Sharpe's Eagle (1993)

In the early 90s when cable television was at the beginning of it's Golden Age my father and I found a movie on PBS called Sharpe's Eagle. It was the story of a rifleman name Richard Sharpe who fought for England against Napoleon in Spain. It's starred one Sean Bean who for once didn't die at the end of the film . Eventually Bean would make nearly a dozen of these movies and all of them are full of adventure and humor and honor and evil as Sharpe tries to rise for his humble beginnings to become an officer and a gentleman. Ambition motivates him more than ideology or his hatred for the French or Napoleon. He also has a romantic soul which the ladies will swoon over. Sharpe is surrounded by all manner of interesting characters played by some of the greatest character actors in television history. The writing is always first rate

Brian Cox is fantastic as Hogan, the personal bag man for Lord Wellington who will eventually defeat Napoleon at Waterloo and cement his place in military history. I even loved the theme song and sing it to remove any musical earworms that get stuck in my head.

I have seen all the movies but Sharpe's Eagle is my favorite. It's the kind of historical dramas that the British do best. I has everything you would want in a story about what it was like to be a soldier during the Napoleonic Wars. These scenes are an example of the great scenes within.

... But look at you, now... Chosen Men! Men who wear the White Cord of Courage! Picked out and promoted.... Why? Because you didn't know your place. Picked out because you pushed your way to the front and prove you were braver than those around you, because wanted to prove you were better men than you were ever born to be!

I have seen this story many times but I never notice that Lft. Berry is played by Daniel Craig, Mr James Bomb himself. This song by John Tam is magnificent also.