Hornblower - Complete Collection - 4-DVD Set ( Hornblower: Loyalty / Hornblower: Duty / Hornblower: Mutiny / Hornblower: Retribution / Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters / Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil / Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant / Hornblower: The Even Chance ) ( Horn blower and the Hotspur / Duty / Mutiny / Retribution / The Wrong War / The Duchess and the Devil / The Fire Ship / The Duel )

Hornblower - Complete Collection - 4-DVD Set (DVD) (*)

~~$34.99~~ $28.97

Original Title: Hornblower: Loyalty / Hornblower: Duty / Hornblower: Mutiny / Hornblower: Retribution / Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters / Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil / Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant / Hornblower: The Even Chance
Alternate Title: Horn blower and the Hotspur / Duty / Mutiny / Retribution / The Wrong War / The Duchess and the Devil / The Fire Ship / The Duel
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Emmy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
786 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Multi-DVD Set
Special Edition
Remastered

Movie filmed in 1998 - 2003 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Andrew Grieve

Written By:
C.S. Forester
Niall Leonard
Stephen Churchett
T.R. Bowen
Ben Rostul
Chris Ould
Patrick Harbinson
Mike Cullen
Russell Lewis

Actors:
Ioan Gruffudd ..... Commander Horatio Hornblower
Robert Lindsay ..... Admiral Sir Edward Pellew
Paul McGann ..... Lieutenant Bush
Lorcan Cranitch ..... Wolfe
Tony Haygarth ..... Master Prowse
Julia Sawalha ..... Maria Mason
Barbara Flynn ..... Mrs. Mason
Paul Copley ..... Matthews
Sean Gilder ..... Styles
Greg Wise ..... Major Côtard
Ian McElhinney ..... Captain Hammond
Christian Coulson ..... Midshipman John 'Jack' Hammond
Ron Cook ..... Steward James Doughty
Jonathan Forbes ..... Midshipman Charles Orrock
Jim McManus ..... Pawnbroker
Ioan Gruffudd ..... Hornblower
Robert Lindsay ..... Sir Edward Pellew
Tony Haygarth ..... Prowse
Julia Sawalha ..... Maria
Jonathan Coy ..... Bracegirdle
Jim Carter ..... Etheridge
Ron Cook ..... Doughty
Jonathan Forbes ..... Orrock
David Birkin ..... Jerome
Camilla Power ..... Betsy
Ioan Gruffudd ..... 3rd Lt. Horatio Hornblower
Robert Lindsay ..... Cmmdre. Sir Edward Pellew
David Warner ..... Capt. James Sawyer (HMS Renown)
Nicholas Jones ..... 1st Lt. Buckland
Paul McGann ..... 2nd Lt. Bush
Jamie Bamber ..... 4th Lt. Archie Kennedy
Philip Glenister ..... Gunner Hobbs
Paul Copley ..... Boatswain Matthews
Sean Gilder ..... Boatswain's Mate Styles
David Rintoul ..... Dr. Clive, Ship's Surgeon
Terence Corrigan ..... Midshipman Wellard
Gilly Gilchrist ..... Seaman Randall
Paul Brightwell ..... Marine Sgt. Whiting
Sean Gilder ..... Styles, Boatswain's Mate
Paul Copley ..... Matthews, Boatswain
Katia Caballero ..... Senora Ortega, Col. Ortega's Wife
John Castle ..... Capt. Collins, Member of Court
Richard Clews ..... Clerk
Antonio Gil ..... Col. Francisco Manuel Ortega, Spanish Commander of Fort (as Antonio Gil-Martinez
Ian McElhinney ..... Capt. Hammond, Member of Court
Hugh Quarshie ..... Francois Le Fanu, Rebel Leader
Ioan Gruffudd ..... Horatio Hornblower
Robert Lindsay ..... Capt. Sir Edward Pellew
Antony Sher ..... Colonel Moncoutant
John Shrapnel ..... General Charette
Samuel West ..... Major Edrington
Peter Vaughan ..... Admiral Lord Hood
Jean Badin ..... Fauré
Jamie Bamber ..... Acting Lt. Archie Kennedy
Jonathan Coy ..... Lt. Bracegirdle
Ian Lindsay ..... Collins
Colin MacLachlan ..... Master Bowles
Simon Sherlock ..... Oldroyd
Estelle Skornik ..... Mariette
Robert Lindsay ..... Capt. Pellew
Cherie Lunghi ..... Duchess of Wharfedale
Christopher Fulford ..... M'Man Hunter
Ronald Pickup ..... Don Massaredo
Jamie Bamber ..... Kennedy
Jonathan Coy ..... Lieutenant Bracegirdle
John Woodvine ..... Sir Hew Dalrymple
Jean-Yves Berteloot ..... Etienne de Vergasse
Vincent S. Boluda ..... Spanish Lieutenant
Jolyon Baker ..... Captain Joubert
Ioan Gruffudd ..... Acting Lt. Horatio Hornblower
Denis Lawson ..... Capt. 'Dreadnought' Foster
Ian McNeice ..... Tapling
Andrew Tiernan ..... Bunting
Ian McElhinney ..... Capt. Hammond
Chris Barnes ..... Finch
Rupert Holliday-Evans ..... Steward
Frank Boyce ..... Midshipman Cleveland
Peter Corey ..... HM Consul Duras
Ioan Gruffudd ..... Midshipman Horatio Hornblower
Dorian Healy ..... Midshipman Jack Simpson
Michael Byrne ..... Capt. Keene
Robert Bathurst ..... Lt. Eccleston
Duncan Bell ..... Midshipman Clayton
Jamie Bamber ..... Midshipman Archie Kennedy
Roger May ..... Lt. Chadd
Vincent Grass ..... Capt. Forget
Richard Lumsden ..... Midshipman Hether

Synopsis:

Hornblower: Loyalty (2003)
Hornblower is given a dangerous mission to deliver an emigre French nobleman to a secret rendezvous near Brest while coping with enemy agents in his own ranks.
Hornblower: Duty (2003)
Admiral Pellew interrupts Hornblower's wedding reception and tasks him to locate a British ship which has disappeared off the French coast, where Napoleon's troops are engaged in covert activities.
Hornblower: Mutiny (2001)
Hornblower and his comrades come under the command of a revered but obviously mentally unstable captain and eventually must mutiny.
Hornblower: Retribution (2001)
Hornblower and the other officers of the Renown must return to Jamaica to face a court-martial and possible execution for their actions in relieving their unstable captain.
Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters (1999)
Lt. Hornblower and his mates are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France.
Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil (1999)
Lt. Hornblower and his crew are captured by the enemy while escorting a Duchess who has secrets of her own.
Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant (1998)
While Lt. Hornblower studies for his promotion exam, he is distracted by the serious supply problems that face his crew.
Hornblower: The Even Chance (1998)
Horatio Hornblower begins his naval career, but a deadly feud with a despicable mate is causing complications.

Hornblower: Loyalty (2003)
Ioan Groffudd ably repeats his role as British sea captain Horatio Hornblower in this multi-episode series. This episode opens with the British at peace with the French. Hornblower, as well as many other officers, have been reduced in rank,left on land and are being paid half-wages. This leaves them on very poor-footing and Hornblower has been reduced to pawning his overcoat and his sword to make ends meet. Even with this he is in arrears of payment to his boarding house owner. However, her daughter, Maria has eyes for Horatio and covers for him. Meanwhile the French under Napoleon is starting to build a military again. Hornblower is given a new command to sail a Frenchman, who is supposedly opposed to Napoleon, to the shores of France to meet one of his countrymen to obtain information. Instead they encounter a well-established military who capture Hornblower and many of his crew as the result of the cowardice from one of his crew, a young seaman who is the nephew of one of the military leaders. A rescue mission is mounted that may be a bit unbelievable but, nonetheless, is full of action. The title references the fact that person or persons may have betrayed the British cause and exposed the British ranks to the French guard and explores the reason for that treason. Returning to England, Hornblower learns his former landlady and her daughter have fallen on hard times. Hornblower offers financial assistance that he can now afford, but because of improprieties in a young lady accepting money from a gentleman, Hornblower suddenly finds himself in an emotional engagement that he may not actually have a genuine interest.

Hornblower: Duty (2003)
Now married to Maria, Horatio Hornblower is soon sent by Admiral Pellew in search of the sloop Grasshopper captained by their old friend, Bracegirdle. The ship had been patrolling a stretch of French coast but had not sent in a report for over two weeks. During a raging storm they take aboard two passengers, an American woman and her French speaking Swiss husband. They are not what they pretend to be. Horatio and his men also encounter Wolfe, the Irish rebel turned traitor and now fighting France. They also realize exactly what Wolfe's plan is when they see three French frigates riding high in the water near his encampment. At home, Horatio is getting used to marriage and having to share his life with someone.

