Posted by Owen Roberts on December 14, 2010 at 16:30:00 user OwenRoberts.
In Reply to: Re: posted by Peter Ceresole on December 14, 2010 at 23:18:34:
Having had the opportunity to view the C4 production, I was impressed by the ingenuity of the BOV in making an interesting visual interpretation.
In particular the rowing through the reeds, the sailing of Swallow and the plank walking were effected with a minimum of props.
Of course there were obvious idiocies such as the Walker children being a mixed race bearded family, but overall these faded into the background.
If I lived near Bristol, I would consider going – but not worth a journey down the former GWR main line.
Whilst discussing this, it might be worth considering the 1963 BBC production. When the BBC was last approached the film was still extant but in unviewable condition. The only viewable clip link is to be found in the ATR film vault. I assume by 1963 the BBC was using acetate rather than the old nitrate film stock.
Recently the National Film Archive has made great strides in film recovery from both acetate and nitrate stock.
Perhaps someone with BBC connections could find out if the film still exists. If it does it might be worth considering if and how it could be recovered for viewing by AR enthusiasts.
This was the only film made during AR’s lifetime although AR & Evgenia disliked the production.