julian-344 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!

barrencreekfarms Greetings, I ordered this film from Amazon UK and if you and your children enjoy boating and sailing like mine do, then this will be an excellent movie for them.This film will expose your child to a cast of charming and intelligent children who lived in a time when innocence, resourcefulness, and self reliance were valued virtues.My wife and I both felt that this film taught valuable lessons to young children.We found it nicer than the other movies Koot Club and Big Six, which do share some of the same themes as this movie.I truly wish I could find out more about the late 60's British television show of the same name.

avjones 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.

adam-quinan 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.