''Sharpe's Peril'' is a British TV film from 2008, usually shown in two parts, which is part of
an ITV series based on
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...
's historical fiction novels about the English soldier
Richard Sharpe during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. Unlike most parts of the TV series, ''Sharpe's Peril'' and the preceding ''
Sharpe's Challenge
''Sharpe's Challenge'' is a British TV film from 2006, usually shown in two parts, which is part of an ITV series based on Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction novels about the British soldier Richard Sharpe during the Napoleonic Wars. Contra ...
'' are not based on Cornwell's novels. Both are set in 1817, two years after Sharpe has retired as a farmer in Normandy, so chronologically they come after ''
Sharpe's Assassin
''Sharpe's Assassin'' is the twenty-first historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2021. The story is set in June 1815, immediately after the Battle of Waterloo, and during the occupation of Paris.
Plot ...
'' (1815) and before ''
Sharpe's Devil
''Sharpe's Devil'' is the twenty-second -- and, to date, final -- historical novelin the Sharpe (novel series), Richard Sharpe series written by Bernard Cornwell and published in 1992. The story is set in 1820, with Sharpe and Harper en route t ...
'' (1820–1821). In ''Sharpe's Challenge'' and ''Sharpe's Peril'', Sharpe and his comrade-in-arms,
Patrick Harper
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...
, are called out of retirement and asked to go to India.
Plot
The story continues from where ''
Sharpe's Challenge
''Sharpe's Challenge'' is a British TV film from 2006, usually shown in two parts, which is part of an ITV series based on Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction novels about the British soldier Richard Sharpe during the Napoleonic Wars. Contra ...
'' left off. On their way home to England,
Richard Sharpe (
Sean Bean
Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...
) and
Patrick Harper
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...
(
Daragh O'Malley
Daragh Gerard Marion O'Malley (born 25 May 1954) is an Irish actor, director and producer. He was born in Dublin, Ireland.
Among many TV appearances O'Malley is known for his portrayal of Patrick Harper in the series '' Sharpe'' (1993–2009), ...
) reluctantly agree to escort Marie-Angelique Bonnet (
Beatrice Rosen
Beatrice Rosen (born Béatrice Rosenblatt) is a French-American actress. She is internationally known for her role in the film ''2012'' (2009).
Early life and education
Rosen was born in New York City and grew up in Paris where she started acti ...
) to the hill fort of Kalimgong, where her fiancé, Major Joubert (
Pascal Langdale
Pascal Langlois, better known as Pascal Langdale, is an English actor and voice actor. He has played supporting roles in a number of television dramas since 1999. Langdale also lent his voice and likeness to the critically acclaimed video game '' ...
), is stationed. They encounter a baggage train heading to Madras, made up of soldiers from the King's and the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
's armies, commanded by the young Ensign Beauclere (
Luke Ward-Wilkinson
Luke Ward-Wilkinson (born 7 August 1993, Cambridge, England) is an English actor and singer.
Career
He is best known for his lead role as the teenage Simon Doonan in the BBC comedy series '' Beautiful People'' which ran for 2 series (2008–2009 ...
), engineer Major Tredinnick (
David Robb
David Robb (born 23 August 1947) is a Scottish actor.
Early life
Born in London, the son of David Robb and Elsie Tilley, Robb grew up in Edinburgh and was educated there at the Royal High School, where he played Henry II in a school product ...
), and
Subedar
Subedar is a rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army; a senior non-commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army, and formerly a Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army.
History
''Subedar'' or ''subadar'' was the ...
Pillai (Rajesh Khattar). Included in the train is a redcoat prisoner named Barabbas (
Amit Behl
Amit Behl is an Indian theatre, television and film actor. Behl began his career in 1994 with a role in India's first daily soap opera '' Shanti''. He later went on to do almost 100 TV serials in Hindi, English, Marathi, Punjabi and Urdu. He ha ...
), an Indian princess (
Nandana Sen
Nandana Dev Sen (19 August 1967) is an Indian-born American actress, screenwriter, children's author and child-rights activist. Her first film role in Bollywood was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ''Black'' (2005), starring Rani Mukherjee and Amitab ...
) and her retinue, and Tredinnick's pregnant wife (
Caroline Carver). When the train is attacked by forces of the bandit Chitu, the Subedar is wounded. They are saved by the timely arrival of Colonel Dragomirov (
Velibor Topic) and his cavalry squadron. With no one more qualified, Sharpe is forced to take command.
Trouble comes from within the train as well. Sharpe discovers that Barabbas is in fact the son of
Obadiah Hakeswill
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...
, the man who murdered Sharpe's first wife. Flying into a rage, Sharpe almost kills Barabbas on the spot, stopped only by Harper's intervention. They also face opposition from Colour-Sergeant Wormwood (
Steve Speirs), a British soldier who dislikes Sharpe's methods and fosters feelings of resentment among his men, which grows when Sharpe punishes two of Wormwood's men for drunkenness and attempted rape.
