Hornblower - L'onore è salvo

By now this series has attracted its own set of fans, so the issue of how faithful it remains to the Forester stories may be moot. Still, I've always been puzzled by one element of the credits -- the show never seems to say which of "the novels of C.S. Forester" a particular movie is based on. LOYALTY and DUTY are loosely based on HORNBLOWER AND THE HOTSPUR, the tale of Hornblower's first command. Gruffudd, though a good enough actor and quite charming, seems to miss what was always the key element of Forester's Hornblower -- his constant self-doubt and crushing insecurity. The power of the novels comes from Hornblower's inability to see his own heroism and greatness for it is. He might be a hero to the world; to himself he was always the gangling Midshipman who was "seasick at Spithead." Julia Sawahla, on the other hand, is a perfect choice for Maria. A comment objected to her seeming "dowdy" -- that is precisely the point. Hornblower's unhappy marriage and unrewarding personal life were always intended to contrast with his glory on the sea. The show is fine -- the books are true classics. If you like the show, be sure to read the book.

The opening credits note "based on the stories by C. S. Forester". In the interest of fairness, it should say "very loosely based...". I happened across this on tonight and am appalled for Forester's sake. How A&E takes a well-written intelligent drama and turns it into such stupid melodrama that has only a faintly passing relationship to the actual story is beyond my comprehension. Spielberg once said to his crew in regard to a tv-movie he was making, "This is TV folks - Tender Vittles. We have to make it simple for them." Obviously the A&E folks studied at his school of pablum. Certainly this series is entertaining on some level, but don't for a minute think you know the Hornblower story based on seeing it. Call it something else and not Hornblower if they're going to change it so radically. For me, I'm angry, as I hoped to see Forester's great stories given a good treatment.

In imdb, it's listed as hornblower: loyalty. Roku has this as horatio hornblower: loyalty. The usual cast of the hornblower chapters of film... director andrew grieves, starring ioan gruffudd. In this adventure, horatio is tasked with delivering frenchman cotard to a meeting spot. Major cotard is played by brit greg wise, who is married to emma thompson. Keep an eye out for the landlord's daughter, julia sawalha, probably best known as saffie, on the awesome show ab-fab. On this voyage, the threat may come from someone on hornblower's own ship! What's with these accidents that are happening aboard ship? A good mix of land and sea action. Very family friendly, with little swearing and bloody violence. This was one of gruffudd's later hornblower adventures, which he had started filming in the 1990s. Jolly good show. Fun adventure.

This was completely harmless and unbelievable, but a pleasant enough way to pass a Sunday evening. I've not seen all the previous Hornblowers, but I would not rate this as highly as the earlier ones from the late 80's. The series has improved greatly with the addition of Paul McGann as Bush, Hornblower's friend and second in command. Paul McGann is always watchable in anything and has a gorgeous voice to match. He is wonderful to listen to while Gruffudd is true eyecandy.

Julia Sawalha was a poor choice as Hornblower's wife. She is 5 years older than Gruffudd and looks every bit of it. (Perhaps she is supposed to be older than him?) Nonetheless, I found it disappointing that Hornblower marries so unhappily. It would have been nice to have seen a bit of romance and passion there. But perhaps the true relationship of this series is between Hornblower and Bush.

So pleasant enough, but don't go expecting too much and certainly don't expect authentic American and French accents!

Peace has broken out. Of course, it's not certain it'll last. Not every Frenchman appreciates Napoleon, however - Major Côtard(Wise, solid as a pampered nobleman) will need transport, to meet with other friendlies, in his homeland. Hornblower(Gruffudd, driven by a sense of justice, yet not always virtuous) gets command(one of his first - he was granted the honor near the end of the war; in fact, he's had trouble making rent in his time on land) of the small ship charged with the task, and he brings in Bush(McGann, strict but not without sympathy). But some things don't seem to go as expected - could there be an enemy among the sparse crew?

This goes into themes of friendship, trust, discipline, and, yes, loyalty - what side one chooses, how that comes into play. It enters into the side plot, as well - our titular lead is in love with the daughter of his landlady, and the feeling is mutual. However, can he genuinely help her, and in what way? Explored again are negatives and positives of the navy, society and the like, of the period. Filming(seldom betraying that this was made for TV), editing, script, dialog, acting, humor, action, tension, all are compelling.

There is some bloody, disturbing violent content in this. I recommend this to any fan of drama and swashbuckling. 8/10