Sharpe's Waterloo (TV programme)

Infobox Television Film
bgcolour =
name = Sharpe's Waterloo


caption =
format = Military drama
runtime = 100 min.
creator =
director = Tom Clegg
producer = Malcolm Craddock
Muir Sutherland (exec.)
writer = Charles Wood
Bernard Cornwell (characters)
starring = Sean Bean
Daragh O'Malley
Abigail Cruttenden
Hugh Fraser
Cecile Paoli
Paul Bettany
Alexis Denisof
music = Dominic Muldowney
John Tams
country = UK
language = English
network =
released = 1997
first_aired =
last_aired =
num_episodes =
preceded_by = Sharpe's Justice
followed_by = Sharpe's Challenge
website =
imdb_id = 0120111
tv_com_id =
amg_id =

"Sharpe's Waterloo" is a British television drama, part of a series that follows the career of Richard Sharpe, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars. The adaptation is based on the novel of the same name by Bernard Cornwell.

Plot

In 1815, war breaks out once more as Napoleon returns to France from exile on Elba. Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) cannot resist the chance to finally see his enemy and breaks his promise to his French lover Lucille (Cécile Paoli) to fight no more. However, unlike his adulterous wife Jane (Abigail Cruttenden), she forgives him and accompanies him to the battlefield.

There, he is reunited with his former sergeant major and best friend, Patrick Harper (Daragh O'Malley), and two of his long-time "chosen men", Hagman (John Tams) and Harris (Jason Salkey). Sharpe finds employment as a lieutenant colonel on the staff of Prince William of Orange (Paul Bettany).

Sharpe scouts the French forces and alerts Lord Wellington (Hugh Fraser) at a ball in Brussels that Napoleon is on the move. As Sharpe is leaving, he encounters his wife and her lover, Lord Rossendale (Alexis Denisof); he chases Rossendale and causes a scene in front of the guests. He extracts a promise that he will get back the money Jane stole from him. Previously, Jane had persuaded Rossendale that he must kill her husband during the coming battle.

Sharpe is sent to command the defense of a crucial farmhouse at La Haye Sainte. Several times during the fierce combat, he witnesses the absolute military incompetence of Dutch Prince William of Orange (Paul Bettany). The last time, it costs the lives of Harris and Hagman. Furious, Sharpe shoots the prince at long range from a secluded spot, but only succeeds in wounding him. (The real William of Orange played a large role in and was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo). Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, Rossendale is killed fighting French cuirassiers.

Sharpe then rejoins his old unit, the South Essex Regiment, taking over when its commanding officer becomes a casualty. At the height of the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon sends in his elite Imperial Guard. Sharpe repels the last-ditch assault, much to Wellington's delight. Wellington gives Sharpe command of the regiment and tells him to pursue the retreating enemy. Whilst advancing, Sharpe glimpses Napoleon as he rides off in defeat.

External links

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* [http://www.sharpefilm.com/waterloo/index.html Sharpe's Waterloo at SharpeFilm.com]