bit reproving.
17:25 So sweet, he looks so solemn and serious when he says "I do". Wow, I didn't recognise Ramona, she looks lovely in the background. And Hagman looks really smart. Also Moore and Harris in the background.
18:25 TonterIas - nonsense
19:50 What is that strange rolly-eyes look on her face for as Sharpe walks out the door? I don't know whether I'm just looking for it, but Sean is showing more tenderness in the loving scenes with Jane than we've seen before, but of course I don't know what scenes they filmed before and during their affair. He was still married to Mel at this point, wasn't he? I reckon she'd have known the moment she saw these scenes.
21:30 Oh wow, Jane has been visiting the surgeon to bring fruit and Sharpe had no idea. That's where she's got the fever from.
22:00 The surgeon says a day and a night and then they'll know if it's fatal, but he's off on a mission right now. Surgeon says in that case say your goodbyes properly. I haven't seen this particular expression of upset and anguish before.
22:15 Sharpe looks very young here, with his fringe straight down rather than brushed back. Very vulnerable and helpless, as his wife lies presumably dying. And he has to go off on a mission and just leave her.
24:00 Huh, Bampfylde likes the idea of flogging.
26:00 Ah, this is the bit where no-one has put his tent up, because Harper's not there. And no-one's made him any tea. Hold on, is Harper hiding in the wagon? As soon as Hagman and Harris direct Sharpe over to Bampfylde's fire they do a nod and a wink and rush off to do something. OH. And Harper's there with him. Pretending to be a Private and telling B that Sharpe has it in for him. WTF?
29:20 "Tomorrow to fresh woods and pastures new" says Sharpe, remembering something Jane said to him the previous night. This is apparently the last line of “Lycidas” by John Milton, and I’m in no way qualified to analyse it except to mention that the narrator is an “uncouth swain”.
Maquerre looks very admiringly at Sharpe, while Bampfylde looks surprised, almost shocked. Frederickson gives a slightly surprised little approving nod and Sharpe looks very pleased with himself. This is the moment when "Green Grows the Laurel" - or something very like it - strikes up. There are many different versions of the words, but it’s basically about being parted from a loved one. So possibly at this point the tune is about him missing Jane. (There is also a suggestion in the song that the loved one is not quite as loving and faithful as might be wished.)
29:45 It's still playing in the background when, after looking at the maps with Bampfylde and Maquerre, Sharpe comes back to find his tent and a fire and some tea. Sharpe looked pleased, and as he takes off his sword to sit down, the line playing is "and we'll join the green laurel and the violet so blue". Sharpe calls out his thanks to Pat, then pours his tea, giving Pat an almost loving look as he does so. The music still playing in the background.
Pat comes and sits next to him and says “No need to thank me sir, it’s an absolute pleasure.” And that - that very moment, when Harper tells Sharpe it’s “an absolute pleasure” to look after him - that is when the sad, missing-you music stops. Right there.
Then Harper looks unhappy as he asks Sharpe if he's missing Jane. He tells Sharpe she'll be fine - he's always all about keeping Sharpe happy.
During this conversation Sharpe says "yeah" a couple of times to Harper rather than "aye", which I think is unusual.
30:05 Reilly gets killed by someone we later to discover to be Maquerre and now we go to the graveside scene which the guy who played him posted on twitter a few months ago.
31:05 This looks almost exactly like the photo J D Kelleher posted on twitter, except Harper isn't in the still.
31:35 M says it was a French patrol, Sharpe says no they'd have stolen the horses and B says don't be stupid we're in France, any passing peasant could be friend or foe. And Sharpe looks at them both very suspiciously.
33:10 The Colonel and the Captain have bicorne hats and grand sweeping cloaks and swords in their scabbards. Major Sharpe has no cloak, a pack on his back with a blanket and he's carrying his rifle and sword.
33:45 It's rather odd that when Hagman calls them forward to look at the castle, Sharpe, Bampfylde and Palmer walk forward to have a look, while Maquerre apparently isn't interested in taking a look at the castle which he owns, was his home, he hasn't seen for many years and which contains his mother and sister. He sits with the map waiting for them to come back.
34:05 B says he and the troops will attack the castle (he has a silly little proud grin on his face, he's longing to "see some action"), and he's sending Sharpe and Frederickson and the Rifles to scout the high road to Bordeaux. Sharpe is not at all impressed. In fact he's absolutely fucking furious, possibly the most openly angry I've ever seen him.
