Sharpe's Battle - Reaction Post
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Makes me grin *every time* to see Sean Bean's name come up on that note from the electric guitar.
This one's written by Russell Lewis, who did Challenge and Peril. Look out for Sharpe and Harper being implausibly erudite...
I may be at an advantage in not having read most of the books in years. Some of the comments under this video complain about the episode being nothing like the book.
Lt Jenkins is dicing with his life here, telling Sharpe he's read the map wrong. Sharpe doesn't seem to like him to start with.
8:10 Surely they could have found more than one village to film in? Isn't this the same one where Skillicorn got his chicken in Gold, and where they flew the gonfalon of Santiago in Rifles?
11:10 Loup: "The chief weapon of the guerrilla is horror." He's not actually wrong, of course, but this is Sharpe he's talking to, and Sharpe would gut anybody, whichever side they were on, who did such things. For a violent and vengeful bastard he has a very strong sense of honour and his duty to protect the weak. He's all about "a soldier fights for those who cannot fight for themselves" and by definition anyone committing horrors CAN fight for themselves. But he gets himself in a lot of trouble for it.
13:10 "Put ''em up against a wall. I want a firing squad." Totally illegal, probably a war crime, if they had the concept then, but so was what they did. And all of Sharpe's men run forward to be part of the firing squad.
14:50 Lt Jenkins doesn't know Sharpe very well yet. "Sir? Were you supposed to do that?"
15:05 Kiely even manages to look arrogant by the way he's sitting his horse - something about the way he's got his right hand on his hip rather than the rein. Though I think in Peril Sharpe rides one-handed - what does he do with the other hand?
15:15 Definitely a bit I haven't seen before. Sharpe and his men sitting on the road as Kiely and the Real Compania Irlandesa come riding up. I love Sharpe, he is so fucking insolent to his so-called betters and he just doesn't give a shit. I'm not convinced it's a good idea to allow his men to laugh at Kiely though, they're definitely outside the rules there.
Rodeenos - go round (us)
nos rodeara - you'll go round (us)
16:40 Munro has what I believe is known as a shit-eating grin inadequately concealed while Sharpe is being informed of his new command.
17:00 "They're soft" => "son suaves". Wellington tells Sharpe to "Come down on them as hard as you like. Give them hell." For some reason Wellington and Munro actually WANT them to desert.
17:30 "You'll find him in town - at the Rat & Harlot, most likely". The Spanish subtitles haven't bothered with that bit...
18:00 Munro has a good sense of humour. "Capital - we're sending a regicide to take on a royal bodyguard lol."
18:50 Sean's looking particularly fine in this scene - slightly lighter-hearted expression than usual.
19:15 Lots of complicated work with the eyes here. I think he's trying to avoid actually rolling them.
21:55 Why is Munro in civvies?
22:10 Sharpe's just trying to avoid pissing himself laughing at this point. A wonderful expression on his face. It's a pity he's so serious most of the time.
25:50 "I don't care what army an officer fights for, what colour coat he wears, or what King he serves." Ain't that the truth. It makes him an asset and a liability and Wellington knows how to use him.
26:00 He is honestly totally out of order here, unless his aim is to give the RCE a bit of sparkle, a bit of hope, by bringing down their officers a bit.
27:40 Lol apparently Ramona comes from a culture that sees nothing wrong in leaving a man alone in a room with an unconscious woman. Not only that, but she tells him to loosen her clothes. Hmm, I see a bit of aggro in his near future. It is so good to be watching bits I've never seen before, and I will be sad when there are none left.
32:15 Kiely with the classical references that Sharpe has never heard of. If there's one thing he hates it's having it rubbed in his face that he is ignorant. Because in many ways, compared to the gentlemen officers, he actually is.
49:30 Harper: "These lads wanted to see you." What, no "sir"? Harper never forgets that. Ah, it's about the English killing people in Ireland, and he's predisposed to believe it, which is going to have an effect, even in his dealings with Sharpe.
53:00 The Doña Juanita is one fucking piece of work.
56:15 WTF game is Munro playing? Why does he want the RCE all to die?
56:35 Rifleman Moore seems to be featuring in this one much more than in the others. I don't recall noticing him much in earlier ones but he's in practically every general background shot in this one.
1:03:00 I've just thought - it's taken me a while - what is the point of having the bullet and powder combined in a cartridge if the first thing the men have to do is bite the whole thing apart in order to get a bit of the powder for the pan?
1:08:35 That's a bloody sideways compliment from Runciman to Sharpe "You're not as stupid as you look." Sharpe's doing the controlled blinking and looking to the side again to stop himself rolling his eyes. I'm not sure I've ever seen that expression before this episode, but he's done it a couple of times with Runciman.
1:19:20 Now this is a bit I never even suspected existed. Lady Kiely is kidnapped by one of the RCE and taken to Loup at the behest of bloody Dona Juanita.
1:24:15 Kiely actually seems to care about Sharpe.
1:25:45 "otherwise we're all dead men". Just spotted Harper having the idea about them playing dead. In book!Eagle it was Sharpe's idea.
1:27 ish - Sharpe gets it in the left arm yet again.
