Horatio Hornblower: The New Adventures

Only a green midshipman when we first met him a few years back on A&E, Horatio Hornblower is now captain of his own ship, the sloop Hotspur of His Majesty's Navy, battling the French on the high seas in a bid to bring down the treacherous Napoleon Bonaparte. In “Loyalty” and “Duty,” the two feature-length parts of this adaptation of C.S. Forester's novel Hornblower and the Hotspur, there is much noblesse oblige, with all bowing and scraping before the quiet heroism of Hornblower. Ioan Gruffudd carries the role, which he's now been playing for years, with a confident, relaxed ease--the embodiment of stiff-upper-lip tribute to the value of being bold and valiant and wearing a uniform (God save the King!). Both standalone films here are wonderfully fun and purely escapist “boys' own adventures” (as the British would say) that girls can love, too--with secret missions and swordfighting and true love (though mostly of the masculine sort, from old hands Styles and Matthews--played by Sean Gilder and Paul Copley--who adore Horatio). Still, Hornblower does marry Maria (Julia Sawalha), a simpering wet-noodle of a girl to whom he proposes merely to avoid being rude…before jumping back into the (fighting) breach. Presented in anamorphic widescreen, with audio commentary by director Andrew Grieve, producer Andrew Benson, and designer John Mollo, this double-disc set is sure to appeal to Master and Commander fans. Recommended. (M. Johanson)