35:10 This must be the attack on the castle led by Bampfylde, with Sharpe reluctantly doing something pointless elsewhere. All planned by Maquerre, presumably. There's a lot of shouting, there is no attempt at silence or surprise, and they're practically strolling rather than running. What exactly is the plan? And right from the beginning the music has that "doomed minor" note amongst the triumphalism.
35:35 "Be brave! This is a day for heroes!" says Bampfylde, who doesn't seem to have much of a clue what he's doing. The whole thing is being presented as one sodding great Forlorn Hope, except he didn't bother asking for volunteers.
36:45 The castle is well defended and Bampfylde and his men are still just strolling towards it. What would Sharpe do?
37:25 Ah right, an escalade. I didn't see the ladders before.
37:30 Careful framing so we can't see what Frederickson sees as soon as he and Sharpe arrive.
37:45 Sharpe and his men have just arrived at the castle and they're horrified. "Bampfylde's no soldier, he's a bloody butcher" says Hagman. "Begging your pardon sir". That is one of the most irritatingly difficult names to type. Sharpe looks really upset. He looks quite different in this one - was it the next year this one was filmed?
38:05 And the ladders aren't long enough. Surely you stop sending men up a ladder which isn't long enough? Where even is Bampfylde atm? Horror, anger, sadness, determination, all on Sharpe's face right now as he watches the carnage caused by Bampfylde's total lack of experience.
38:45 Captain Palmer knows what he's doing and he advises falling back. And what's Sharpe doing rn?
39:00 I swear we've seen this bit before - a French soldier comes flying off the battlements and Sharpe looks down and away from the carnage.
39:40 Why are they camped 50 yards from the castle walls? Why hasn't anyone spotted Maquerre in the attacking forces?
40:25 Maquerre is going to ride to the nearest town and bring back the Mayor and Bampfylde says "Would you do that for me?" Even if Maquerre wasn't a traitor he still wouldn't be doing it for Bampfylde, he'd be doing it for the war effort or for Wellington, not Bampfylde. Bampfylde's completely falling apart here.
41:00 I absolutely love the cheeky mock-sorrowful expression Sharpe has when he tells Harper "the surgeon would have to take it out anyway."
42:10 Lol Harper wants Sharpe to pull his tooth out but it's Frederickson who knows how to do it.
42:55 Completely unnecessary back view. I'm not complaining.
43:00 "Don't waste it! Spit it on your chest!" Oh Sharpe, you're so funny and such a user. Anything that comes to hand to get the job done.
45:20 Sharpe is meticulous in making sure his men stop firing the moment the other side even think about surrendering.
46:45 "My mother, madame Maquerre..." She's mother to the Comte de Maquerre, so why isn't she the Dowager Countess Maquerre? I'd wonder if he isn't a real Count, but Calvet calls him an aristocrat at one point.
47:25 Sharpe has everything politely under control - Henri Lassan has surrendered and everything is going ahead tidily for the French troops to leave quietly so the British can concentrate on this supposed uprising. Then Bampfylde comes arroganting in to take over.
47:55 Can officers be charged with striking a superior officer? Because Sharpe's come pretty close to that here in grabbing Bampfylde's wrist.
50:45 Would make a good icon.
53:15 How can Bampfylde not see that abandoning the castle to run and tell Wellington the news negates the fact that he has taken it? Maquerre's lies and manipulations wouldn't work with an experienced officer, which is why Maquerre has used Bampfylde's unease with and dislike of Sharpe to get him out of the picture.
53:40 Ducos is posing as the local mayor and tells Bampfylde that Sharpe is dead and all his men. Bampfylde looks shocked and says "Good God" then shrugs and says "better go then". Doesn't give a shit.
54:15 Maquerre "assures" Bampfylde that if he leaves the wounded behind they will be treated as prisoners of war. He can say that truthfully because he fully expects them to be taken prisoner by Calvet's troops, but Bampfylde is so thick that he doesn't even notice, he just says good, that's fine.
55:15 Avant peu" - soon, before long
59:05 I've just noticed that Frederickson is wearing a much more fancy uniform than Sharpe, but I think he's only a Captain? Maybe he's originally Kings German Legion? He's a Captain of the 60th in Enemy iirc.
1:08:45 Sharpe's a pretty good actor. He comes out from talking to Catherine, devastated at the idea he needs to hand over the quinine because they're never getting out of there, but at the same time he has to gee up the men to fight so they do have a chance. And he's all full of bounce and let's have three cheers for Wellington. And he bounces down the stairs grinning. Incredible.
