GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Red-Barracuda This British animal film details the life of an otter called Tarka and his daily obstacles to survive. His main dangers come from human beings perhaps unsurprisingly, in the form of poachers and, mostly, huntsmen and their pack of hounds.The influence of the previous year's Watership Down (1978) seems quite pronounced here, with its story focusing on the trials of animals from the British countryside and the grim reality of the horrors they encounter. Both movies share a peculiar unsentimental approach to their material, and both are hard hitting for family movies. The biggest single difference of course is that Tarka is based squarely on reality, with no talking animals or animation. As such, it utilises a lot of nature style photography, which are edited together into a narrative, the result is something of a hybrid of fiction and documentary. The nice narration from Peter Ustinov helps expand upon the story elements but this is a film which almost exclusively gets by without dialogue. The English countryside provides a lovely backdrop and is very well photographed here. There is an unmistakeable anti-hunting message, which remains absolutely pertinent to this day. The idea that grown adults get their kicks out of terrorizing a little wild animal minding its business in the countryside, is perplexing indeed. But even without the message, this remains a great little movie, with the real star being the gorgeous little otter itself. This is definitely a film which remains compelling and is one which should continue to be passed down to future generations of children.

blrnani The first thing that stood out about this film was the wonderful photography that provided a vivid and beautiful portrayal of life in the English countryside, with bubbling brooks, the passing of the very distinctive seasons and the flashes of colour and life from birds, insects and animals. While the people spoiled it, both for their presence and their behaviour, the film was a realistic portrayal of life in the countryside and I do not understand people wanting to shield children from that. A lot of modern problems stem precisely from our distancing ourselves from nature and an understanding of its workings. That is the REAL world and ours is an artificial creation superimposed upon it - ostensibly in an effort to rise above its harsh and savage aspects, but all too often failing to meet the lofty ideals. I saw Bambi in a crowded cinema, when I was 3 or 4, and when that fatal shot rang out my little voice piped up "Mummy, did the hunters just kill Bambi's mother?" My mother responded truthfully... "Bwah!!!" But the film moved on and so did I. In retrospect I think my reaction broke the tension of an audience that was all wanting to bawl their eyes out and they were duly grateful. Kids should learn that nature can be savage at an age when they can assimilate the fact. Bringing one's children up to believe that the universe will conform to their desires may easily lead to disillusionment or the feeling they weren't 'wanting' hard enough. Much better to teach them that the world operates on the principle of cause and effect and that we must assume responsibility for all our contributions (positive or negative) to that process! At the end of the film, I thought it was saying Tarka escaped down to the sea, the 3 bubbles showing his path. But I see other viewers assumed he had stopped breathing and was dead. It's a nice ambiguous ending where I suppose one can read what one wants into it. But as in "Ring of Bright Water", there's always the next generation to carry on the genes. At one point I consoled myself by thinking "Well it's not as savage as bullfighting", but is that even true? It is certainly not to our credit that humans consider it sport to hunt, torture and tear animals apart, using overwhelming odds to virtually ensure a kill. Sport with animals is what the Cretans did, performing acrobatics over and around a ferocious bull to demonstrate their courage and skill without harming the animal at all.

pete-579 My name is Peter Talbot. I hand raised the otter 'Spade' guided by Philip and Jeanne Wayre. I worked and lived the story with all the animals on screen as the principal animal handler for the two years of production. The Book 'Tarka the Otter' is a modern classic and has much to do with The suffering of The First World War. Otters hiding from huntsmen underground is quite analogous with soldiers in the trenches. Henry Williamson (the author)was one of the world's greatest nature writers. He chose the locations with David Cobham and allowed the film to be made, having turned down Disney, only on the understanding that it would be, authentic, educational and not sentimentalized - there is very much more to the story than is immediately apparent.In the intervening years I have written and posted much about my time with Spade (Tarka) and all the animals in the film. The whole story is now an ebook called 'Ripple of Ancient Sunlight' and can be found on most on-line e-book retailers. If you wish to contact me please drop into the 'Tarka and me' Facebook. page or Twitter, Peter Talbot - Tarka_andme .

zoyyzoy What a treasure this movie is. The book is pretty good too. Sometimes the sequences between the pivotal events in Tarka's life can be little long winded, but overall the plot is interesting. It will make you cry if you are one of those tenderhearted saps. The anti-sport hunting message of the film makes it all the more meaningful. I was a vegetarian for a while until I found a copy of this on vhs and watched it. Now I supplement my diet with fish. I cook my fish though, unlike Tarka who eats 'em alive (eels too! yuk).