Hirondelles et amazones

I read the Swallows and Amazon books about 40 years ago, but waited until now to see the film! I felt the film perfectly captures the quaint atmosphere of the books and the times in which they were set. The film may not be to modern taste, but it must be considered as a faithful rendition of the original writing, and viewed in that light. Not for the unsophisticated viewer.

Yes, pretty wooden acting from the children, but I think that was pretty common 34 years ago! However, it's still a good film.

Regarding the likelihood of any parent allowing their children to do what the Walkers did, even at the time - my uncle aged 14 was allowed to take his two younger brothers (10 and 8) overnight camping in a very similar boat on the Solent in 1926 - a far more dangerous place to sail! They were all "not duffers, didn't drown".

I think the film still appeals to younger kids. I took my god-daughter and a friend (8 and 6) to the island in a small dinghy with tan sails, and we lit a fire at the camp ground and filled a kettle from the lake, just as the Walkers do in the film. That was in 2005, and they loved it!

Like many of the other reviewers of this film, I read all the Arthur Ransome books when I was young, and also saw the film when I was around 12 years old.

It's interesting to read some of the reviewers wondering if the film could appeal to today's children in the age of Shrek and the Incredibles. Well, my two daughters just watched it this afternoon (too young to have read the books) and they were both glued to it and the oldest enthusiastically grabbed the books when I pulled them down from the shelf.

Of course, the acting is awful. You ask yourself what on earth Virginia McKenna is doing in it, and Ronald Frazer (on paper) should be a good Captain Flint, but isn't. The children are almost universally awful. The Walker children's received RADA/Children's Film Foundation pronunciation is just about forgivable, but Kit Seymour as Nancy Blackett is so, so wrong, talking like some posh bird instead of the tomboy Northerner she should have been.

But, ah, Kit Seymour where are you now? I had such feelings for you when I was 12. Your posh accent didn't matter to me then, and I carried a flame for you for a long time...

A classic childhood adventure set in English Lake District in 1929. Four pre-teens travel by train with their mother for a weeks holiday in the Lake District. The children spend their time exploring in a rowing boat & camping on a small island. They befriend two sisters & become involved in an intrigue with their uncle; having adopted a pirates view of their world. The children enter a world of magic & adventure, where their freedom & imagination are the special effects. A charming tale, with exquisitely rendered period detail in a timeless landscape that will have you aching for a simpler age. Do not miss - your inner child will thank you for it.

I read all the Arthur Ransome books as a child, and re-read them recently as an adult, but until today had not seen this film.

It's well filmed, with only minor plot adaptations (although large chunks are missed out), and the scenery and period details are especially well done. The boats look good!

The chunks missed out from the original story do give the film a slightly "chopped" feeling - it's difficult sometimes to work out how the characters got where they are.

The acting lets the film down a bit, I think. The best of the Swallows is Titty by quite a long way - Susan is OK, but nothing special, and the boys are both awful - the worst kind of declamatory child acting. The Amazons are pretty good, but as they feature less in the book the bad acting of John and Roger really does spoil the film a bit. Odd that of these actors, John seems to have gone on to have the best career!

The thing which the film lacks most, perhaps inevitably, is the narrative. Watching the film made me realize just how the skillful prose of the books draws you into another world - something the film doesn't quite manage.