I received Hornblower III on DVD today; it’s only been out for a week, I ordered it from Amazon, to take advantage of a really deep discount, no tax, and free shipping, and it finally arrived today.
I’ve watched the first movie. Some of the reviews I’ve seen online suggested that it all looked a little on the cheap side, especially in comparison to Master & Commander, but for what I saw it looked pretty damn spiffy.
One thing I like about this go around is that the first movie stood on its own, unlike in Hornblower II where it was really a three-and-a-half hour story split into two parts.
It might be my imagination, it might be the make-up department, but I’d swear that Paul McGann is going gray, especially around the temples.
Generally well-directed. A particular beauty was a shot near the end where Hornblower and Bush are standing on the beach, the camera pulls back, and the carnage of the battle behind them is spread all about.