Customer Reviews

Riddle of the Sands [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw this movie years ago when it first came out. Ever since I have tried to find a US Region 1 DVD release.. The plot comes from a 1904 novel by Erskine Childers and it is considered the first modern spy story. When the book appeared it created a virtual sensation in England and led to a complete re-thinking of England's naval defensive strategy. Set on the North Sea coast of Germany it describes a plot by Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany to invade England long before the first World War. The plot is ingeniously frustrated by a pair of amateur British yachtsmen. Michael York does his usual impeccable job. The supporting cast is superb and includes Simon McCorkindale, Jenny Agutter and Alan Badel. The sailing scenes are memorable and the movie features a haunting musical score. For those who love sailing and spy stories, this one is worth having. Now the sad part, there is currently no Region 1 release. I don't know why, there just isn't. If one comes along, be sure to let me know.

Hi,

I concur with the previous reviews. This is great a spy adventure which deserves the full DVD-treatment. Obviously it would have to be presented in widescreen. The current VHS edition of this classic film is horrible due its pan/scan presentation.

Kind regards, Paul

Excellent adapation of the book. Bring it out on DVD!

7/9/06 I wrote the review below a year ago, praising this film and unabashedly begging for its release on DVD. My VHS tape is wearing thin and, interestingly, the pan-and-scan aspects seem to get jerkier as it ages.

I check back a few times a year to read even more glowing reviews of this film and to see if a DVD version might be on the horizon.

Is there a petition we could sign? A phone number we could call? A government we could overturn to get this on DVD?

Maybe if I wrote to Michael York and explained that I've been a fan since his turn as Tybalt in Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet?

Hmmmmmm. . .




The Riddle of the Sands really needs to be put in a letterboxed, DVD format. The story is great, the cinematography gorgeous, and the theme music haunting. I defy anyone to watch this film and not have the urge to go to the coast and maybe do a bit if exploring and/or sailing.

Please, please, please bring this title out on DVD!

I came to Amazon looking for a DVD edition of this movie (I have the VHS version, purchased years ago) but a glance at the reviews tells me that, alas, there's no such thing. I was pleased to see, however, that the reviews were uniformally positive, even glowing. I'm afraid I've a bit of a complex over this film: I've recommended it to several friends who reacted to it with complete indifference, and I was beginning to wonder... well, okay: There are no car chases, and the women never take their clothes off, so I suppose it isn't quite up to Hollywood standards. But then again, it wasn't made in Hollywood.

What it does have is excellent acting, some of the most evocative cinematography you'll ever see, and, incidentally, one of the three or four best film scores ever. As for the plot --well, if anything, it's one of those rare occurrences of the movie actually improving on the book. I've read Erskine Childers with pleasure, but The Riddle of the Sands is not one of his better efforts: The book is murky and confused, and whimpers its way to an obscure ending, but in the film version the plot has been tightened and the main characters (superbly played by Michael York and Simon MacCorkindale) are far better drawn. Jenny Agutter is also wonderful in her role as the daughter of the English traitor.

I'll add my voice to the pleas for release of this item on DVD: It richly deserves it, and I for one would snap it up in a heartbeat.

The movie is an adaptation of the classic and politically controversial (at the time) novel about a pair of lower upper class Englishmen who discover that Kaiser Willhem II was planning an invasion of England by the undefended west coast using barges as transport. It is an exciting and charming film with Michael York playing an initially sceptical Foreign Office clerk who is drawn into the suspicions of Davies (Simon MacCorkindale), an expert sailor. The movie is charmingly infused with late Victorian optimism and self confidence.

Sometimes you find yourself returning to a film again and again,Riddle of the Sands is one of those films that is still great to sit down to even after the tenth viewing. For me it's like an old friend, tried and trusted, a comfort on miserable mornings or grey evenings.It's got everything, adventure,romance,espionage,the sea, sailing and a great cast of characters. I love this film - I searched for years to find a copy on VHS (years before I got a credit card for online stuff)and got lucky in the end but it's one of a few that I'd definitely get again if it were to come out on dvd whatever the format. Highly recommended!

This is a excellent film especially for those interested in traditional wooden boats and a good adventure story. The film follows the book fairly closely and apart from the German laughter which seems to be produced at the point of a sword, is well acted. Please bring it out on DVD as my VHS copy is just about worn out

An amazing adventure set several years before the outbreak of WWI. Two Englishmen on a sailing holiday off the Frisian Islands discover the Germans are up to no good. Fantastic story and camera work. Please bring this film out on DVD!

I have the VHS format of this movie.
I agree with the first reviewer, this is a great movie. I watch this every now and then. The sets are really well done and the period costumes are perfect. It's a very clean movie, showing some of the 'slower' times when things didn't move so fast around us.