Horatio Hornblower Vol. 1 - The Duel

Rating:
Summary: Great TV movie !
Review: I'm a long time fan of Horatio Hornblower books, and when I've read about TV film based on Forester's novels I was worry that TV production cannot bring Hornblower times to life.... I cannot be mistaken more. Quality of production is superb, acting is very good. Some Forester's fans may don't like some changes in story, but I've found them acceptable. As for DVD - image quality is medicore, sometimes there are visible artifacts, but the sound is good (or very good). If you feel exitement when you see frigate under full sails it's a must buy for you !

Rating:
Summary: Great TV movie !
Review: I'm a long time fan of Horatio Hornblower books, and when I've read about TV film based on Forester's novels I was worry that TV production cannot bring Hornblower times to life.... I cannot be mistaken more. Quality of production is superb, acting is very good. Some Forester's fans may don't like some changes in story, but I've found them acceptable. As for DVD - image quality is medicore, sometimes there are visible artifacts, but the sound is good (or very good). If you feel exitement when you see frigate under full sails it's a must buy for you !

Rating:
Summary: Horatio Hornblower - The Boy Begins to Be a Man
Review: In the days right before the French Revolution, British ships sat in harbor, their crew and officers bored stiff. Men drank and prostitutes came on board to entertain, while the officers were forced to entertain themselves with cards and learning the ways of the sea and the ship.
Young Horatio Hornblower (Ioan Gruffund-102 Dalmatians) was thrust right into the middle of it. As an aspiring mid-shipman who had never been to sea, Horatio had to learn quickly and overcome his seasickness as well as his fear of heights. A good-natured lad he quickly made friends ... as well as a very dangerous enemy. Still sore from having his commission for lieutenant rejected, Mid-Shipman Simpson decides to pick on Hornblower who is obviously much better mannered and better liked by the rest of the officers. After getting severely beaten for nothing, Horatio determines to put an end to Simpson's torture of him. Challenging the wicked officer to a duel, Horatio faces two paths ... will he kill his opponent or will he be killed?
Horatio Hornblower, The Duel is the beginning of a long tale about a young English Officer in the British Navy who goes from a boy to a man, but never once loses his integrity, honesty, or honor.
I enjoyed this movie for its accurate portrayal of the life of a British officer in the navy and for its clean cut characters who are honorable young men with respect for their betters, for each other, and for themselves. Joining Ioan Gruffund in the cast are Jamie Bamber, as Horatio's friend Archie, Robert Linsday, as Captain Edward Pellew, and Paul Copley, as the loveable old sailor Matthews.
The story is taken from the classic series by author C.S. Forrestor.

Rating:
Summary: Strength and honour
Review: The first instalment of this wonderful and swashbuckling Horatio Hornblower t.v. series introduces a very young Horatio -he is only 17, although already too old to be a really good navy official, he is told by his comrades. For him, entering the Navy is a real rite of passage, a non-too-easy, life-changing experience that is useful for the hero to clarify his objectives and priorities in life: at the end of the movie he knows that he really wants to be a navy officer, and he also knows that he prefers death rather than submitting himself to the indignities and dishonour that the victims of the bully of the ship, Sympson, must undergo. He understands that dignity and honour can only be gained at a price, and he learns that he is prepared to pay this price, which in his case will involve to fight a life-or-death duel against his now enemy, Sympson. Wonderful acting, superb setting and photography in this really good naval adventure set in the Napoleonic wars. Not to be missed if you liked Sharpe and, in general, adventures set in this period: the last heroic period in European warfare. Watch it and, as Hornblower would have it, "Confound Robespierre!"

Rating:
Summary: Great Film... Nearly true to the book
Review: This is a really well made film. The attention to detail is astounding. The clothes, the ships, the language. Everything is just right for this date and time.

The film contains the main theme of the first half of the first book in the series. There were a few deviations from the book, but they do not detract from this film. It's great to actually see the workings of the ships. I especially enjoyed seeing the 'tween decks area and the great cabin of the larger ships. A picture is worth a thousand words.

The only problem that I have with the film is the fact that some of the characters are not introduced. Also, if you never read the book, you might be a little lost. I kept trying to figure out which officers were which. Consciously listening to the names.

Aside from that, the film was great. Just about everything I expected. The seamen that are under Hornblower's command are well played. I plan on getting the next DVD in the series very soon.

Rating:
Summary: Nice adaptation and background, pity about the casting
Review: This series just goes to show how very, very hard it is to turn good books into screenplays. As a lifelong Hornblower fan I, like other reviewers, looked forward to seeing my favourite books played out before my eyes. But I am afraid that, for me at least, the negatives outweigh the positives. Just as a superb dish can be ruined by too much salt, "Hornblower" is spoiled by half-baked casting and the "Boys' Own" spirit that seems to permeate it.

First the good things. Excellent attention to detail in such things as period dress, customs and (of course) the ships and boats themselves. It is one thing to read about an officer being rowed out to his ship on a stormy day, quite another actually to see the waves, the ship heaving and the boat being tossed about like a cork. The screenplay follows the book quite faithfully, which is good as Forester's writing lends itself to the screen.

The killer, for me, is Ioan Gruffud himself. He looks a very pleasant young man - far too obviously nice, by the way, for the role - but, damn it, Hornblower should not be nearly so handsome! Even for an actor, Gruffud must be aware of his good looks, while Hornblower's only thoughts on the subject are self-lacerating.

Linked to this casting error, the whole action runs too smoothly downhill to the triumph of the hero. The Hornblower books are not like that at all. In most cases the outcome remains in doubt up to the very end (or, once or twice, the next book - a neat trick of Forester's that no doubt boosted sales).

The general neatness and freshness of everything is annoying, too. These were hard-driven ships and men, as today none too well funded, in the middle of England's most desperate struggle for survival until 1940.

Although it is an eye-opener to see how easily a gritty, down-to-earth story of a young man pulling himself up by his bootstrings can be converted into something Enid Blyton could have written, I just cannot stomach the result. Pity, but hardly a surprise.