Sharpe

[wsk]

Kydd series by Julian Stockwin, Alan Lewrie series by Dewey Lambdin. Neither of these can hold a candle to O'Brian of course.

[Woodsheal]

The O'Brian books are the BEST! If you liked Aubrey/Maturin, check out his two earlier novels based on Anson's voyage: The Golden Ocean, and The Unknown Shore....

[McClef]

I enjoyed the Flashman series too!

Only one movie was made from it with Malcolm McDowell playing the eponymous "hero" and with the racier content somewhat turned down.

[macwilkin]

I enjoyed the Flashman series too!

Only one movie was made from it with Malcolm McDowell playing the eponymous "hero" and with the racier content somewhat turned down.

And as GMF himself might say, "What's the point of that?"

T.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I enjoyed the Flashman series too!

Only one movie was made from it with Malcolm McDowell playing the eponymous "hero" and with the racier content somewhat turned down.

GMF wrote the screenplay, and "toned it down" to broaden the potential audience.

I personally liked "ROYAL FLASH", and thought Mr. McDowell did a pretty credible job as old Flashy, even though he looked less like Flashman than Aunt Jemima would have. For my money Peter Bowles would have been perfectly cast in the part-- look at Tony Richardson's version of "CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE" where Bowles plays Capt. Duberly. He's Harry Padget Flashman right down to the ground. I've read somewhere that Bowles actually did portray Flashman in a documentary about GMF, but haven't managed to track it down...

[beloitpiper]

O'Brian is one of my favorite authors! I can't get enough of his stuff. Did you guys like the movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World"? It wasn't exactly like the book, but I thought it was fantastic. I'm really hoping for another.

[wsk]

O'Brian is one of my favorite authors! I can't get enough of his stuff. Did you guys like the movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World"? It wasn't exactly like the book, but I thought it was fantastic. I'm really hoping for another.

Which it was cribbed from the two books weren't it?

I'm not a sailor but, there are several things about the movie that bothered me. Just about every time you hear the ship's bell it seems that it strikes eight bells. Anytime the ship changes course there's a lot of putting the helm over but nary a command to trim sails as must be necessary to keep the ship sailing - they didn't have to show sail trimming just have the officer of the deck or the master give the orders and have some extras run around looking like they knew what they were doing.

I'd have preferred a simpler story that was more cohesive. The thing about O'brian's books is that you get to know, in detail, the people and the ships and the battles and the botany and the society of the time, and , and , and ... There is nothing in the movie that really explains the unique relationship between Aubrey and Maturin. The producers didn't make that movie, rather they made a generic, formulaic, adventure flick. Overall, I was much disappointed.

[Larry124]

O'Brian is one of my favorite authors! I can't get enough of his stuff. Did you guys like the movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World"? It wasn't exactly like the book, but I thought it was fantastic. I'm really hoping for another.

I enjoyed the movie but both lead roles were IMHO miscast.

[Woodsheal]

I enjoyed the movie (Master & Commander)but both lead roles were IMHO miscast.

Agreed:

Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey - marginal
Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin - wrong
Billy Boyd as Barrett Bonden - not even close

The guy who played Killick was right on, though...!

[Pleater]

Neither Ramage nor Bolitho seem on a par with Hornblower - I am not sure what it is that they lack, but they do not enable me to visualise the scenes and situations like the Hornblower stories do.

The Sharpe series is not bad, though the writing seems a little lacking in places, as though it could have done with going over one more time to get it right.

I sang 'over the hills and far away' last week at the folk festival - the original Queen Anne version though, not Sharpe's King George, with the slightly altered tune. It was appreciated by an educated audience.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: