For television films, the production values are very good, though as Titanic, Waterworld and The Perfect Storm demonstrated, filming an aquatic adventure is a very expensive business, and it is clear that the Hornblower dramas simply make the best of comparatively small budgets. No more faithful to Forester's books than the 1951 Gregory Peck classic Captain Horatio Hornblower, the real inspiration seems to have come from the success of Sharpe, starring Sean Bean, which likewise featured a British hero in the Napoleonic Wars. Nevertheless, while rather more easy-going than the real British navy of the time, the Hornblower saga delivers an entertaining adventure, greatly enhanced by the presence of such guest stars as Denis Lawson, Cheri Lunghi, Ronald Pickup and Anthony Sher. --Gary S Dalkin

DVD Description
Featuring two unreleased feature length episodes: Hornblower: Loyalty and Hornblower: Duty

The voyage continues with the release of the seventh and eighth episodes in the series as we follow Horatio Hornblower on his next seafaring epic adventures. From Midshipman to Post-Captain all is well for Hornblower as he sets sail for France to unravel what the French are plotting along with his faithful crew on The Mighty Hotspur. Full of action, intrigue and romance Hornblower battles against the sins of the sea and discovers the true relationship between the French, the English and the Irish as well as a touch of romance for himself.

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