Hornblower - Die Herzogin und der Teufel

Having a great start with the first movie, falling into a dump for a second movie, I was very curious about the outcome for this third movie in the made for tv-series! For the third time we have again brilliant production values, as we have come to expect, after the previous ones! Story-wise it is a much better story than the second and a little better than the first! What makes this movie exceptional is the presence of Cherie Lunghi! Cherie Lunghi is one of Britain's most underrated actresses! She gives a terrific performance. It is a delight to see her in this movie! BTW this movie has a continuation of the homo-erotic tension between Hornblower and Kennedy as hinted in the first movie!

Unlike the prior two movies this one really breaths as a piece of cinema. I don't know if the director was given more time or money but the naval atmosphere is a lot strong here. The final sequence is one of the better action scenes I have seen done in the TV format. And of course this films continues the sharp writing and great acting of the prior two.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Duchess", and in fact all of the Horatio Hornblower movies. They were well written, well filmed, and well acted, particularly in the cases of Ioan Gruffud and Jamie Barber (Horatio & Archie Kennedy) who also, I happen to think, are both very attractive. I like the fact that M'Man Kennedy was brought back into the story. Cherie L. was also very good as the "Duchess."

Unfortunately for me, I did not get to see the first two "Hornblower" episodes but I did get to see this one. It was certainly wonderful. Ioan Gruffudd was absolutely phenomenal; not only talented but exceedingly handsome to boot! I can't wait till next week when I can enjoy this wonderful miniseries yet again!

The Horatio Hornblower series of TV movies is not the usual A & E culture vulture stuff. It's actually fun! Based on the novel about a dashing and ambitious young sailor in the Royal Navy in the 18th century, it's not exactly subtle, but it's great action-adventure genre stuff. Handsome Iaon Gruffud (Kate Winslet's rescuer in Titanic) stars as the too-gallant-to-be-true hero, continually getting into sticky situations. The script is witty, the characters real, and the period is shown convincingly. I guess it's kind of corny, but it's so much fun to watch you really won't care. I'm not really a costume drama person, but this one changed my mind. Catch it on A & E.