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.

I certainly went into this wanting to like it; I am the kind who can be pray to the odd bout of nostalgia... For days I have seen and for those I have not. I may have seen this film as a child, but I have no strong recollection of it. It can certainly be said, however, that childhood memories are in some sense evoked by watching it, seeing as "Swallows and Amazons" deals with childhood; a decidedly different childhood, of course, but there is a link. I enjoyed mine, as the fine "fellows" here seem to; but it is an oddly regimented, conservative ideal that is espoused by the film, despite the tag of "adventure" and the promise of exploration.I have not read any of the Ransome series of books based around these children's adventures, so I'm in no position to comment on them as fiction. I can certainly comment, though, on the merits of this film as entertainment. It is perhaps with a degree of sadness that I sense that it could not really appeal to much of today's child population. Times have obviously changed very much. But books like "Cider with Rosie" and "Carrie's War", less oppressively traditional perhaps, may still have a good chance.The photography is unquestionably very alluring; capturing enough of the visual beauty of a golden English summer of times past. The more metaphorical sides of the "golden summer", or of childhood, are sadly never really delved into. I can see Ransome's work would perhaps read a lot better than this film plays, in this regard. The acting here, of the children, is okay for what it is. The youngest chap is the most amusing; a hapless old chap of a buffer... Roger. And I quote the "I can't see anything!" bit as prime evidence of his endearing, if not all that well played, haplessness. Titty is probably the most endearingly and memorably played, otherwise. The adults make little impression. Not enough of Ronald Fraser's "Captain Flint" figure perhaps... He does engage a bit when on screen. Interesting and perhaps amusing to see that "Zanna" Hamilton, is the same girl who went on to play Julia in "1984" as Suzannah Hamilton...Anyway, I shouldn't be harsh on this film, but it really is flawed. It has its pleasures, and is inoffensively watchable, but one would have to be very indulgent to fully endorse it as a film. It doesn't have enough, frankly, of the wistful complexity that we all know childhood to be composed of. The past is indeed a foreign country, whereas here it is a rather enclosed, parochial and familiar one.Rating:- ***/*****

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.

This film is an object lesson in how to take an excellent children's book and ruin it. The child acting is dreadful, especially Titty and Roger, and the whole film is an embarrassment to watch. If you liked the book please don't watch this.