Hornblower: Mutiny (2001)
Sir Edward Pellew visits Horatio Hornblower who is jail in Jamaica awaiting his trial on a charge of making a mutiny. His problems began six months earlier when he was appointed Third Lieutenant aboard the HMS Renown under the famous Captain James Sawyer. It soon becomes apparent to several of the officers, including Horatio's friend Archie Kennedy who is aboard ship as Fourth Lieutenant that the Captain is suffering from madness of some sort. He is cruel and sees conspiracies everywhere. Both Horatio and Midshipman Welland prove to be the particular objects of his wrath. The situation is not helped by an inexperience First Lieutenant who does not command the Captain's respect and a newly arrived Second Lieutenant who doesn't seem ready to challenge the Captain in any way.

Hornblower: Retribution (2001)
Still imprisoned in Jamaica, Horatio Hornblower and his fellow officers must now stand trial for illegally relieving their Captain, James Sawyer, of his command of HMS Renown. Sir Edward Pellew is one of the three members of the court and it soon becomes apparent that his fellow judges seem more interested in protecting the Service and Captain Sawyer's good name than deliver a just verdict. One judge in particular sees Hornblower as overly ambitious and may have it in for him. Testimony from one of his fellow officers seems to sink him. In flashbacks, we learn of the events on the Renown after Sawyer was relieved. The ship, with 1st Lt. Buckland in command decides to attack a Spanish held island rather than return immediately to Jamaica. The men of the Renown distinguish themselves in battle but, Buckland proves to be a weak commander who puts the ship in danger when he decides to transport his Spanish prisoners to Kingston.

Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters (1999)
The war with France is at a standstill and Captain Pellew is ordered to lead a small fleet of four ships to deliver French General Charette and his royalist soldiers to the French coast. Charette's plan is to raise an army on arrival. He is unaware that an Admiralty messenger was attacked and the invasion plans may have already fallen into enemy hands. Now promoted to full Lieutenant, Horatio is assigned as liaison officer between a French commander, Colonel Moncoutant and the commander of a troop of Royal Marines, Major Edrington. Once ashore, Horatio is appalled by Moncoutant's cruelty and maltreatment of the locals. He is also assigned to defend a key bridge at all costs.

Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil (1999)
Hornblower (Ioan Gruffudd) is assigned to escort a duchess (Cherie Lunghi) back to England on a Spanish ship he captured. He is also assigned to take top secret papers back with him. On the trip, the ship runs into a deep fog and suddenly the crew finds themselves in the middle of the Spanish Armada and taken prisoner. The papers are hidden in the duchess' undergarments for protection. But Hornblower doubts his decision to do this when he finds that the duchess speaks Spanish, is given free reign of their island, and that she is not a real duchess - but rather is an actress. Hornblower's men also start doubting him as he becomes attracted to the duchess and is given freedoms and food not offered to the others.

Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant (1998)
It's late in the 18th century, and acting Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower is serving on board the HMS Indefatigable, part of the British fleet at Gibraltar. Spain and France are allied against Britain, and Spain is intercepting and sinking most supply ships. His ship is sent to Oran, in Algeria, to buy supplies. While ashore, it is discovered that plague is rampant in the town. Quarantined on a smaller ship for two weeks with his crew and a diplomat, Hornblower uses the time to study for his upcoming lieutenant's examination. None of his crew is stricken with the dreaded disease, and they rejoin their ship just in time for the exam. During the actual oral exam, a Spanish 'fire ship' (a ship ablaze sent into the midst of the fleet to burn it), is spotted and it's up to Hornblower and one of his chief examiners to save the fleet. This bravery more than proves Hornblower's ability to take on the duties of a lieutenant.

Hornblower: The Even Chance (1998)
17-year-old Horatio Horblower is a new midshipman on the Justinian. He starts out seasick, and things go from bad to worse for him when senior Midshipman Simpson targets him for abuse until Horatio becomes suicidally-minded, and when Simpson accuses him of cheating at cards, Hornblower challenges him to a duel. But Clayton knocks Hornblower out, takes his place in the duel, and is shot. Before Horatio can do anything, war is declared, and he is transferred to the Indefatigable under Captain Pellew. Horatio gradually earns a place on his new ship and the respect of the men under his command, and Pellew even trusts him with a prize command. But when Simpson reappears, and Horatio is given a dangerous assignment with Simpson at his back, will he survive?

Hornblower: Loyalty (2003)
The war with France has been over for a year and Horatio Hornblower finds himself on land. With his ship, the Retribution, laid up and his promotion to Commander rescinded as a result, he finds himself a poor Lieutenant in a peace time navy. He has taken to playing cards to make a living. Luck presents itself in the form Sir Edward Pellew, his mentor and former commanding officer. Horatio soon finds himself again promoted to Commander and in charge of a sloop, the HMS Hotspur. He recruits his old shipmate Lt. Bush as his first officer, along with Matthews and Stiles. His task is to transport a French officer to the coast but once ashore, Horatio discovers the French amassing an invasion force. Once again at war, the men of the Hotspur are tasked to lead an advance force against a shore battery ahead of the British fleet. Hornblower soon realizes he has a traitor among his crew. In his personal life, he has to deal with the lovely Maria, his landlady's daughter who has taken quite a liking to him.