1:11:20 Sharpe always spends the night before a battle walking round and checking everything, talking to everyone. And Pat knows his footstep and doesn't even look round before handing up the cup of tea he's got ready for him.
1:17:10 Sean Bean would actually make a very good comic actor. (Though it would be a waste of his talents.) He's very funny in this scene, where she thinks she'll offend his honour if she offers him money so she offers her virtue instead. And he doesn't want her because he's only just got married and he'd seriously rather have the money. And the expressions on his face are highly amusing. He's lying flat out on a camp bed as she's undoing her shirt and he keeps looking down the bed at himself. And she calls him a monster for choosing the gold over her virtue. And then to really rub it in she calls him an English monster.
1:25:01 The noble hero look. There's a line in one of the books to the effect that it's all very well being ruthless, and Sharpe is, knows he is, and is happy with that, but somehow people don't understand that the ruthless man still feels the pain. It's quite powerful and directly related to what he's just been doing, whatever that was. I remember it as being half to one third of the way down a right-hand page, but given I've been doing most of my reading on the new phone recently, I don't know whether that's actually the case. I've recently read the India books and Trafalgar, Prey, Rifles and Eagle. [ETA Just found it, in Gold, book version, and it absolutely is exactly halfway down a right-hand page. Just after the destruction of Almeida.]
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"He... felt tears in his eyes, and thought of the General, and of the blazing pit, and he hated himself... He hated Wellington too, because he knew why the General had picked him: because he wanted a man too proud to fail, and he knew he would do it for the General again. Ruthlessness was good in a soldier, in a General or a Captain, and men admired it, but that was no reason to think that the ruthless man did not feel the bloody pain as well."
~ ~ ~
1:31:23 OMG lol I've just spotted the "dead" extra in the foreground who realises the camera is on him and closes his eyes quickly. And opens them again. Maybe he thinks he's playing a long-drawn out death.
1:32 The scene where Sharpe's men come back into the fort and walk around looking at all the dead French soldiers is quite hard. Sharpe in particular really looks as if he feels terrible about what they just had to do. This also fits the "ruthless men still feel the pain" narrative.
1:32:30 Nice little "Oh FFS" look on Calvet's face as he sees Ducos approaching.
STOPPING HERE FOR NOW ON SECOND WATCH
1:32:40 I didn't catch this bit when I skimmed through before - Ducos orders Calvet to go in again and Calvet refuses. Then a messenger comes to say he needs to be 50 miles to the East to support Soult on his flank, and why did he leave in the first place. And Calvet grabs Ducos by the lapels and asks why he moved, eh?
1:34:25 And a messenger from Wellington has brought the same news to Sharpe, that Wellington has out-flanked Soult, and Sharpe realises they were just bait to draw Calvet away to allow Wellington to do it.
Somewhere in book!Rifles Sharpe uses the term "going home" to mean off detached service and back to base, ie the regiment or battalion. That's definitely how it's used here when Sharpe announces they're going home, though I was very confused on that point when I first saw the clip in isolation.
1:38:00 Sharpe shaking in shock and relief when he finds out Jane is still alive. It seems extraordinary that that wasn't the first thing he asked about when he got back, but it's man stuff, I suppose. Duty and all that, and he was pretty much taking it for granted she was dead.
1:39:00 Wellington personally got quinine for Jane from the Spaniards. She thinks that's because Wellington thinks a lot of Sharpe, but Sharpe thinks the whole castle/rebellion thing was a front to draw Calvet away so Wellington could get past Soult's flank and that they were expendable, just expected to die there. So why would Wellington worry about his wife? Guilt?
1:40 This is really an inferior lookback; it's more of a quick glance over his shoulder away from us to look at Jane working in the surgeon's tent. Not a classic. Also I think this is the first one where he's not moving on at the end of the film, he's simply walking away from Jane and we don't see where he's going. In every other one, it's quite clear that he's moving forward into the future, the next action. Progress, in general. But not here. Is that to signify that while he's tied to Jane he can't make any progress? Deep!
Credits: Reilly - J.D.Kelleher. It's kind of weird seeing someone come up in the credits that I've actually talked to on twitter. Well, I suppose it's not really, but it feels weird to me.
