Sharpe's Waterloo (2006) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I became enchanted by the Sharpe series by watching the series on TV. The chemistry between Sharpe (Sean Bean) and Harper(Daragh O'Malley), the struggle of the compentent Sharpe to get recognition and authority within the rigid class structure of the British Army (makes you wonder how the British army could have been so successful in the 19th century), the wary relationship between the Spanish and the British, the fantastic luck that keeps Sharpe and Harper alive, and the characterization of even temporary characters all presented against the background of the peninsular campaign during the Napoleonic wars, I found fascinating and moving. Sean Bean plays a much more compelling character here than in any of his villianous movie roles (e.g. Bond).
Of course, I looked forward eagerly to the release of the series on DVD.
In the meantime, I read all of the books. Since the completion of the television series, Bernard Cornwell has extended the story of
Sharpe both before the peninsula campaign and after Waterloo. The books are far richer than the TV series, but this doesn't detract from the series at all. The series generally stands on its own but the books add considerable depth, background, and context.
The last episode in the series, Sharpe's Waterloo, suffers more in comparison with the book, because the underlying events are familiar. 100 minutes is hardly engough time to explain the manner in which the battle of Waterloo unfolded and to develop the several other story threads involving Sharpe. Still, it is fine culmination to the series.
As in all of the DVDs in this series, the video quality is poor. This has been mentioned by other reviewers but needs some explanation. The color is good, the video has little noise, and there are no surprizing artifacts. The problem is image resolution. The DVD is encoded at 4.35Mbites/sec with almost no variation responding to changes in scene or motion. This is low: the Abyss, a high-quality DVD transfer, is encoded at 5.79Mbites/sec with occasional bursts at over 7Mbits/sec. The difference is dramtic. All of the Sharpe DVDs are fuzzy and lack detail; they appear to be out of focus. There are not enough pixels in the image to provide a good image on even a small TV screen. And forget about watching these on a large screen.
Still I recommend this series. Buy the DVDs, put your chair across the room, and enjoy. At the end you'll want more. That's the time to buy the books.

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Life seems to have settled down for British Officer Richard Sharpe as he enjoys a much-deserved rest at a French chateau with his new love, Lucille. However, the news of Napoleon's return from exile drives Sharpe back to the army. He is placed on the staff of the incompetent British ally, the Prince of Orange. Reunited with his Chosen Men, Sharpe abandons his inept commander and organizes the defense at the farm of La Haie Sainte. It is here he plays a key role in one of Britain's most famous victories, the Battle of Waterloo.

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