I first read the Hornblower novels as a schoolboy and have reread them from time to time over the years when I wanted to escape to an era when life moved at 6 knots or less.
In the books, Hornblower thought of himself as the `Midshipman that got sick at Spithead' in fact he was always getting sick at the beginning of every voyage. He was more than ordinarily plain in appearance and was plagued by being tone deaf in an era when Music was the highest form of art. Finally he was frequently terrified to the point of nausea by the things he had to do to survive. Yet, the reader saw that he overcame all of that by using his wits, determination and inborn intelligence and by persevering when others were panicking and giving up. Even into the latest novels as he became first a Knight of the Realm and later a Lord, he still felt that if folks knew the real Hornblower as only he knew himself they would see him as a failure and a sham.
In these films A&E has cast Ioan Gruffudd as Hornblower. He is physically attractive and most of Hornblower's self-perceived inner faults are ignored or only hinted at. We do see his fear of heights but very little else that allows us to see the `fallible Hornblower' that is so richly developed in the books. Yet so much of the rest of the story is there in such wonderful detail that it's hard to dislike or fault this series.
I'm continually intrigued by the films because of the ways that they are faithful to the originals and by the ways that they stray. It's clear that some episodes so richly developed in the books include a dramatic element that is largely in Hornblower's thoughts. Due to the nature of the medium and the demands of the typical viewer, its clear that much of this will not work as a movie.
What does puzzle me from time to time are the wholesale changes that are made where I can see no reason for the change. One prime example of that is strongly featured in the episode Mutiny. In the books when the captain is chasing through the ship trying to catch the mutineers and he falls down the hatch, only Hornblower is below decks. It is left to Hornblower's word that he fell. Several folks figure out that he MAY have been pushed and several credit Hornblower with being quick-witted enough to realize that if he pushed him, no one would be able to prove it. Only Hornblower knows for sure and even the readers never learn the truth. It's up to the individual to decide.
I can see from others comments that perhaps they would enjoy the novels more than the movies.
In the books, Hornblower thought of himself as the `Midshipman that got sick at Spithead' in fact he was always getting sick at the beginning of every voyage. He was more than ordinarily plain in appearance and was plagued by being tone deaf in an era when Music was the highest form of art. Finally he was frequently terrified to the point of nausea by the things he had to do to survive. Yet, the reader saw that he overcame all of that by using his wits, determination and inborn intelligence and by persevering when others were panicking and giving up. Even into the latest novels as he became first a Knight of the Realm and later a Lord, he still felt that if folks knew the real Hornblower as only he knew himself they would see him as a failure and a sham.
In these films A&E has cast Ioan Gruffudd as Hornblower. He is physically attractive and most of Hornblower's self-perceived inner faults are ignored or only hinted at. We do see his fear of heights but very little else that allows us to see the `fallible Hornblower' that is so richly developed in the books. Yet so much of the rest of the story is there in such wonderful detail that it's hard to dislike or fault this series.
I'm continually intrigued by the films because of the ways that they are faithful to the originals and by the ways that they stray. It's clear that some episodes so richly developed in the books include a dramatic element that is largely in Hornblower's thoughts. Due to the nature of the medium and the demands of the typical viewer, its clear that much of this will not work as a movie.
What does puzzle me from time to time are the wholesale changes that are made where I can see no reason for the change. One prime example of that is strongly featured in the episode Mutiny. In the books when the captain is chasing through the ship trying to catch the mutineers and he falls down the hatch, only Hornblower is below decks. It is left to Hornblower's word that he fell. Several folks figure out that he MAY have been pushed and several credit Hornblower with being quick-witted enough to realize that if he pushed him, no one would be able to prove it. Only Hornblower knows for sure and even the readers never learn the truth. It's up to the individual to decide.
I can see from others comments that perhaps they would enjoy the novels more than the movies.