Search - Horatio Hornblower Boxed Set on DVD

Superb period drama, great plots, sets and location shooting

Colin Neal | Reading, Berkshire. England United Kingdom | 06/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first saw the Hornblower film on a flight back from Seattle without the sound and even then it was good! After having watched all 4 of these TV movies from these DVDs I'm of the opinion that this is the finest sea-based drama!There are 4 stories, and they're all enjoyable, there isn't a dud. We see Hornblower rise through the ranks and gain respect above and below deck. The best scene of the whole series has to be when they capture a French ship and sail it through a Spanish fleet in the fog.The quality of the DVD is top notch. Picture quality and sound are up to the standards you'd expect for a 1998 TV program costing £10M. The extras are brilliant: a making of documentary (there's a book too also available on amazon.com) and a whole special on English ships from that period. Worth the money."

A Classic Production

Roger Kennedy | 01/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally we have a series that does credit to its original inspiration. To watch these episodes is almost like reading the Forester novels themselves. The best part of this series is that it gets you to feel the life of a seaman of that time. The sounds of the ship, the bells, whistles, drum beats, etc. all merge together and bring you back into another time. While I always felt that the Hornblower books give a somewhat romanitzed view of Royal Navy life during the Napoleanic Wars, there can be no doubt that this TV series truly does justice to the books. More productions should be made like this. Hornblower's exploits while impressive, are believeable. There is none of that annoying tongue and cheek element that we find in many of these period productions. The "Sharpe Series" was largely ruined because of that. Here there has been a conscious effort to stay within the spirit of the books.

The best episodes in my opinion are 1 and 4. The middle ones are a bit slow and tedious a times, but they all provide wonderful character development. The fourth episode is a real treat for those interested in having a look at combined naval and land operations of the period. The British were the only ones that could do this sort of thing, and the coordination involved was very difficult. The viewer is treated to some interesting land combat scenes, which are nicely done. Much attention has been paid to uniforms, drill and eqippment, which all get high marks. John Mollo was the costume specialist, so its not surprsing that the uniforms are accurate to the buttons! He did many fine military uniform books in years past.
Perhaps what makes this series so good is that there has been no silly romance put in to distract the viewer. Highly recommended for all naval buffs, and for those interested in the Napoleanic period, as well as those who seek a really good period series with good acting and sets."