Only one Executive Producer - Muir Sutherland. What was Malcolm Craddock credited as? I think all this business of having half a dozen Execs is quite new, and having actors as Execs perhaps even newer. Stephen Graham of Time, where he, Sean Bean and writer Jimmy McGovern were all Executive Producers that "I'm sitting at the grown-ups' table" and that he got a say in things which - he strongly implied - he wouldn't have as just an actor, however famous he (apparently) is.
Ah, this is Malcolm, I think: "A Celtic Picture Palace Production" for Carlton UK Productions. Carlton being the ITV franchise-holder for whichever ITV region it was. Central.
I've finally come to the conclusion that there is nothing - no book, no tv, no music, no writing - that I want to do right now so much as watch a Sharpe episode I haven't seen before. Happily I still have about 5 left so here goes.
Ooh, from the thumbnail this is the one with the scene in the Officers' Mess. I remember now, the awful Jane accepted his hasty proposal at the end of Regiment.
I know it's daft, but it puts such a smile on my face every time, pointing at the screen at the moment Sean Bean's name is about to come up. Really cheers me up.
Hugh Fraser gets the "...and" and he also gets "as Wellington". Which is presumably double cookies in some way.
2:25 Nice bit of Sharpe shooting. We get told in the books that he's a good shot but we don't often actually see him being any good in the show.
3:45 Argh, for the scene in French the Spanish subtitles are on top of the English ones so I can't actually read either very easily.
Major Ducos tells General Calvet that Calvet will march on Ducos's orders.
4:45 Sharpe's wearing black leather gloves for sick parade.
5:15 "Pox? What you whispering for, Harper? Think I haven't seen plenty of pox in my time?" And the lovely (argh) Jane is stood right behind him. I really wonder whether we're actually supposed to hate the bitch right from the beginning or whether that's just because we know what happens later.
8:35 Ross calling the Comte's bluff. "Give us your castle and I may see my way clear to supporting this expedition". Sharpe wants to go just for the fight and the up-and-at-em I'm guessing, though he's supposed to be getting married the day after tomorrow.
9:00 Ah, Henri Lassan commands Maquerre's castle for Bonaparte. Lucille's brother or husband iirc.
10:25 Ross suggests promoting Sharpe to Colonel for the expedition to take the castle but Wellington has already chosen Bampfylde, a new arrival. This is to replace Colonel Girdwood? Who replaced Colonel Berkeley? And before him was the bloke who liked to hunt, played by ?Clive Francis? and before him was Lawford and before him Simmerson.
10:50 Ah, Sharpe and Jane entering the Mess. Haven't seen this bit before.
11:30 Bampfylde is a snidey little shitbag. And a stupid little snob. He's not interested in Maquerre until Frederickson tells him he's a guest of Wellington. Who is now a Field-Marshal.
12:10 Frederickson is rocking false teeth, false eye, false hair, broken jaw, and Bampfylde asks him "Seen much action?"
Bampfylde's captain is looking less than impressed at this moment.
14:15 Sharpe got his hair all slicked down flat from his centre parting, presumably dressed up for the occasion, and it doesn't suit him.
Captain Palmer: "Your opponent's name?"
Frederickson: "Sharpe. Of the 95th Rifles. Favourite of the Prince of Wales."
Palmer: "The same Sharpe who shot 3 Dragoons saving Wellington's life? The same Sharpe who took the Eagle at Talavera?"
Frederickson: *nods, grinning*
OMG the look on Bampfylde's face is so funny.
And Jane has this very slight smirk as she looks up at him. Which he deserves.
16:25 "Bloody hell, I'm getting too old for this." Climbing onto the balcony and into Jane's room. Sharpe is 36 at this point and Sean is 37.
16:55 Nope, don't like her. She says "to fresh woods and pastures new", and he says that sounds like poetry (meaning, I think, to compliment her on her way with words) to which she says rather smugly that it IS poetry. On second watch she looks a bit shocked that he doesn't know it, and her tone of voice is a bit reproving.
17:25 So sweet, he looks so solemn and serious when he says "I do". Wow, I didn't recognise Ramona, she looks lovely in the background. And Hagman looks really smart. Also Moore and Harris in the background.
18:25 TonterIas - nonsense
19:50 What is that strange rolly-eyes look on her face for as Sharpe walks out the door? I don't know whether I'm just looking for it, but Sean is showing more tenderness in the loving scenes with Jane than we've seen before, but of course I don't know what scenes they filmed before and during their affair. He was still married to Mel at this point, wasn't he? I reckon she'd have known the moment she saw these scenes.
