Across the Lake (1988 TV Movie) User Reviews

Interesting Subject but .......

[eddie-83 · 6/10 · 17 May 2000]

The true story of Donald Campbell who pursues the world water speed record as his father, Sir Malcolm had chased and won the land speed record.

Despite many premonitions of death there's little drama in this treatment due to a mediocre script.

However Hopkins is magnetic in the lead and England's Lake District looks spectacular.

Incidentally his vessel, Bluebird is an extremely modern-looking craft!

Good attempt in covering a great British hero's final days

[alexis_lambert · 11 March 2004]

I never understood why this has never been released on DVD or video in the U.K. It was released on video in Austrailia and fetches very high prices in auctions.

Anthony Hopkins delivers a fantastic performance as Donald Campbell. The movie is a good attempt in covering his final days but has been spiced up for the screen. There are quite a few in-accuracies but i think that has been done to draw a wider audience rather than just the die hard Campbell fanatics like myself. This film has been scrutinised by many experts for it's inaccuracies, mainly down to the K7 Bluebird hydroplane. Wrong colour for starters.

There are 1000's of people wanting this released on DVD but all requests fall on deaf ears.

Well above average TV movie

[enochsneed · 9/10 · 27 June 2006]

In terms of performances and production values this movie is first-rate. Only some of the 'dramatic licence' lets it down and could give a misleading impression of Donald Campbell's character.

Firstly, he didn't try to borrow money from an old friend to pay his back taxes then terminate the friendship when he was refused help. The character here is fictionalised as 'Jack Stanley' but the real-life person on whom the character is based tried to have this removed from the script as Donald had not done any such thing. He would have been too proud and independent to even consider it and would certainly not turn his back on a friend over money.

Second, Campbell did not have a fling with a female reporter who then wrote a 'kiss-and-tell' piece about his inner demons, further undermining his mental preparation for breaking the record. Campbell was a very active man sexually but this particular incident never took place.

On the other hand, the scene where Donald presents a tape-recorder to a young man who thought it was a Christmas present for someone else is both true and in character (in fact the actual recorder was used for the film).

The attitudes of the other journalists featured in the film do reflect the aggressive scepticism surrounding press coverage of the record attempt: Campbell was past it, he was too old, his nerve had gone, 'Bluebird' wasn't up to running at 300mph-plus. The television interview given by Donald at the boathouse is lifted almost word-for-word from the interview featured in the documentary 'The Price of a Record'.

The performances in the film are all excellent. Anthony Hopkins is as convincing a Donald Campbell as he was later a Richard Nixon - you feel you are watching the *man* not a performance. Ewan Hooper is an equally excellent Leo Villa, Donald's engineer, friend and psychological prop.

It is incredible that such a high-quality, well-regarded production is not available on DVD.

Unsung and Forgotten - Why?

[den-790-920926 · 10/10 · 2 January 2015]

This TVM is not listed on Anthony Hopkins Wiki page - why?? It is a very true representation of the run up to Donald Campbell's final, fatal attempt at the water speed record on Coniston on the 4th January 1967. The film is very evocative and really makes you feel like a fly on the wall of what was happening at the time. Donald Campbell deserves to be remembered and Anthony Hopkins' portrayal is second to none and one that I feel deserves so much more recognition that it appears to get. This is a wonderful film and I urge anyone with an interest in the great British resolve to overcome, to watch it - it is definitely up there with the World's Fastest Indian and is a credit to Anthony Hopkins.

Fair wee movie-excellent lead man!

[klingonandy-1 · 5/10 · 20 February 2006]

Fair wee movie,in response to other viewers comments- Bluebird K7-(the real one) was many different shades of blue during it's life and quite a few shapes as well!starting off in 1955 as a "smooth" design and ending up due to various upgrades and rebuilds with the Tailfin from a Folland Gnat jet fighter grafted on the rear and vastly different cockpit and front end- basically a work in progress.The replica K7 used in the movie is now housed in a museum in the Lake district.As for the movie-I agree that for some strange reason it was never released in the Uk and the only copies available are normally poor third generation copies on auction sites- pity,after all it's about one of the last British Heroes-Donald Campbell.All in all the movie is a fair account of Campbells life and the lead up to the events on 4th January.Perhaps a sequel may be made when the real K7 is finished being restored-if we get the funding!incidentially the replica used in the movie is a lot smaller than the real k7 and is displayed at a museum in Coniston.

across the lake

[jaqunderwood · 10/10 · 16 May 2007]

I have tried to find this film on DVD just on the off chance it was ever done. This film is brilliant and should be released so people can see what a terrific person Donald Campbell was. This film is really good and had me gripped to the screen when it was shown years ago. Knowing what i know now about bluebird (my cousin is part of the bluebird supporting club) and Donald Campbell is truly amazing. So come on lets have this on DVD. Seeing what his family went through to break land and water records is amazing. Sir Malcolm Campbell and Donald Campbell are true hero's of Britain. After meeting people who knew the Campbells and worked around them its a true shame this film isn't on DVD for sale.

Not too interested in Donald Campbell, but definitely interested in more Anthony Hopkins movies!

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 22 July 2021]

Being an American fan of British movies and TV shows, I'm always thrilled to find ones I've never heard about, and when it turns out to be either historical or autobiographical, the more exciting it is because I know I'm getting a little slice of reality that I know nothing about. Give me one of the greatest British actors ever, and it's double the thrill. Here, Anthony Hopkins, already well known (if not yet a superstar in the states as this was pre-Hannibal Lechter), plays real life racing legend Donald Campbell who wants to top his late father's legacy as a race car driver by topping his speed, but on the water.

Really enjoying being over the top but rather crude and troubled, Campbell is certainly the life of the party whenever he's around, but there's a darkness about him, so Hopkins really gets to chew the scenery with varying moods, whether in damaged relationships or on a seeming desire for suicide which a journalist he becomes involved with reveals in her newspaper. Phyllis Calvert, a star of British melodrama of the 1940's and 50's, has a cameo as his mother who left his father for the same reasons that the women in his life, including wife Angela Richards who makes a living as a popular lounge singer.

So while the basic story only held a passing interest for me, Hopkins was completely riveting to watch. Beautiful lakeside location scenery is fabulous for the visuals, so there's good photography to praise as well. But I found myself not really liking Campbell all that much so I didn't have anyone to really root for. Had he been a villain or strong political figure, I may have found more interest in him, but the anticipation of the big ride didn't grab me.

The ensemble is good though, even if they are overshadowed by Hopkins. Rosemary Leach, an actress I immediately recognized (discovering that she had a prominent role in "A Room With a View") stood out in a nice part as the kindly proprietor of the lakeside inn, the type of earth mother we all want as a confidante. But this is Hopkins' film, and he really soars with it, regardless if he's just holding court or on a rocket like water device that would send all sea creatures desperately trying to get to shore and out of his way.

A fitting tribute

[jamze519 · 10/10 · 14 March 2006]

This film is a real work of art, everything about the film is brilliantly recreated as well as Anthony Hopkins producing one of what i feel the best on screen you will ever be likely to see.Its an extremely powerful film, especially with the climatic and cataclysmic turn of events that surround his final run down Coniston in 1967, the film enable us to ride the emotions and in demons that Campbell struggled with, being in constant fear of superstition, under achievement and ultimately failure. Being a land and water speed record fan, i would obviously give this film 10/10 but compared to the films and productions that we see today, Across the Lake is a real throw back to the way that films should be properly done and is certainly among one of my top or even my best film that i've been lucky enough to see.