Le mystère des sables

It's probably impossible to transfer the cozy atmosphere of Erskine Childers's book to the screen, but Maylam's attempt is a creditable one. The Dutch and German villages, the sand banks, the coastline, all in muted browns and greys, look every bit as dull as you'd expect them to, but we begin to see their attraction; and something of the feeling of day-to-day life on a boat is conveyed to us. A nice score by Howard Blake helps give us the measure of things.

It's what we COULD have expected to survive transition to the screen - excitement - that's most really lacking. Childers's novel was (so everyone says) the first modern spy story. In addition to a love of the sea it also conveys a sense of menace, a feeling that something of importance hangs on the riddle of the sands, which the film, blandly paced and having to resort now and then to first-person narration, doesn't. It's still pleasing enough, especially if you've read the book and the film isn't giving away any of its secrets.

The people who commented obviously loved it so much. So did I. No movie can be perfect, and anything with a strong nautical theme is very, very hard to get looking right. Look at all the pirate movies where it is obvious that a period ship, recreated at huge expense, has its sails hanging slack and is being propelled through the water by engines. There was a Columbus movie not long back where the bottom edge of a sail was flapping round his face while he said something deep and meaningful.

RofS is one of the few films that manage to sustain realistic nautical action and atmosphere right through. My only very minor quibble was that in the scene below decks where Clara puts on the kettle, there is far too much space above her head. But that could not detract from the "awkward English chap" conversation Arthur has with her.

Of course anything with Jenny Agutter in it is a good movie, but with Jenny and sailing boats as well, this is one to love.

Not popular on its small first release this wonderful and genuinely beautiful thriller is great adventure and well cast. Set in 1901 off the sandbanks near the Fresian Islands near Brussells/Germany /Holland RIDDLE is an atmospheric foggy 'chums in peril' mystery with a spunky cast and sublime and eerie sailboat thrills. The woolly jumpers alone should have won an award! York and MacCorkindale are almost interchangeable but the always gorgeous Jenny Agutter is as usual irreplaceable and perfect. MacCorkindale even leaps overboard one morning all nude, just to liven up the visuals! Filmed in panavision this really suffers on TV and deserves a DVD release to allow a whole new generation to soak up what is a generally unappreciated but lovely sailing thriller. The art direction and atmosphere is so accessible it is almost enough reason to just let yourself sail away. It is one of my favorite films and patient viewers will be well rewarded. It seems to be screened constantly on late night Australian TV, and even has an extra scene early in the film as Michael York arrives by train. RIDDLE OF THE SANDS is one of the most absorbing and beautiful Edwardian/Victorian era films made in Britain in the 70s.

The Riddle of the sands is an espionage thriller, but it is also a coming of age story. Carruthers begins as a prat and little by little under Davies' gentle tutelage, he becomes a great human being and a man. The film draws this beautifully, and the three leads are adorable together. For people who like boats, it's a feast, and major actors of the film are the boats... Dulcibella is a great fictional heroine and she (and the others) are beautifully rendered here.

The music is haunting. Yes it doesn't move fast, but that's what sailing's about. It's a pleasure in a fast-moving world to imagine a time when things happened at sailboat speed.

The DVD print is crisp and clear, and there are no format problems A joy to watch!

I thoroughly enjoyed this old-fashioned spy yarn based on a novel by Erskine Childers. The story is simplicity in itself: a quintessentially British yachtsman, Arthur Davies, is exploring off the coast of Germany when he uncovers some strange activity. He calls in his upper-crust friend, Carruthers, and the two soon find themselves out of their depth and caught up in some sinister events.

Okay, so there isn't much story to go along with, and the story that there is is rather predictable. That's beside the point: RIDDLE OF THE SANDS is a strongly visual film that conveys the joys of being free on the oceans, as well as the pleasure of a world that was a lot simpler than ours. It's well-shot throughout with an infectious charm, and as the two leads, Simon MacCorkindale and Michael York have a wonderfully deadpan chemistry.

The thriller and spy aspects, although relatively mundane by modern-day standards, are interspersed well with the rest of the story, and Jenny Agutter turns up as lovely as ever. There are some well-handled set-pieces dotted throughout - the atmospheric journey through the fog, the hide-out in the loft, the dinner scene - and if the film doesn't perhaps excite you as it might, then it leaves you with a warm and cosy feeling afterwards, like the effect of sitting by the dying-down remnants of a roaring fire.