''Tarka the Otter'' is a 1979 British

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

David Cobham Michael David Cobham (11 May 1930 – 25 March 2018) was a British film and TV producer and director, best known for the film ''Tarka the Otter''. He was also a first-class cricketer. Cricket career Cobham was educated at Stowe School, where h ...

. It is based on the 1927 novel of the same name by

Henry Williamson Henry William Williamson (1 December 1895 – 13 August 1977) was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history and ruralism. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 for his book ''Tarka ...

. ''Tarka the Otter'' was voted 98th in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

’s poll of the ''100 Greatest Family Films''.

Production

The role of Tarka was played by an otter called Spade.

Musical score

The music score used in the film, composed by

David Fanshawe David Arthur Fanshawe (19 April 1942 – 5 July 2010) was an English composer and self-styled explorer with a fervent interest in world music.''The Times'' obituary 9 July 2010. His best-known composition is the 1972 choral work '' African Sanctu ...

, was released on a soundtrack album on the

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...

label in 1979 (ZSW 613), and included

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

's narration. In 1976

Anthony Phillips Anthony Edwin Phillips (born 23 December 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, producer and singer who gained prominence as the original lead guitarist of the rock band Genesis, from 1967 to 1970. He left in July 1970 and learned to play m ...

, formerly a guitarist with

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, and Harry Williamson had recorded a soundtrack to the film with the support of David Cobham, the producer. Harry had helped to persuade his father to sign the contract, reassuring him that with the music he had composed, the film would be true to the book. However, the orchestral work was not used. In 1987, Amy International paid for the completion of the work at Strawberry Studios and it was released by PRT records as simply ''Tarka''. In 2001 the work was re-released with additional music by Voiceprint Records.Floating World BP219CD The music was commissioned for its first live performance with a symphony orchestra in Melbourne in February 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarka The Otter (1979 Film) 1979 films 1970s children's adventure films British children's adventure films Films based on British novels Films about otters 1970s English-language films 1970s British films