Arriving at Kalimgong, Sharpe and Harper find the entire garrison killed, with the exception of the fort's commander,
General Sir Henry Simmerson (
Michael Cochrane
Michael Cochrane is an English actor.
Biography
Cochrane was born in Brighton, East Sussex. He was educated at Cranleigh School. He has had many television and radio roles including Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers'', ...
), Sharpe's old enemy. Strung up naked in the courtyard, Simmerson's mind is addled with the heat and he seems to only speak nonsense, such as "save the harvest." Major Joubert is not among the dead, to Marie-Angelique's relief, but neither are the Company ledgers that reveal what has been stolen from the fort. The Subedar dies.
Continuing on, the train finds a farming village destroyed by bandits, the entire harvest stolen, and everyone dead but a young girl who witnessed the attack. Between what the girl saw and Simmerson's addled ramblings, Sharpe realises that not only were these people growing opium for the Company, but Colonel Count Dragomirov and Major Joubert were responsible for the slaughter in the village and at Kalimgong, using bandits as scapegoats.
The train is forced to leave mounts and wagons behind when the bridge over a river is found to be destroyed. While crossing, they are attacked by Dragomirov and his men. Joubert grabs Marie-Angelique and rides off with her. Sharpe tries to pursue, but Wormwood uses the chaos to try to kill Sharpe, managing only to wound him in the shoulder. Harper drags Sharpe to safety.
Dragomirov's troops retreat. Once his wound is treated, Sharpe takes a horse and leaves to rescue Marie-Angelique, putting Harper in command of the train. When Sharpe finds Joubert, they fight. The weakened Sharpe is disarmed, but Marie-Angelique shoots and kills Joubert with his own pistol. However, Dragomirov's cavalry find them and take them to their field headquarters on the Indian plains. Meanwhile, during the night, the seriously wounded Tredinnick sneaks away, as he is slowing down the train. He tries to ambush Dragomirov, but his shot misses, and Dragomirov stabs him and leaves him for dead. Lance Naik Singh (
Raza Jaffrey
Raza Jaffrey (born 28 May 1973) is a British actor and singer, who starred as Neal Hudson on the CBS TV medical drama '' Code Black''. He is best known for playing Zafar Younis on the BBC One spy drama series '' Spooks''. In 2014, he played ...
) finds Tredinnick and hears his dying words: Dragomirov's lie that Sharpe is dead.
Dragomirov shows Sharpe around his field headquarters, where Indian slaves produce opium. He offers Sharpe Joubert's position and promises to keep Sharpe's people prisoner rather than kill them, but Sharpe turns him down. Later, Dragomirov threatens to give Marie-Angelique, who has been dosed with opium, to his men, so Sharpe agrees to lead Dragomirov to the train and convince Harper to surrender. During the night, Dragomirov has Sharpe chained in a pit with cobras, but he gets free, rescues Marie-Angelique, and catches up with the train. Dragomirov follows, but Sharpe uses gunpowder to create a roadblock.
When the train comes to a village, Mrs. Tredinnick goes into labour. Sharpe has no choice but to stop and defend the place. He gets the village's leader, the real Chitu (Ulhas Tayade) and the rest of the residents on-side for the upcoming battle. Singh repairs a very old cannon. Wormwood wants to desert, but his two cronies decide to fight alongside Sharpe. That night, Sharpe apologises to Barabbas for his earlier treatment and agrees to let him fight, but later, Wormwood frees Barabbas and tells him that Sharpe plans to execute him in the morning. Both Barabbas and Wormwood ride away separately. Wormwood joins Dragomirov and tells him all about Sharpe's defences.
When Dragomirov attacks the next day, Sharpe's men resist strongly. Beauclere is fatally wounded while defending the women. Wormwood kills one of his former comrades (with the other also perishing in the battle), but Harper kills him in a hand-to-hand fight. At the last moment, British cavalry soldiers arrive, led by Barabbas, who had ridden the entire night to bring reinforcements. Sharpe duels Dragomirov and kills him.
After the battle, Sharpe says his goodbyes to Marie-Angelique, who talks of visiting Sharpe's farm in Normandy, and to Simmerson, with whom he has an almost-friendly conversation, before he and Harper ride off for home.
Cast
*
Sean Bean
Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...
- Colonel
Richard Sharpe
*
Velibor Topic - Col. Count Vladimir Dragomirov
*
Daragh O'Malley
Daragh Gerard Marion O'Malley (born 25 May 1954) is an Irish actor, director and producer. He was born in Dublin, Ireland.
Among many TV appearances O'Malley is known for his portrayal of Patrick Harper in the series '' Sharpe'' (1993–2009), ...
- Sergeant Major
Patrick Harper
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...
*
Beatrice Rosen
Beatrice Rosen (born Béatrice Rosenblatt) is a French-American actress. She is internationally known for her role in the film ''2012'' (2009).
Early life and education
Rosen was born in New York City and grew up in Paris where she started acti ...
