Hirondelles et amazones

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.

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...

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!

Swallows and Amazons is a very pleasant film, it is nowhere near perfect, but it is very enjoyable. The film does look absolutely beautiful, with lovely views of the Lake District. What the film does lack is a narrative, it is a lovely story, based on Arthur Ransome's superior book, but personally I would have liked more narrative entwined into the story. Consequently, because the film wasn't to be that, despite some undeniably charming scenes, the film is a little shallow. What also let the film down was some of the casting. I had no problem with Virginia McKenna as the mother, she was lovely, and most of the children were very well done, especially Titty and Susan(a very young Susanna Hamilton). The two exceptions to this rule is Roger and Nancy, Roger being too gormless for my liking, and Nancy perhaps too old. Ronald Fraser as Uncle Jim was another problem. I liked his scene at the end with the children, when he plays the accordion, but on the whole he did overact, so I found it difficult to relate to his character. On a positive note, there are some really charming scenes with the children, like any scene on the water. Also the music score was lovely, and was careful not to overshadow the action. I had no problem with the script either, and on the whole the story made the film as charming as it actually is, despite its flaws, but there could have been more narrative. Overall, I really liked it, certainly not the best family film, but one worth looking out for. 7/10 Bethany Cox.

I have loved the Swallows and Amazons books since I was a child and first saw this movie years ago. It is a reasonably faithful adaptation, though large parts of the book are missing. I enjoyed seeing the film recreation which mostly matched my vision.

Susan is very well played by Zannah Hamilton and really improves on the book character. Roger is a bit gormless and is not as interesting as the book character. Titty, John, Nancy and Peggy work pretty well. Ronald Fraser as Captain Flint is a total disaster and completely misplays the role. The sailing scenes are not well done. The boats are continuously gybing to and fro without really going anywhere.

In conclusion, this film is a good taste of the book, and it would be fun to see more movies of the other S&A books made. The BBC did Coot Club and Big Six quite well some time ago.