1:28:35 This is quite clever. I'd be dismayed at the way all Sharpe's men are down if it weren't for the fact that this rings a vague bell - maybe I've seen the next bit in a clip, where they all rise up. It's also very similar to what Sharpe did in book!Eagle at Valdelacasa that didn't make it into the show.
Death of Perkins - I was expecting Sharpe to recite Over the Hills and Far Away, but he wasn't even there. Dan sang a bit of it. Interestingly, what was most moving about it was how upset the other characters were. Frankly though, Perkins acted it better than Beauclere, but Sharpe at Beauclere's side will probably never be beaten.
1:33:20 God, it's very dramatic, this one. And now here comes Sharpe, and as always he's injured just before taking on an expert swordsman to the death.
1:33:45 I've just noticed that the buttons - the silver balls - on Loup's uniform are massive lol.
1:34:50 Sean's very good at acting his characters acting. Sharpe looking very nervous here on the wrong end of this sword fight, but it doesn't quite look right, and indeed it turns out he's got his sword right there ready to go the moment Loup leans over him for the killing blow.
1:36:15 Looks like Sean's got eyeliner on here when he's talking to Wellington. Weird.
1:36:25 They were dealt with => fueron muertos
1:36:45 "Think yourself lucky you're not facing a court of enquiry". "On what charge, my Lord?" "On any charge I damn well please. I made you, Sharpe, and I can break you just as easily." WTF is that about? Though Sharpe doesn't look too upset.
1:37:40 Dios te bendiga - God bless you.
1:39:30 Blimey, Sharpe actually says some words over the grave of Perkins and Miranda. "He was a brave soldier. And she was his lass." Is it only Harris and Hagman they've got left now? Really? They're the only ones at the grave with Sharpe and Harper. Sharpe has been wearing his hat - his shako - more in this episode than I've ever seen before. Do we have a completely different director in this one or something? I thought Tom Clegg did them all.
1:40:15 There's literally only four of them walking away as the ending music plays - Sharpe, Harper, Harris and Hagman. And we're only on episode 7. Mind you, he only started with 5 Riflemen in the tv series, unlike the books, but what's happened to Cooper and Tongue?
1:40 For Hagman's song as the walk up the inevitable hill at the end, the Spanish subtitles for the verse don't match what he's singing.
He's singing:
If I should fall to rise no more
As many comrades did before
Ask the fifes and drums to play
Over the hills and far away
The subtitles say:
Quiero volver a ver a mi novia
Antes que estos atribulados dias terminen
Quiero encontrar un tambor para tocar
En las colinas y en la lejanía
Makes me grin *every time* to see Sean Bean's name come up on that note from the electric guitar.
This one's written by Russell Lewis, who did Challenge and Peril. Look out for Sharpe and Harper being implausibly erudite...
I may be at an advantage in not having read most of the books in years. Some of the comments under this video complain about the episode being nothing like the book.
Lt Jenkins is dicing with his life here, telling Sharpe he's read the map wrong. Sharpe doesn't seem to like him to start with.
8:10 Surely they could have found more than one village to film in? Isn't this the same one where Skillicorn got his chicken in Gold, and where they flew the gonfalon of Santiago in Rifles?
11:10 Loup: "The chief weapon of the guerrilla is horror." He's not actually wrong, of course, but this is Sharpe he's talking to, and Sharpe would gut anybody, whichever side they were on, who did such things. For a violent and vengeful bastard he has a very strong sense of honour and his duty to protect the weak. He's all about "a soldier fights for those who cannot fight for themselves" and by definition anyone committing horrors CAN fight for themselves. But he gets himself in a lot of trouble for it.
13:10 "Put ''em up against a wall. I want a firing squad." Totally illegal, probably a war crime, if they had the concept then, but so was what they did. And all of Sharpe's men run forward to be part of the firing squad.
14:50 Lt Jenkins doesn't know Sharpe very well yet. "Sir? Were you supposed to do that?"
15:05 Kiely even manages to look arrogant by the way he's sitting his horse - something about the way he's got his right hand on his hip rather than the rein. Though I think in Peril Sharpe rides one-handed - what does he do with the other hand?
15:15 Definitely a bit I haven't seen before. Sharpe and his men sitting on the road as Kiely and the Real Compania Irlandesa come riding up. I love Sharpe, he is so fucking insolent to his so-called betters and he just doesn't give a shit. I'm not convinced it's a good idea to allow his men to laugh at Kiely though, they're definitely outside the rules there.
Rodeenos - go round (us)
nos rodeara - you'll go round (us)
16:40 Munro has what I believe is known as a shit-eating grin inadequately concealed while Sharpe is being informed of his new command.
17:00 "They're soft" => "son suaves". Wellington tells Sharpe to "Come down on them as hard as you like. Give them hell." For some reason Wellington and Munro actually WANT them to desert.
17:30 "You'll find him in town - at the Rat & Harlot, most likely". The Spanish subtitles haven't bothered with that bit...
18:00 Munro has a good sense of humour. "Capital - we're sending a regicide to take on a royal bodyguard lol."