21:30 Oh wow, Jane has been visiting the surgeon to bring fruit and Sharpe had no idea. That's where she's got the fever from.
22:00 The surgeon says a day and a night and then they'll know if it's fatal, but he's off on a mission right now. Surgeon says in that case say your goodbyes properly. I haven't seen this particular expression of upset and anguish before.
22:15 Sharpe looks very young here, with his fringe straight down rather than brushed back. Very vulnerable and helpless, as his wife lies presumably dying. And he has to go off on a mission and just leave her.
24:00 Huh, Bampfylde likes the idea of flogging.
26:00 Ah, this is the bit where no-one has put his tent up, because Harper's not there. And no-one's made him any tea. Hold on, is Harper hiding in the wagon? As soon as Hagman and Harris direct Sharpe over to Bampfylde's fire they do a nod and a wink and rush off to do something. OH. And Harper's there with him. Pretending to be a Private and telling B that Sharpe has it in for him. WTF?
29:20 "Tomorrow to fresh woods and pastures new" says Sharpe, remembering something Jane said to him the previous night. This is apparently the last line of “Lycidas” by John Milton, and I’m in no way qualified to analyse it except to mention that the narrator is an “uncouth swain”.
Maquerre looks very admiringly at Sharpe, while Bampfylde looks surprised, almost shocked. Frederickson gives a slightly surprised little approving nod and Sharpe looks very pleased with himself. This is the moment when "Green Grows the Laurel" - or something very like it - strikes up. There are many different versions of the words, but it’s basically about being parted from a loved one. So possibly at this point the tune is about him missing Jane. (There is also a suggestion in the song that the loved one is not quite as loving and faithful as might be wished.)
29:45 It's still playing in the background when, after looking at the maps with Bampfylde and Maquerre, Sharpe comes back to find his tent and a fire and some tea. Sharpe looked pleased, and as he takes off his sword to sit down, the line playing is "and we'll join the green laurel and the violet so blue". Sharpe calls out his thanks to Pat, then pours his tea, giving Pat an almost loving look as he does so. The music still playing in the background.
Pat comes and sits next to him and says “No need to thank me sir, it’s an absolute pleasure.” And that - that very moment, when Harper tells Sharpe it’s “an absolute pleasure” to look after him - that is when the sad, missing-you music stops. Right there.
Then Harper looks unhappy as he asks Sharpe if he's missing Jane. He tells Sharpe she'll be fine - he's always all about keeping Sharpe happy.
During this conversation Sharpe says "yeah" a couple of times to Harper rather than "aye", which I think is unusual.
30:05 Reilly gets killed by someone we later to discover to be Maquerre and now we go to the graveside scene which the guy who played him posted on twitter a few months ago.
31:05 This looks almost exactly like the photo J D Kelleher posted on twitter, except Harper isn't in the still.
31:35 M says it was a French patrol, Sharpe says no they'd have stolen the horses and B says don't be stupid we're in France, any passing peasant could be friend or foe. And Sharpe looks at them both very suspiciously.
33:10 The Colonel and the Captain have bicorne hats and grand sweeping cloaks and swords in their scabbards. Major Sharpe has no cloak, a pack on his back with a blanket and he's carrying his rifle and sword.
33:45 It's rather odd that when Hagman calls them forward to look at the castle, Sharpe, Bampfylde and Palmer walk forward to have a look, while Maquerre apparently isn't interested in taking a look at the castle which he owns, was his home, he hasn't seen for many years and which contains his mother and sister. He sits with the map waiting for them to come back.
34:05 B says he and the troops will attack the castle (he has a silly little proud grin on his face, he's longing to "see some action"), and he's sending Sharpe and Frederickson and the Rifles to scout the high road to Bordeaux. Sharpe is not at all impressed. In fact he's absolutely fucking furious, possibly the most openly angry I've ever seen him.
35:10 This must be the attack on the castle led by Bampfylde, with Sharpe reluctantly doing something pointless elsewhere. All planned by Maquerre, presumably. There's a lot of shouting, there is no attempt at silence or surprise, and they're practically strolling rather than running. What exactly is the plan? And right from the beginning the music has that "doomed minor" note amongst the triumphalism.
35:35 "Be brave! This is a day for heroes!" says Bampfylde, who doesn't seem to have much of a clue what he's doing. The whole thing is being presented as one sodding great Forlorn Hope, except he didn't bother asking for volunteers.
