Sharpe: The Complete Series [VHS]

Sharpe the complete series is better than what you get on itv as you get what they cut out so you get more for your money

As with all such series the film differs from the book, and when one the book knows then it can be a disappointmment

all 14 of the televised episodes are put together in this boxed-set which follows Sharpe & his band of men through the peninsular war & onto waterloo.Each episode is loosly based upon the books by Bernard Cornwell, & although they have been 'downsized' for television, (regiments being portrayed by a handful of men etc)they still manage to draw you into the plot. There are a few inconsistencies between the books & the screenplays (Cornwell's Sharpe is a londoner whereas Bean's Sharpe is from yorkshire, yet in Sharpe's Regiment he also claims to have London roots) OK, so i'm nit-picking a bit, however these minor points in no way detract from the excellent storylines or the presentation.The stories follow Sharpe on his quest to rise through the ranks and later for his revenge against his cheating wife. This usually involves a mission that only Sharpe & his band of men can complete, which of course they do, although not without the occasional casualty, which goes to show that no-one is indestructible, except of course, the gallant Sharpe! So, with the mission complete, the damsel saved (including the likes of Liz Hurley & Abigail Cruttenden) Sharpe makes it back to Wellington in time for tea & medals. Sean Bean is an excellent choice to portray Sharpe with his arrogance & hatred towards his fellow officers who hold their ranks & titles through financial means rather than the abilities that are shown by Sharpe on the battlefield, a comparison to todays forces perhaps???All that is missing is a Miss Moneypenny & some fancy gadgets, then we would have a 200 year old 007! Thoroughly recommended for anyone wether you have read the books or not. Congratulations to Bean et al.The boxed set itself contains 14 discs in a 7 box set.Each disc has a single episode, a photo gallery showing screen shots from the episode that runs like a powerpoint brief & gives a quick synopsis of the film. There is also a section of 'Sharpe Facts' containing such things as the weaponry used, some of the battles & other historical facts. There are also tokens to receive a further disc.Unfortunately my original set contained 4 faulty discs out of 14, but i am sure this is an exception rather than the rule.

Fast delivery - Not played yet, but in pristine condition - Great service

No problems at all.

The complete series of Richard Sharpe and his men is fantastic.Bare in mind that the series didnt have a large budget to work with compared to big Hollywood movies but everyone involved has done a sterling job.The series is compelling viewing and Sean Bean and fellow cast members are superb and you follow there exploits right up till the Battle of Waterloo Unfortunately to truly enjoy the series you will need to get the whole set consisting of 15 DVDS but well worth it and I would say well worth the value for quality viewing.Sean Bean is one of my favourite actors and no matter what hes in you are guaranteed quality acting which is a great attribute to the calibre of the man.If you like historial viewing The Sharpe series is a absolute must,action,romance,battles,great scenery.Treat yourself you will really enjoy this excellent collection.New footnote as of 29th Jan 2010.A further two additions of new adventures is now available.Sharpes Peril and Sharpes Challenge both movies set in India and must say both highly enjoyable,the adventures are a continuation for Sharpe after Waterloo and am pleased to say format has stuck to the original series so you wont be dissapointed,so now you will have to get all 17 dvds to complete the collection;WWWWhhhhhooooops'Well worth the loot and superb entertainment.Hope review is of some help.

I started reading the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwall back in the 80s; and I introduced my mother to these books. When they turned them into the TV films, I was a bit worried that this would spoil them, but that was from the case.Sean Bean makes a superb Richard Sharpe; he has made the role his own. Equally Daragh O'Malley is a brilliant Patrick Harper. The films were shot on location in eastern Europe, but the landscape is not too dissimilar to what would have been the real Spain or Portugal of the early 1800s.If I were to criticise, they didn't have the budget for the number of extras that would have been required to be entirely faithful to the books; in many cases, the books refer to a company, but the film shows a squad of men. Similarly the regiment of around 800 is portrayed by about 80!In all, ths is a good set of stories. The box set includes an extra DVD which is supposed to be the memoires of one of Sharpe's men and contains clips from the other films. It doesn't include the 2 later films that were set in India after the Peninsular War, as these were made several years after the boxed set came out.

I have just finished watching the complete series of Sharpe(14 disc Box Set) it took a while to suss out the sequel scheme, a numbering system would have been useful. I found all the protagonists superb as though they were the actual persons instead of actors playing a part.The only exception was (in my opinion) Sean Bean.He may have been handsome the only reason I can think of but, He was miscast, He needs to go back to acting school and also needs some elocution lessons, the other detriment in the series was his swords fighting with a single edge broad sword (heavy cavalry weapon) and that's the Director's fault, for not having had him better trained for the fighting sequences.He looked like a scared 10 year old holding a shovel instead of the confident hero He was portraying. Since this series his career has been a little sketchy, it proves my point.That's the reason for 4 instead of 5 stars. I wondered why this series was not showed on the BBC 1 at the time it was made.