18:50 Sean's looking particularly fine in this scene - slightly lighter-hearted expression than usual.
19:15 Lots of complicated work with the eyes here. I think he's trying to avoid actually rolling them.
21:55 Why is Munro in civvies?
22:10 Sharpe's just trying to avoid pissing himself laughing at this point. A wonderful expression on his face. It's a pity he's so serious most of the time.
25:50 "I don't care what army an officer fights for, what colour coat he wears, or what King he serves." Ain't that the truth. It makes him an asset and a liability and Wellington knows how to use him.
26:00 He is honestly totally out of order here, unless his aim is to give the RCE a bit of sparkle, a bit of hope, by bringing down their officers a bit.
27:40 Lol apparently Ramona comes from a culture that sees nothing wrong in leaving a man alone in a room with an unconscious woman. Not only that, but she tells him to loosen her clothes. Hmm, I see a bit of aggro in his near future. It is so good to be watching bits I've never seen before, and I will be sad when there are none left.
32:15 Kiely with the classical references that Sharpe has never heard of. If there's one thing he hates it's having it rubbed in his face that he is ignorant. Because in many ways, compared to the gentlemen officers, he actually is.
49:30 Harper: "These lads wanted to see you." What, no "sir"? Harper never forgets that. Ah, it's about the English killing people in Ireland, and he's predisposed to believe it, which is going to have an effect, even in his dealings with Sharpe.
53:00 The Doña Juanita is one fucking piece of work.
56:15 WTF game is Munro playing? Why does he want the RCE all to die?
56:35 Rifleman Moore seems to be featuring in this one much more than in the others. I don't recall noticing him much in earlier ones but he's in practically every general background shot in this one.
1:03:00 I've just thought - it's taken me a while - what is the point of having the bullet and powder combined in a cartridge if the first thing the men have to do is bite the whole thing apart in order to get a bit of the powder for the pan?
1:08:35 That's a bloody sideways compliment from Runciman to Sharpe "You're not as stupid as you look." Sharpe's doing the controlled blinking and looking to the side again to stop himself rolling his eyes. I'm not sure I've ever seen that expression before this episode, but he's done it a couple of times with Runciman.
1:19:20 Now this is a bit I never even suspected existed. Lady Kiely is kidnapped by one of the RCE and taken to Loup at the behest of bloody Dona Juanita.
1:24:15 Kiely actually seems to care about Sharpe.
1:25:45 "otherwise we're all dead men". Just spotted Harper having the idea about them playing dead. In book!Eagle it was Sharpe's idea.
1:27 ish - Sharpe gets it in the left arm yet again.
1:28:35 This is quite clever. I'd be dismayed at the way all Sharpe's men are down if it weren't for the fact that this rings a vague bell - maybe I've seen the next bit in a clip, where they all rise up. It's also very similar to what Sharpe did in book!Eagle at Valdelacasa that didn't make it into the show.
Death of Perkins - I was expecting Sharpe to recite Over the Hills and Far Away, but he wasn't even there. Dan sang a bit of it. Interestingly, what was most moving about it was how upset the other characters were. Frankly though, Perkins acted it better than Beauclere, but Sharpe at Beauclere's side will probably never be beaten.
1:33:20 God, it's very dramatic, this one. And now here comes Sharpe, and as always he's injured just before taking on an expert swordsman to the death.
1:33:45 I've just noticed that the buttons - the silver balls - on Loup's uniform are massive lol.
1:34:50 Sean's very good at acting his characters acting. Sharpe looking very nervous here on the wrong end of this sword fight, but it doesn't quite look right, and indeed it turns out he's got his sword right there ready to go the moment Loup leans over him for the killing blow.
1:36:15 Looks like Sean's got eyeliner on here when he's talking to Wellington. Weird.
1:36:25 They were dealt with => fueron muertos
1:36:45 "Think yourself lucky you're not facing a court of enquiry". "On what charge, my Lord?" "On any charge I damn well please. I made you, Sharpe, and I can break you just as easily." WTF is that about? Though Sharpe doesn't look too upset.
1:37:40 Dios te bendiga - God bless you.
1:39:30 Blimey, Sharpe actually says some words over the grave of Perkins and Miranda. "He was a brave soldier. And she was his lass." Is it only Harris and Hagman they've got left now? Really? They're the only ones at the grave with Sharpe and Harper. Sharpe has been wearing his hat - his shako - more in this episode than I've ever seen before. Do we have a completely different director in this one or something? I thought Tom Clegg did them all.
1:40:15 There's literally only four of them walking away as the ending music plays - Sharpe, Harper, Harris and Hagman. And we're only on episode 7. Mind you, he only started with 5 Riflemen in the tv series, unlike the books, but what's happened to Cooper and Tongue?
1:40 For Hagman's song as the walk up the inevitable hill at the end, the Spanish subtitles for the verse don't match what he's singing.
He's singing:
If I should fall to rise no more
As many comrades did before
Ask the fifes and drums to play
Over the hills and far away
The subtitles say:
Quiero volver a ver a mi novia
Antes que estos atribulados dias terminen
Quiero encontrar un tambor para tocar
En las colinas y en la lejanía