Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters (1999)

While not wishing to detract in any way from this excellent adaptation of the C. S. Forester novels, I do have one small quibble. I think that the relationship between Hornblower and Sir Edward Pellew is slightly OTT. While the books admit to a large amount of mutual respect between the two, some of the statements made by Pellew are ludicrous. Take for example his admitting to the French General that Hornblower was 'as dear to him as his own son'. This becomes all the more improbable when one bears in mind that the real Pellew, although a compassionate captain, was by nature a gruff man and therefore unlikely to incline towards any major public show of feeling.

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.

The 4-part made for tv-series comes to an end, at the moment that is, with a terrific final episode! This episode is the best installment of all four movies! It has everything from espionage, intrigue, murder, war, horror to romance and beyond, you name it! It is a classic! Each minute of the movie is filled with great drama! This is Horathio Hornblower at its best! BTW the use of music in this episode is excellent. So now that the series comes to an end I hope that we will see Horathio Hornblower very soon again on the little screen, until then, it is back to the novels of Forester to fill in these waiting days!Conclusion: The series is highly recommended! It is an oases compared to the desert of day to day tv-fare!

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.