Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters

If America only knew how good this was,it would be the highest rated Made-For-TV movie series of all time(hard to believe there are more people out there that would rather watch "The Columbo Mysteries" than Horatio Hornblower- that just goes to show the power of major network name-brand advertising.

The Hornblower movie series has been television at its finest. I have seen all 6 of the A&E Horatio Hornblower movies,"The Duchess and the Devil" is my favorite of the 6 films. However I tune in to A&E everytime they air a new Hornblower movie. So far all 6 movies have been based on the Horatio Hornblower adventure novels written by C.S. Forester(the same author who wrote African Queen). Each Movie chronicles the on-going adventures of Horatio Hornblower who is a Brittish Lt. in the Brittish Navy during the late 1790's-to early 1800's during the Napoleonic era in Europe. I sincerly believe that each one of these 6 Films has been good enough to have shown at the movie theaters,if the producers had wanted to. Unlike other Made-For-TV films,The Hornblower films do not have that Made-For-TV feeling to them,like most television movies have.

A common misconception that people who havent seen these movies have is that all 6 of these films go to gether as a mini-series- that is not true. The Hornblower movies are not a mini-series,all 6 of these films are individual movies about the same charactor- with all the same actors playing the same roles in each film(EXAMPLE:think of the James Bond films-They are not sequels, but they are all about the adventures of James Bond- that same principle applies to the Hornblower movies) I give the entire Horatio Hornblower movie series 5 out of 5 stars. Its Perfect entertainment- but you cant please everyone, so for those of you dont like epic battleship battles,historic style drama,high stakes adventure, and danger on the high seas,if you dont like stuff like that-there is always Columbo re-run for you to watch.

This is a wonderful finale to a wonderful series. It is not, in my opinion, the best of the lot, but that does not mean that it doesn't have it's strong points.

I skimmed Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, the book that these four films are based on. Consequently, as someone who enjoyed this particular chapter immensely, I could have skipped the love story - but then again, I'm not a romantic by any stretch of the imagination. I thought that because of time constraints, the whole thing was rather rushed. Falling in love in the course of a day is something for a sitcom, not a serious movie, but the actors did an amazing job with what they were given.

The good greatly outnumbers the bad. Ioan Gruffudd did a wonderful job as Horatio throughout the series and he remained consistent throughout this episode. I consider him to be a wonderful actor - the perfect one to play the young, gangly seventeen year-old who comes into his own gradually.

Gruffudd's performance was only accentuated by the brilliance of his dynamic co-star Robert Lindsay, himself an amazing actor. Lindsay's performance as the indomitable (and indefatigable) Captain Pellew was right on the mark.

The rest of the cast was wonderful, including poor Mariette, played by Estelle Skornik. I will never tire of watching Matthews, Styles and Oldroyd and Paul Copley, Sean Gilder, and Colin MacLachlan fit these roles perfectly. Jamie Bamber as Midshipman (Acting-Lieutenant) Kennedy also did very well. John Shrapnel as Charette affected a decent French accent, as did Antony Sher as the infamous Moncoutant.

One last praise goes out to the fabulous Sam West, admitibly one of my favorite actors. West does an amazing job portraying Major Edrington and that dry, upper-class sarcastic wit never fails to earn a grin from me. The character of Edrington is one of my favorites in the book and West does an amazing job portraying him.

I find it a horrible pity that wonderful actors such as these listed above have trouble finding roles in internationally acclaimed films. After seeing this particular film, I performed an extensive search for the above actors. Armed with a list of some of the ones I desperately wished to see, I visited all of the local movie stores. Apart from Howard's End (Sam West), Fierce Creatures (Robert Lindsay), and 102 Dalmatians (Ioan Gruffudd), I came up empty-handed. So, here I am, armed only with a taped version of the Frogs and the Lobsters.

You will not be disappointed with this film - at least I doubt you will. I have yet to find someone who didn't enjoy it throughly. The costuming is accurate, the characters wonderful, the story is gripping and the acting is phenomenal. I highly recommend it to just about anyone.

The "Horatio Hornblower" series has been a wonderful surprise. It is beautifully filmed, with enough period detail to make it seem real, while things are carefully explained to us so that it is not too obscure. We learn along with the new young officer Horatio. By the time of this, the fourth movie, he has developed confidence and values of his own, and they are sorely tested as he, a sailor, ends up in a French village contested by the Republicans and the Royalists. The performances are wonderful. I hope that there are more "Horatio's" in the works.

Exiled French Royalists gain British support for a desperate attempt to take back the Republic. Against his better judgment, Capt. Pellew(Lindsay, who balances maintaining discipline with a respect and fondness of Horatio) is made to oversee the operation, as well as keep secret a terrible fact that may doom it. Hornblower(Gruffudd, a man who stands against injustice, and here experiences his otherwise strong sense of diplomacy failing him in favor of that principle) is joined by the "Lobsters", English army soldiers, and their officer, Edrington(West, a man who reveals more layers to him as this progresses, with none of them conflicting with the earlier ones). They must work under the seemingly endless certainty of the "Frogs" in charge - General Charette(Shrapnel, fierce in his support of the monarchy) and Colonel Moncoutant(Sher, who cannot wait to take on the role of Marquis of the village they take as part of the assault).

Thematically and in developing characters, this is possibly the richest of these so far. One particular object appears a number of times in this, each bathed in meaning, altering the situation, in a manner that flows logically from what has been seen until that point. As already mentioned, this further fleshes out our main cast(Bamber's Kennedy, while youthful, growing into a man, delivers a line that, compared to what he's said earlier, simultaneously elegantly shows one of the larger conflicts in this), as well as doing justice to the new ones. They are human beings, for better or for worse, and they will grip and effect you - I spent most of this glued to my seat, and either clenching my fists in hope for some, or digging my nails into my hands to quell my fury with others. The arrival of nobility in their post-revolution motherland is a microcosm of the international clash of two vastly different political and philosophical approaches. The UK's king was terrified for his own position. Would "liberty, unity, and power" spread? Could it even be stopped?

We see a historically early example of traditional warfare facing off against guerrilla tactics, of the psychological repercussions of being in such a situation. The two countries are contrasted - in favor of one of them? Absolutely. However, vital points are nonetheless made, and the people of the other are not made out to be, even mostly, "bad". We come closer than before to the intimate, nasty detail of the reality of armed battles - meeting people caught between those who overthrew Louis XVI, and those who wish to reinstate such a ruling system(and yet the perspective always remains that of our returning ensemble). Production values, filming, editing all continue to be amazing - hardly anything betrays that this was made for TV, and not the silver screen. It inspires debate, research, and delving into what made what this depicts, and other things like it, occur. The people and nations involved and what drove them to be and do such.

There is disturbing, brutal, bloody, violent content in this. I recommend this to everyone - if you are not yet old enough to handle the unpleasant aspects, make a note to see it once you are. 9/10

I was so surprised by the excellence of this movie which is the third I have seen and now look forward to seeing the complete series. Even my wife who is not particularly interested in naval history was entranced by it. Having read Patrick O'Brian's naval history Aubrey & Maturin series I have become fascinated by this period of history. Master and Commander was a movie made from a combination of two of O'Brians's book and also was a realistic portrayal but somehow Hornblower has given another dimension to life and living in these wooden ships. The Hornblower filmed series adds a memorable visual quality to this history and I can heartily recommend them.