Horatio Hornblower

[adams901]

I recently purchased this on DVD and must say it is an Excellent Televisions series based on the books by C.S.Forester.

It currently has 8 telvisions films each being 2 hours long, and has a much more detailed story than Master and Commander.

A review stolen from Amazon.
Based on the rousing sea adventures in C.S. Forester's novels, the film television series Horatio Hornblower explores the education of a plucky young officer rising through the ranks of His Majesty's Navy. Ioan Gruffudd is all integrity and honor as the ambitious midshipman who is taken under the stern yet nurturing guidance of Captain Pellew (Robert Lindsay) during the war against France in the French Revolution. Through these adventures he faces a vindictive senior midshipman ("The Even Chance"); meets his hero, a reckless captain whose unorthodox methods are brave but foolhardy ("The Examination for Lieutenant"); is captured by the Spanish in a desperate maneuver to sneak through enemy lines ("The Duchess and the Devil"); and leads his men to French soil in an ill-planned attempt by French loyalists to start a popular front against the revolution ("The Frogs and the Lobsters"). The excellent re-creations of 18th-century vessels and ship-to-ship battles are astounding. This mixture of swashbuckling adventure and British naval tradition is leavened with well-placed humor and a cast of colorful characters, but at the heart of the tales is Gruffudd's quick-thinking, courageous Hornblower, a starry-eyed officer with the luck of the gods and the steely determination of an old-fashioned hero

 

[Aoami]

As childish as it is, i just can't help my self from laughing at the name Hornblower.

Anyway, i say this serious on itv a year or so a go, and i just thought it was really lifeless, kinda like...whats the point of this?

 

[adams901]

I guess you could say whats the point of anything on TV?.

Hornblower is like Sharpe, except it follows the career of a naval officer instead or an army officer, and its battles are at sea instead of on Land.

I guess it wont interest anyone who isnt intrested naval warefare or ways of life in 1800.

 

[SoWat]

Both the Hornblower and the Sharpe series were excellent, even if the budget didn't run to having the hundreds (or thousands) of extras required for battle scenes.

Still, what they lacked in size they made up for in depth, with well rounded characters and great acting.

Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in good drama.

 

[Cdr]

I didnt watch too many of the series when it was on TV, but what I did watch, I enjoyed.

 

[SilverHood]

Yeah, I wated the ones I could when they were on TV... good stuff