Napoleonic Wars
UK productions depicting the Napoleonic Wars. See notes for each title
Behind the scenes / making of books:
Behind the scenes / making of books:
- Sharpe's Victory - by Rachel Murrell
- The Making of C S Forester's Horatio Hornblower - by Tom McGregor
- The Making of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - by Tom McGregor
- Vanity Fair: Bringing Thackeray's Timeless Novel to the Screen - by Mira Nair
- War & Peace: Viewing Notes (44 p. booklet inside dvd set for 1972 BBC series)
- Persuasion - by Nick Dear (screenplay of 1995 film)
- Mansfield Park: A Screenplay - by Patricia Rozema
- Masterpiece Theatre: A Celebration of 25 Years of Outstanding Television - by Terrence O'Flaherty (behind the scenes of many tv productions, including Vanity Fair 1967 and War & Peace 1972)
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52 titles
- DirectorStuart St PaulStarsJean-Marc BarrEmma FieldingSimon CallowIn nineteenth century rural England, a German hussar serving with King George III's personal cavalry, Matthaus Singer, falls madly in love with the only daughter of a West Country solicitor, Frances Groves.Adapted from a short story by Thomas Hardy that was based on a real event
- DirectorTom CleggStarsSean BeanAssumpta SernaBrian CoxIn the Peninsular War, a British sergeant is field promoted to a lieutenant in charge of a disrespectful rifle company.Sharpe’s #1
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsIoan GruffuddRobert LindsayDorian HealyHoratio Hornblower begins his naval career, but a deadly feud with a despicable mate is causing complications.Hornblower #1
- StarsNatasha LittleFrances GreyPhilip GlenisterAn adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic story of parvenue Becky Sharp's rise from obscure and humble origins to her subsequent ignominious fall from Society; set against the backdrop of Regency England and continental Europe during the Napoleonic War.Favorite version!
- DirectorTom CleggStarsSean BeanAssumpta SernaBrian CoxGeneral Wellesley sends Major Hogan, Sharpe, the chosen men and the South Essex Regiment to destroy a bridge. Sharpe is immediately in conflict with two junior officers of the South Essex and their incompetent commander.Sharpe’s #2
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsIoan GruffuddRobert LindsayDenis LawsonWhile Lt. Hornblower studies for his promotion examination, he is distracted by the serious supply problems that face his crew.Hornblower #2
- StarsPhilip GlenisterTamsin GreigHarriet WalterFollows events when the emerging nouveau riche, including the Trenchard family, rub shoulders with London's established upper classes and when secrets from the past threaten to emerge.Adapted by Julian Fellowes from his own novel. This series depicts the famous ball hosted by the Duchess of Richmond the night before the Battle of Waterloo
- StarsEve MathesonRebecca SaireSimon DormandyIn the time of Napoleon, Becky Sharp, a poor orphan girl, schemes for money and position. Her most-used stepladder is her old school friend, Amelia Sedley. Both women marry soldiers, and both of them are affected by the Battle of Waterloo.My second favorite version of Thackeray’s tale
- DirectorTom CleggStarsSean BeanPete PostlethwaiteDaragh O'MalleySpain, 1812. Wellington's army is headed for Badajoz. Sharpe, now a Captain in the South Essex, learns that he has a daughter with Teresa and she is in Badajoz. He also runs into an old nemesis - Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill.Sharpe’s #3
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsIoan GruffuddRobert LindsayCherie LunghiLt. Hornblower and his crew are captured by the enemy while escorting a Duchess who has secrets of her own.Hornblower #3
- StarsAnthony HopkinsMorag HoodAlan DobieNapoleon's tumultuous relations with Russia including his disastrous 1812 invasion serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of five aristocratic Russian families.My favorite version of Tolstoy’s epic
- CreatorGwyneth HughesStarsMichael PalinOlivia CookeTom BatemanAn adaptation of the 1848 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray.My 3rd favorite version of Thackeray’s novel
- DirectorTom CleggStarsSean BeanPete PostlethwaiteDaragh O'MalleyAn army of British, French, Spanish and Portuguese deserters, lead by Sharpe's arch-nemesis Obadiah Hakeswill, has kidnapped two English women and held them for ransom. Hakeswill demands that Sharpe deliver the ransom money himself.Sharpe’s #4
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsIoan GruffuddRobert LindsayAntony SherLt. Hornblower and his mates are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France.Hornblower #4
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRussell CrowePaul BettanyBilly BoydDuring the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.
- StarsClémence PoésyAlessio BoniAlexander BeyerThe story of five aristocratic families in Russia during the Napoleonic Wars of 1812Pan-European production.
- StarsSusan HampshireMarilyn TaylersonDyson LovellRebecca "Becky" Sharp is an impoverished, strong-willed and cunning young woman determined to make her way in the early 19th Century British society.My 4th favorite version of VF
- DirectorTom CleggStarsSean BeanDaragh O'MalleyHugh FraserThe French are on the run in Spain. In an effort to save Spain, Major Ducos engineers a diplomatic incident to split the English-Spanish alliance. Sharpe is at the centre of this incident, putting his life and honour at stake.Sharpe’s #5
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsIoan GruffuddRobert LindsayDavid WarnerHornblower and his comrades come under the command of a revered but obviously mentally unstable captain and eventually must mutiny.Hornblower #5
- StarsBenedict CumberbatchJared HarrisJamie SivesIn 1812, young British aristocrat Edmund Talbot travels by ship to Australia, and learns more about himself and about life than he had ever bargained for.Adapted from Golding’s trilogy set during the Napoleonic Wars. SPOILERS: this series depicts a group of Brits en route to Australia aboard a royal navy ship. During the journey they encounter another royal navy vessel bound for Australia and learn that the war is finally over.
- StarsPaul DanoJames NortonLily JamesAs the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.
- DirectorMira NairStarsReese WitherspoonRomola GaraiJames PurefoyGrowing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.
- DirectorTom CleggStarsSean BeanDaragh O'MalleyHugh FraserSharpe leads a party to exchange rifles for British deserters. He is dealing with Aztec-inspired Spanish partisans. Complicating matters is Wellington's cousin, with her daughter, who is searching for her missing husband.Sharpe’s #6
- DirectorAndrew GrieveStarsIoan GruffuddRobert LindsayDavid WarnerHornblower and the other officers of the Renown must return to Jamaica to face a court-martial and possible execution for their actions in relieving their unstable captain.Hornblower #6
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsAmanda RootCiarán HindsSusan FleetwoodTheatrical film of Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds & Amanda Root. Directed by Roger Michell.No navy battles but it does depict an admiral and his officers discussing Napoleon’s exile before his escape