36:45 The castle is well defended and Bampfylde and his men are still just strolling towards it. What would Sharpe do?
37:25 Ah right, an escalade. I didn't see the ladders before.
37:30 Careful framing so we can't see what Frederickson sees as soon as he and Sharpe arrive.
37:45 Sharpe and his men have just arrived at the castle and they're horrified. "Bampfylde's no soldier, he's a bloody butcher" says Hagman. "Begging your pardon sir". That is one of the most irritatingly difficult names to type. Sharpe looks really upset. He looks quite different in this one - was it the next year this one was filmed?
38:05 And the ladders aren't long enough. Surely you stop sending men up a ladder which isn't long enough? Where even is Bampfylde atm? Horror, anger, sadness, determination, all on Sharpe's face right now as he watches the carnage caused by Bampfylde's total lack of experience.
38:45 Captain Palmer knows what he's doing and he advises falling back. And what's Sharpe doing rn?
39:00 I swear we've seen this bit before - a French soldier comes flying off the battlements and Sharpe looks down and away from the carnage.
39:40 Why are they camped 50 yards from the castle walls? Why hasn't anyone spotted Maquerre in the attacking forces?
40:25 Maquerre is going to ride to the nearest town and bring back the Mayor and Bampfylde says "Would you do that for me?" Even if Maquerre wasn't a traitor he still wouldn't be doing it for Bampfylde, he'd be doing it for the war effort or for Wellington, not Bampfylde. Bampfylde's completely falling apart here.
41:00 I absolutely love the cheeky mock-sorrowful expression Sharpe has when he tells Harper "the surgeon would have to take it out anyway."
42:10 Lol Harper wants Sharpe to pull his tooth out but it's Frederickson who knows how to do it.
42:55 Completely unnecessary back view. I'm not complaining.
43:00 "Don't waste it! Spit it on your chest!" Oh Sharpe, you're so funny and such a user. Anything that comes to hand to get the job done.
45:20 Sharpe is meticulous in making sure his men stop firing the moment the other side even think about surrendering.
46:45 "My mother, madame Maquerre..." She's mother to the Comte de Maquerre, so why isn't she the Dowager Countess Maquerre? I'd wonder if he isn't a real Count, but Calvet calls him an aristocrat at one point.
47:25 Sharpe has everything politely under control - Henri Lassan has surrendered and everything is going ahead tidily for the French troops to leave quietly so the British can concentrate on this supposed uprising. Then Bampfylde comes arroganting in to take over.
47:55 Can officers be charged with striking a superior officer? Because Sharpe's come pretty close to that here in grabbing Bampfylde's wrist.
50:45 Would make a good icon.
53:15 How can Bampfylde not see that abandoning the castle to run and tell Wellington the news negates the fact that he has taken it? Maquerre's lies and manipulations wouldn't work with an experienced officer, which is why Maquerre has used Bampfylde's unease with and dislike of Sharpe to get him out of the picture.
53:40 Ducos is posing as the local mayor and tells Bampfylde that Sharpe is dead and all his men. Bampfylde looks shocked and says "Good God" then shrugs and says "better go then". Doesn't give a shit.
54:15 Maquerre "assures" Bampfylde that if he leaves the wounded behind they will be treated as prisoners of war. He can say that truthfully because he fully expects them to be taken prisoner by Calvet's troops, but Bampfylde is so thick that he doesn't even notice, he just says good, that's fine.
55:15 Avant peu" - soon, before long
59:05 I've just noticed that Frederickson is wearing a much more fancy uniform than Sharpe, but I think he's only a Captain? Maybe he's originally Kings German Legion? He's a Captain of the 60th in Enemy iirc.
1:08:45 Sharpe's a pretty good actor. He comes out from talking to Catherine, devastated at the idea he needs to hand over the quinine because they're never getting out of there, but at the same time he has to gee up the men to fight so they do have a chance. And he's all full of bounce and let's have three cheers for Wellington. And he bounces down the stairs grinning. Incredible.
1:11:20 Sharpe always spends the night before a battle walking round and checking everything, talking to everyone. And Pat knows his footstep and doesn't even look round before handing up the cup of tea he's got ready for him.