Hornblower: Duty (2003)
This episode's title most certainly refers to the duty that Hornblower feels to his country, but more certainly also references the responsibility he learns he now has with his new wife. At the film's beginning, Horatio marries Maria, his former landlady's daughter. His obvious fumbling and overly longing look to the sea tells all where his real passion belongs. Returning to the war against Napoleon, he rescues two shipwrecked passengers, who initially claim to be Swiss. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that they have captured Napoleon's brother and his new bride. Through interaction with the two, particularly the wife, Horatio starts learning of his new duties and affections he should share with his own wife. Meanwhile, Hornblower again comes up against the Irish traitor, Wolfe, who now openly works for the French.

Hornblower: Mutiny (2001)
Horatio Hornblower has been serving on the HMS Renown under Captain Sawyer. There is only one problem, Sawyer appears to be going mad. His repeated, unprovoked punishment of midshipman Wellard is not only unjust, but also distracts him from the job in hand and endangers The Renown. Hornblower's ingenuity saves the ship from disaster, but both the ship and Hornblower himself are in constant danger from Sawyer's irrational behaviour. The four lieutenants plan to remove Sawyer of command, but despite a nasty accident Sawyer refuses to be budged. The Renown is once again endangered by Sawyer's actions when it comes under heavy fire from the Spanish fort. Once more Hornblower comes to the rescue in an act of astonishing bravery, forcing Sawyer into the safety of his cabin. But now Hornblower finds himself languishing in a prison cell charged with mutiny, facing an almost certain guilty verdict. The prospect: death...

Hornblower: Retribution (2001)
Before taking the Renown back to Jamaica for their court martial on charges of mutiny, Hornblower, Kennedy, and Bush convince an insecure and indecisive Lt. Buckland, now acting captain, that it would be appropriate to launch a surprise attack on the Spanish fortress at Santo Domingo. Matters are complicated when the inept Buckland incurs the enmity of the local rebels, who now regard them as enemies too. Captain Sawyer's increasing paranoia, deserting seamen, Buckland's growing jealousy of Hornblower, and the duplicity of the Spaniards all complicate the already perilous situation.

Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters (1999)
Hornblower is called to take a company of British troops (which the sailors call lobsters because of their red coats) and a company of French nationalists to France to fight in the revolution. But Hornblower is horrified by the brutality of the French commander as he guillotines everyone in a village that destroyed his former home and his unwillingness to take part in the actual battles. However, when the commander and his men set out to rape and brutalize a young school teacher, Hornblower vows his protection of her.

Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil (1999)
Hornblower captures the French vessel, Le Reve, and is asked by Pellew to sail her back to England so that she can be outfitted for the English navy, and also, as a favor, to convey the unusual Duchess of Wharfedale back home. Unfortunately, Le Reve, Hornblower, the duchess and the crew are captured by the Spanish and imprisoned. There, Horatio finds Kennedy, wasted and hopeless from months in solitary. Against the odds, Horatio must find a way to escape with Kennedy, against Hunter's protests, and with the growing suspicion that the duchess may not be who she appears.

Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant (1998)
The reckless legendary Captain Foster destroys a supply ship rather than let it get into enemy hands, and he and his crew are rescued by the Indefatigable. Hornblower finds himself admiring Foster, despite Pellew's disapproval. But the loss of supplies puts them on half-rations, and there's mutinous talk, led by Bunting. Hornblower tries to study for his lieutenant's examination, but he has to accompany a diplomat, Tapling, to secure more supplies. But when Tapling and Hornblower discover that the grain and cattle may be tainted with bubonic plague, Hornblower must keep his crew and cargo in quarantine in defiance of Foster's demands for victualling. And if Horatio survives, how will Foster judge him at the Lieutenant's Examination?

Hornblower: The Even Chance (1998)
The famed fiction British naval hero is brought to life in the first of four tv movies. In this one, the young Hornblower (Ioan Gruffudd) gets his first ship where he has to overcome seasickness and a bully (Dorian Healy), who is after him because his abilities far exceeds all of the others on board. In the end it leads to a duel - but not between Hornblower and the bully. Rather one of Hornblower's friends forcibly takes his place as he feels guilt for not dealing with the bully years before. Unfortunately, the duel does not go well and Hornblower must still eventually face down the man in a second duel.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 25 February, 2015.