Horatio Hornblower: The Duel

Original title: Hornblower: The Even Chance

TV Movie
1998
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Ioan Gruffudd in Horatio Hornblower: The Duel (1998)

Horatio Hornblower begins his naval career, but a deadly feud with a despicable mate is causing complications.Horatio Hornblower begins his naval career, but a deadly feud with a despicable mate is causing complications.Horatio Hornblower begins his naval career, but a deadly feud with a despicable mate is causing complications.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

6.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 2 Primetime Emmys
- 3 wins & 16 nominations total

Trivia
One of the ships used for the film was "The Grand Turk" which is a working replica of a 1790s man-o-war that makes yearly trips throughout Europe and winters in the city of Whitby, England. It was specially built for 'Hornblower', and painted black and buff on one side, and black and red on the other, so that it could double as a British or French ship, depending on the angle it was filmed from.

Goofs
Whenever a cannon is fired, there is hardly any recoil whereas a real gun would fly back at least six feet immediately. This is a result of using enough powder to have a muzzle flash, but not produce any recoil. This was corrected in later movies in the series by having the guns move back the proper distance when fired.

Quotes
Master Bowles: Exceptionally fine shot sir. If I may say so sir.
Captain Sir Edward Pellew: You may Mister Bowles. You may.

Connections
Featured in The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1999)

Soundtracks
Heart of Oak
Traditional
Music by William Boyce
Lyrics by David Garrick

User reviews37

Review

Featured review

10/10

Top Notch Entertainment

I viewed this show with some trepidation, as the name Hornblower to me (as with many others) is synonymous with Gregory Peck. But this is a different Hornblower and the magic is very much the same - fancy uniforms, good guys and bad guys, lots of sailing ships and lot of blood and thunder. What more can one ask for?

Add to this an excellent cast, from the principals down and you come up with a rip roaring piece of entertainment. The producers on the whole avoided the urge to "modernise" the story, the speech and demeanour of all concerned rang true, this in itself is worthy of note.

So, if like me , you were reluctant to see this show as you didn't want your memories of the Peck movie spoilt - do take the opportunity if it comes to your screen again. It is a classic example of when the British do something well, they do it extra well - Recommended.