Riddle od the Sands

castaway

castaway

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For any one who is interested... I just noticed that the Riddle is available on Penguin Classics Via Amazon for £2:00 (plus £2:75 pp.)

I was just buying a the DVD to replace my VHS as I dont have a player anymore when I noticed this little bargain.

For anyone who has'nt either read the book or seen the film you have a total treat in store.. The DVD is only £4:75 +pp

Of course if you are too lazy to read you can also 'down load' a nicely read talking book version off 'Mininova.org' via Bit Torrent
for free .

Nick
 
I was given the DVD for Xmas. To my shame I never read the original book - how closely does the film follow the book?

I enjoyed Shadow in the Sands which I think is written in a style better suited to today's readership.
 
Its a long time since I read the book but having just put it on my iPod I'm going to listen to it whilst stuck in the car for a few hours..

I actually listened to the 1st 3 chapters last night and it still sounded very good ( which is more than can be said for many old books IMHO).

I will now go and buy the Shadow in the Sands...

Nick
 
<< how closely does the film follow the book? >>

Misses by several cables! There are no women in the book, for a start.

As in the vast majority of cases, the film takes a small part of the book, removes anything that is not easy to film, adds characters, scenes, sub-plots to replace them and disregards any historical accuracy.

I suggest you try the book, It's dated and has a plot that is pretty tenuous but is still enjoyable for the yachting content. I recall a reviewer describing the scene where the hero, a non-sailor, first joins the yacht as one of the finest descriptions that has ever been written.
 
The main thing the film misses is the excitement of the navigation of Dulcibella's tender in thick fog across the flats on a falling tide in pursuit of duck (with a modicum of espionage to spice it up). This episode is a big chunk of the book and Childers manages to explain the complexities of the situation in a way that builds rather than detracts from the tension. After the care and cunning and creeping about there's the frantic dash back to Dulcibella to avoid being rumbled.

IIRC, in the movie it's two men, in a boat, in the fog.
 
Re: Riddle of the Sands

I read it recently and whilst a good read it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I thought the basic premise a bit far fetched to be honest.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The main thing the film misses is the excitement of the navigation of Dulcibella's tender in thick fog across the flats on a falling tide in pursuit of duck (with a modicum of espionage to spice it up). This episode is a big chunk of the book and Childers manages to explain the complexities of the situation in a way that builds rather than detracts from the tension.

[/ QUOTE ] I agree, that long passage is one of the finest pieces of fiction I have read. On the original unabridged audio book it is captivating.
 
"Misses by several cables! There are no women in the book, for a start."

Dolmans daughter plays as big a role in the book as she does in the film. As in the film, it was Davies's reticence about her that nearly made Carruthers chuck the whole thing in, early on. The film story follows the book fairly accurately for a film, except for their escape to England at the end. Never understood why the filmakers thought theirs was a better ending. Its not.
 
The film is worth it if only for Jenny Agutter(?) sailing the little gaff tender in her overcoat & woolie hat! Ranks with Cannery Row as a classic film from a book for me.

Moondancer; you need to transport yourself to the period before the Great War when the European powers were jostling for power. RotS is apparently the first ever spy novel (not sure about that - I would have thought The Scarlet Pimpernel predates it for starters) and the story is that Childers was trying to make the "Powers that be" understand the potential threat of invasion from an enemy like Germany.

I also think Childers' life was as exciting as his book, if not more so. However, I believe this death by firing squad for gun-running to the IRA was "not well managed".
 
[ QUOTE ]
how closely does the film follow the book?

[/ QUOTE ]

Film was very well cast (Agutter, York and MacCorkindale) but small budget and a lack of directorial imagination ruined it. Totally. The best thing to do is watch the first 10 minutes then switch off and read the novel. Excellent recreation of the Vixen (sorry) "Dulcibella" with big error as Dulce's hull painted black in the novel.

If anyone in TV land has the cojones these days, it would make a great TV drama series, full of intrigue and double motives. Especially the Dinner party scene on Nordeney. And Davies' navigation in the fog to Memmert is textbook masterclass, for anyone doing a YM ticket.

Anyone making a drama absolutely must make Von Bruning a likeable character. In the film he's almost a stereotypical nazi. Poor. The memorial at Alsen was blown up by the Danish resistance in 1945. Is it obvious I'm a Rots geek?

I only watch it these days for the opening titles, which are the best bit.
 
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