- Marie-Angelique Bonnet
*
Raza Jaffrey
Raza Jaffrey (born 28 May 1973) is a British actor and singer, who starred as Neal Hudson on the CBS TV medical drama '' Code Black''. He is best known for playing Zafar Younis on the BBC One spy drama series '' Spooks''. In 2014, he played ...
-
Lance Naik Singh
*
Steve Speirs -
Colour Sergeant Silas Wormwood
*
Nandana Sen
Nandana Dev Sen (19 August 1967) is an Indian-born American actress, screenwriter, children's author and child-rights activist. Her first film role in Bollywood was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ''Black'' (2005), starring Rani Mukherjee and Amitab ...
- Maharani Padmini
*
Chucky Venice
Charles Venn (born 24 June 1973), formerly known by the stage names Chucky Venice and Chucky Venn, is a British actor, known for his roles as Ray Dixon in ''EastEnders'', Jacob Masters in '' Casualty'', Curtis Alexander in Sky One's ''Dream Team ...
- Private Daniel Deever
*
Michael Cochrane
Michael Cochrane is an English actor.
Biography
Cochrane was born in Brighton, East Sussex. He was educated at Cranleigh School. He has had many television and radio roles including Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers'', ...
- Sir
Henry Simmerson
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic ...
*
Caroline Carver - Mrs Tredinnick
*
Pascal Langdale
Pascal Langlois, better known as Pascal Langdale, is an English actor and voice actor. He has played supporting roles in a number of television dramas since 1999. Langdale also lent his voice and likeness to the critically acclaimed video game '' ...
- Major Philippe Joubert
*
Rajesh Khatar - Subedar Pillai
*
Jonathan Moore - Reverend Watkin
*
David Robb
David Robb (born 23 August 1947) is a Scottish actor.
Early life
Born in London, the son of David Robb and Elsie Tilley, Robb grew up in Edinburgh and was educated there at the Royal High School, where he played Henry II in a school product ...
- Major Tredinnick
*
Luke Ward-Wilkinson
Luke Ward-Wilkinson (born 7 August 1993, Cambridge, England) is an English actor and singer.
Career
He is best known for his lead role as the teenage Simon Doonan in the BBC comedy series '' Beautiful People'' which ran for 2 series (2008–2009 ...
- Ensign the Hon. Percival Beauclere
*
Amit Behl
Amit Behl is an Indian theatre, television and film actor. Behl began his career in 1994 with a role in India's first daily soap opera '' Shanti''. He later went on to do almost 100 TV serials in Hindi, English, Marathi, Punjabi and Urdu. He ha ...
- Corporal Barabbas Hakeswill
*
Ryan Pope
Ryan Pope is an American musician who lives in Lawrence, Kansas.
History
Ryan Pope grew up in Olathe, Kansas. In the summer of 1994, he was in a band called "Kingpin" with his brother Rob and future The Get Up Kids bandmate Jim Suptic. After ...
- Private Joshua Quilter
*
Jonny Coyne
Jonathan "Jonny" Coyne (born 1 January 1953) is an English actor known for playing Warden Edwin James on Fox's short-lived series, ''Alcatraz'' (2012). He also appeared as Dr. Lydgate in '' Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'' and '' Once Upon a T ...
- Private Croop
*
David Henry - Viscount Sedgefield
Production history
At a book signing in Bath on 11 October 2006, Bernard Cornwell revealed that there were plans by ITV to film two more episodes. When asked about the stories, Cornwell said that he believed that they were producing two new stories specially for television. Filming of ''Sharpe's Peril'', produced by Celtic Film/Picture Palace/Duke Street Films, began on 3 March 2008 in India (in
Orchha
Orchha is a town, near city of Niwari in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The town was established by rajput ruler Rudra Pratap Singh some time after 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state of covering parts of c ...
and
Khajuraho), and finished in late April.
The film was created both as a 2 x 90 minute version (circa 2 x 69 minutes without adverts, i.e. 138 minutes in total) and a single 100 minute version.
UK broadcast history
Part one was first aired on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
and
UTV on 2 November 2008 and part two on 9 November 2008, although
STV, the holders of the Northern and Central Scottish licensees of
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, decided not to screen ''Sharpe's Peril'', but instead use the time slots for its own drama ''Missing'' from 2006.
''Sharpe's Peril'' was released on DVD on 10 November 2008 in the UK. This 2 disc set comes with both versions of ''Sharpe's Peril''. There has also been a making-of documentary produced for ''Sharpe's Peril'', which is included on the DVD, and was shown on
ITV3
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel by ...
after the main show had finished on 9 November.
Reception
DVDTalk.com gave it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a dramatic improvement over its predecessor, Sharpe's Challenge (2006)."
References
External links
*
''Sharpe's Peril''at Sharpe Film official website
at South Essex.co.uk
Celtic FilmsPicture Palace website about ''Sharpe's Peril''
{{Sharpe Films
2008 British television episodes
2000s historical films
2000s war films
ITV television dramas
Peril
English-language television shows
Napoleonic Wars naval films
War television films
Fiction set in 1818
Films directed by Tom Clegg (director)