Sharpe's Rifles

I wrapped up my complete dude weekend watching "Sharpe's Rifles" on DVD. It was the first video in a British adaptation of the Sharpe's Rifles series of novels by Bernard Cornwell. The books chronical the adventures of British infantryman Richard Sharpe through the Napoleonic Wars in Spain. Sharpe rises from the rank of Sgt into the officer's ranks by virtue of saving his commanding general, Sir Arthur Wellesley, from French Cavalry scouts. The books are roughly the land-equivalent of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series. From the books, you get a good sense of early 19th century Army life an excellent sense of the tactics and technologies of that era.

Unfortunately, the movie comes across more like a lame PBS attempt to make a spaghetti western. It was moderately absorbing, but absolutely pales in comparison to the original novels.