Remake "Riddle of the Sands"!

[Seagreen]

IMHO I'm happy with the original, a new one would be all computer generated, and i dont think it would command the same sort of romanticism of the original film.

Ah, but there's the point about a serial. The film, great in some parts, was rubbish in a lot of others as the plot was horribly shrunk to fit the screen time. All the germans, especally Von Bruning, were cardboard baddies and all the subtlety was lost. All the fun of the exploration of the islands was rushed over in a montage, and little of the action sequences put in, where they could have used models and under cranked the camera, et., etc. And CGI used properly is fantastic.

 

[arfa]

Well I love the film and the book.
The more people that get introduced to it the better !

 

[lotusman]

Shadow in Sands

I would like to see 8 part mini series each episode of 2 hours including the continuation crafted by Sam Llewellyn

 

[Twister_Ken]

I would like to see 8 part mini series each episode of 2 hours including the continuation crafted by Sam Llewellyn

Could it be Sam Davies instead?

 

[ianat182]

Asgard, the original, still exists and was undergoing restoration for museum display back in 2008. It was Asgard 2 that was wrecked. A couple of bob to charter......?!

All according to 'Classic Boats' of May 2011.

ianat182

 

[Seagreen]

Asgard, the original, still exists and was undergoing restoration for museum display back in 2008. It was Asgard 2 that was wrecked. A couple of bob to charter......?!

All according to 'Classic Boats' of May 2011.

ianat182

I think the original was Childers' "Vixen" seen here just before being broken up Wooton creek; and also sailing.

 

[lotusman]

There are very good articles in Yachting Monthly March 1979 and Classic Boat Summer 1987 describing Vixen on which Childers based Dulcibella. Reference is made to a cruise he undertook in the Frisian Islands and the Baltic in 1897 in Vixen which provided background for the book. Vixen was an ex-RNLI pulling sailing lifeboat in service as Thomas Chapman 1880 to 1889 and subsequently converted to a yacht by Joseph Price of Margate who made a practice of undertaking such conversions.

Vixen broke up after the second war.

The articles also describe the research that went into creating Dulcibella for the film, based on a similar ex-RNLI vessel Susan Ashley, although larger at 35' vs the 28' of the original.

the book 'The Riddle' by Maldwin Challis is recommended by the CB article.

 

[prv]

larger at 35' vs the 28' of the original.

I thought the book had her at 35' or thereabouts as well?

Pete

 

[Seagreen]

Sam Davies? Sure, but can she act? The feminist angle is intriguing... And Sarina Carruthers. I see a script developing, but maybe not what Childers had in mind, fnaar.

 

[lotusman]

I thought the book had her at 35' or thereabouts as well?

Pete

In the folio edition 1992, Carruthers describing Dulcibella on viewing her in daylight for the first time: "She seemed very small (in point of fact she was seven tons), something over thirty feet in length and nine in beam".

The drawing in the YM article, captioned "Dulcibella", roughly scaled, gives about 40' stem to stern, something just over 30' on the waterline. Looking at the photographs in the article, addition of a counter to the lifeboat during the conversion to yacht would have added a few feet behind the stern post of the lifeboat.

The illustration in CB of Vixen gives 28' from stem to sternpost and a further 3' to the end of the counter.

In the preface to the book, Maldwin Drummond says that Dulcibella was a combination of Vixen and a later yacht owned by Childers, Sunbeam.

 

[prv]

In the folio edition 1992, Carruthers describing Dulcibella on viewing her in daylight for the first time: "She seemed very small (in point of fact she was seven tons), something over thirty feet in length and nine in beam".

That's probably what I'm remembering, yes.

The illustration in CB of Vixen gives 28' from stem to sternpost

Sure - nothing says that the boat in the book has to be an exact copy of the author's own boat.

If they used a 35-footer for the film then that would seem to follow the book pretty closely.

Pete

 

[Seagreen]

Wel, that would be about right for a lifeboat. Cold-moulded and doubleskinned (teak IIRC) with an added counter. No mention of whether she was pole masted or had a fidded topmast, though she did set a topsail. for that length, probably pole masted, though the pic of Vixen has a fidded topmast.

 

[tr7v8]

Leave it alone

The original film & book were fantastic, I've never seen a remake that was better than the original.
Does the film industry have no imagination or ability that they can't come up with decent original ideas?

 

[Seagreen]

The original film & book were fantastic, I've never seen a remake that was better than the original.
Does the film industry have no imagination or ability that they can't come up with decent original ideas?

Have to disagree with you there, as the film was a horrible travesty of the book. The film wsa well cast, at least in the main roles, but the story was butchered on screen. Hence the poll. so far, 50% want a serial, so that's sort of reassuring.

 

[johnalison]

I agree. The film completely lacked atmosphere and the use of well-known actors was distracting. The book seems dated when read today but still makes an exciting read and is very descriptive of the area. When we left our boat in Norderney 20 years ago we caught the ferry to Nordeich and caught the train and could almost have used the times in the book. I would love to do the watt passage in fog but sadly it's usually against half a gale.

I would like to see the team that did Bleak House and Little Dorrit make a series as they were both atmospheric and didn't shy away from ambiguities.

 

[capnsensible]

I find it somewhat odd that the mind that produced the book soured and resulted in Childers being executed for treason.

 

[rjp]

'Soured?' He made a choice, that was all. To the Irish he was a hero. One man's traitor is another man's freedom fighter after all and the Irish 'troubles' are water under the bridge for most people now. Anyway he was a great writer.

Has anyone read Sam Llewellyn's sequel 'In the shadow of the sands'. I really enjoyed that one too.

 

[Seagreen]

Talking Childers over with some Irish friends, some of whom knew his son, it seems he "did it for the money", though greed (or financial desperation) was leavened with a bit of Republicanism.

I've read Shadow in the sands, but it didn't gel for me, with a whole cast of new characters. As a new tale it was fine, especially the daft ending, but what I really wanted was to find out what Davies, Clara and Carruthers did next. I suppose having blown the Kaiser's gaff at the end of Riddle, having new characters was the only option.

 

[doug748]

Talking Childers over with some Irish friends, some of whom knew his son, it seems he "did it for the money", though greed (or financial desperation) was leavened with a bit of Republicanism.

I am not so sure about the - bit of Republicanism.

In the final analysis the Irish shot him because he refused to compromise.


....PS, Yes I would like to see ROTS on the telly.

 

[Colvic Watson]

I've read Shadow in the sands, but it didn't gel for me, with a whole cast of new characters. As a new tale it was fine, especially the daft ending, but what I really wanted was to find out what Davies, Clara and Carruthers did next. I suppose having blown the Kaiser's gaff at the end of Riddle, having new characters was the only option.

I thought it was a pretty poor book, though it did make me realise just how well written ROTS was. There is an excellent unabridged audio book version - despite reading the book a few times, the audiobook version of the passage in fog had me on the edge of my seat wondering how it would turn out, it's true, the pictures are better on the radio.