1:17:10 Sean Bean would actually make a very good comic actor. (Though it would be a waste of his talents.) He's very funny in this scene, where she thinks she'll offend his honour if she offers him money so she offers her virtue instead. And he doesn't want her because he's only just got married and he'd seriously rather have the money. And the expressions on his face are highly amusing. He's lying flat out on a camp bed as she's undoing her shirt and he keeps looking down the bed at himself. And she calls him a monster for choosing the gold over her virtue. And then to really rub it in she calls him an English monster.
1:25:01 The noble hero look. There's a line in one of the books to the effect that it's all very well being ruthless, and Sharpe is, knows he is, and is happy with that, but somehow people don't understand that the ruthless man still feels the pain. It's quite powerful and directly related to what he's just been doing, whatever that was. I remember it as being half to one third of the way down a right-hand page, but given I've been doing most of my reading on the new phone recently, I don't know whether that's actually the case. I've recently read the India books and Trafalgar, Prey, Rifles and Eagle. [ETA Just found it, in Gold, book version, and it absolutely is exactly halfway down a right-hand page. Just after the destruction of Almeida.]
~ ~ ~
"He... felt tears in his eyes, and thought of the General, and of the blazing pit, and he hated himself... He hated Wellington too, because he knew why the General had picked him: because he wanted a man too proud to fail, and he knew he would do it for the General again. Ruthlessness was good in a soldier, in a General or a Captain, and men admired it, but that was no reason to think that the ruthless man did not feel the bloody pain as well."
~ ~ ~
1:31:23 OMG lol I've just spotted the "dead" extra in the foreground who realises the camera is on him and closes his eyes quickly. And opens them again. Maybe he thinks he's playing a long-drawn out death.
1:32 The scene where Sharpe's men come back into the fort and walk around looking at all the dead French soldiers is quite hard. Sharpe in particular really looks as if he feels terrible about what they just had to do. This also fits the "ruthless men still feel the pain" narrative.
1:32:30 Nice little "Oh FFS" look on Calvet's face as he sees Ducos approaching.
STOPPING HERE FOR NOW ON SECOND WATCH
1:32:40 I didn't catch this bit when I skimmed through before - Ducos orders Calvet to go in again and Calvet refuses. Then a messenger comes to say he needs to be 50 miles to the East to support Soult on his flank, and why did he leave in the first place. And Calvet grabs Ducos by the lapels and asks why he moved, eh?
1:34:25 And a messenger from Wellington has brought the same news to Sharpe, that Wellington has out-flanked Soult, and Sharpe realises they were just bait to draw Calvet away to allow Wellington to do it.
Somewhere in book!Rifles Sharpe uses the term "going home" to mean off detached service and back to base, ie the regiment or battalion. That's definitely how it's used here when Sharpe announces they're going home, though I was very confused on that point when I first saw the clip in isolation.
1:38:00 Sharpe shaking in shock and relief when he finds out Jane is still alive. It seems extraordinary that that wasn't the first thing he asked about when he got back, but it's man stuff, I suppose. Duty and all that, and he was pretty much taking it for granted she was dead.
1:39:00 Wellington personally got quinine for Jane from the Spaniards. She thinks that's because Wellington thinks a lot of Sharpe, but Sharpe thinks the whole castle/rebellion thing was a front to draw Calvet away so Wellington could get past Soult's flank and that they were expendable, just expected to die there. So why would Wellington worry about his wife? Guilt?
1:40 This is really an inferior lookback; it's more of a quick glance over his shoulder away from us to look at Jane working in the surgeon's tent. Not a classic. Also I think this is the first one where he's not moving on at the end of the film, he's simply walking away from Jane and we don't see where he's going. In every other one, it's quite clear that he's moving forward into the future, the next action. Progress, in general. But not here. Is that to signify that while he's tied to Jane he can't make any progress? Deep!
Credits: Reilly - J.D.Kelleher. It's kind of weird seeing someone come up in the credits that I've actually talked to on twitter. Well, I suppose it's not really, but it feels weird to me.
Only one Executive Producer - Muir Sutherland. What was Malcolm Craddock credited as? I think all this business of having half a dozen Execs is quite new, and having actors as Execs perhaps even newer. Stephen Graham of Time, where he, Sean Bean and writer Jimmy McGovern were all Executive Producers that "I'm sitting at the grown-ups' table" and that he got a say in things which - he strongly implied - he wouldn't have as just an actor, however famous he (apparently) is.
Ah, this is Malcolm, I think: "A Celtic Picture Palace Production" for Carlton UK Productions. Carlton being the ITV franchise-holder for whichever ITV region it was. Central.