Treasure Island

In Fraser Heston's production of Robert Louis Stevenson's masterpiece, an obvious labor of love by all involved, the classic tale sidesteps another excessively kid-friendly incarnation to live and breathe as Stevenson meant it to. Although its made-for-TV scale pokes through now and then, it does so only momentarily in each case. These little blinks aside, this heartfelt reading of the classic adventure is a worthy piece of work. It's still family-safe but this time there's real menace interwoven with the book's more genteel sensibilities.

How a film begins is often crucial and this `Treasure Island' begins so beautifully, and correctly. A mournful pennywhistle solo ushers in an opening credit sequence that could have been filmed by the painter N.C. Wyeth, whose vision infuses many of the film's frames. I replay this sequence several times whenever I screen this film because it is so evocative. It also perfectly sets the tone for the entire movie; beautifully done. But if they had just held the rousing, though excellent, music back a bit longer and let the sequence walk through on its own legs, it would have been one of the most perfect opening sequences ever filmed.

Charlton Heston as Long John Silver? Don't laugh. His now-familiar voice occasionally surfaces through his 18th century pirate patois, but never detracts. Heston's portrayal is completely effective and is handled with restraint and relish, a fact that is evident the moment his Silver first appears. Silver emerges from the back room of his waterfront Bristol grog shop to confront Christian Bale's uneasy Jim Hawkins who, having walked into Silver's lair, is realizing that he may, quite possibly, not be walking out. Assessing Hawkins through a world-weary expression that has seen it all several times, Silver weighs his options: hear the boy out or drag him into the kitchen and slice him into the salt pork stew, at least.

Heston's Silver is no buffoon. Instead, he is a dangerous man, not unlike the Deke Thornton character in Sam Peckinpah's `The Wild Bunch'; an intelligent person who is forced to endure, and make use of, the human dregs of his time, the best of whom can hold only a dim candle to him. Cunning, quietly remorseless, always several moves ahead of everyone in sight, yet patient in the face of relentless idiocy, this Silver is also a man whose soul has not been completely flogged out of him, by circumstance or the whip. His sincere respect for the innocent courage of Jim Hawkins gives this `Treasure Island' much of its humanity. If you don't feel a pang as Heston's Long John gazes chagrined at the loot, which, for the lack of more far-sighted colleagues, would have been his, you may have the proverbial hole in your soul. `Ah bucko', says Silver to Jim Hawkins near the film's end, after Jim rebuffs Silver's last gentle attempt to manipulate him, `what a pair we would have made'. Oh yeah, absolutely.

All of the book's heroes are portrayed with heartfelt competence; the blustering Squire Trelawney (Richard Johnson), the tack-sharp, impeccably-mannered Doctor Livesey (Julian Glover), the unflinching Captain Smollet (Clive Wood), and Jim Hawkins' arch-boy (Christian Bale in his mid-teens, filled out a bit post `Empire of the Sun', bearing no resemblance to his homicidal yuppie in `American Psycho'). Arrayed against them are the scurviest sea dogs who ever weighed anchor, complete with terrifying teeth and fierce, implied body odor: Oliver Reed's tragic Billy Bones, Christopher Lee's festering Blind Pew, Israel Hands (what a great name), Silver's murderous, cobra-like shipmate, (Michael Halsey), who provides a taste of what Silver himself may have been like in his younger days, and a most convincing Ben Gunn (Nicholas Amer). Peter Postlethwaite, the super-cool big-game hunter in the first sequel to `Jurassic Park', plays the bewildered George Merry, a man who should always flee from even the slightest ambition; someone who makes you happy to still be you, even if your 401K was riding entirely on Enron.

When the time comes for action, it's delivered with conviction. Early on, the tense, hateful confrontation in the Admiral Benbow inn, between the rum-soaked Billy Bones and his scary former shipmate, Black Dog (John Benfield), is beautifully rendered, as is the berserk fight at the island stockade later in the film. To its great credit, the film never tries to be funny, or even light-hearted. It simply forges ahead, telling Stevenson's great story. But near the end comes a scene in which Squire Trelawney confronts Silver, whose schemes are now hopelessly foiled, and attempts to call the old pirate to account. What briefly transpires is the film's only real yuk, but it's a peach.

It's easy to over-romanticize the period in which `Treasure Island' is set; swashbuckling as it may now seem, it was a time before widespread bathing (the future George III's German fiancé had to be told to please take a bath after arriving in England), flush toilets, anesthesia, toothpaste, germ theory, and any notion of social justice. But it was also a time when unbroken forests still covered most of North America, when Pittsburgh was just a rough-hewn, barely defensible French fort in the midst of a trackless wilderness (near the present site of the Pirates baseball stadium; Pirates?, hmmm), a time when, given the courage, adventurous spirits still had real room to move. The slate was still largely clean. Many irreversible mistakes had yet to be made. Anyone with a taste for history and, perhaps, a discernible distaste for certain aspects of our own `advanced' age will relate well to this forthright `Treasure Island'. If you've appreciated Charlton Heston as a movie star, you'll appreciate him even more as an actor. This `Treasure Island' is probably the best that will ever be made. A more `updated' version could certainly be produced; one that spurts more blood and exchanges more bodily fluids, with much of the book's period style and manner stripped out, but it would no longer be Stevenson, just Hollywood.

Most of the comments expressed so far have correctly pointed out this version as the best and, unlike someone's reference to George C Scott's Scrooge, it does actually come directly from the book and not from years of ingrained television adaptations.The reason it is so good is because it echoes correctly the strata of fear that the book is based on. As a child, Jim Hawkins is scared of everyone from the physically hideous Blind Pugh to the men of bloodthirsty reputation - Israel Hands and Blind Pugh and that fear is shown by the pirates in their reverence for Captain Flint and of course, Long John, who commands by reputation alone.In preserving this intact, the whole book and thus, the film, is believable.I know people question some of the language (incorrectly in my view as all those words were spoken by landsmen not natural sailors and were very much in use in that time - the word 'bugger' for example, appears in the diaries of Pepy's hundreds of years earlier).Its easy to say that the film draws influence from early versions but that's inevitable. The Chieftans soundtrack and a very fine cast make it far superior and much more believable. As someone said earlier, you need a proper Silver who can both turn on the charm to convince a young lad but also control a band of cutthroats and Heston achieves that superbly well. You can see clearly how easily intimidated the pirates are because they are uneducated and that's obvious from the exchanges between them and Long John. Postlethwaite is brilliant in these and totally convincing ! Finally, I think someone mentioned a continuity problem earlier.Although having run off, Jim does see a pirate killed, this is only after he has jumped off the jolly boat and run inland.The two aren't connected.He does that for devilment I think and there are other examples of his reckless behaviour elsewhere in the book. What a great story though - the triumph of the stereotypical English gentlemen over the bloodthirsty pirates.I think we all agree on here, this interpretation is spot on !

This is probably the closest adaptation from the novel, slightly marred by a tendency to linger over scenes inspired by iconic illustrations of NC Wyeth and others. The pacing when establishing characters is like a too-slow striptease, especially Billy Bones (Oliver Reed), Blind Pew (Christopher Lee), and John Silver (Charleton Heston). Heston's delivery, like Christian Bale's (as Jack Hawkins) is understated, which removes a little of the fun and all of the mercurial affection established by Robert Newton and Bobby Driscoll in th e1950 version. Both Bale and Heston are just a bit too cold to perform the Tango of a sonless rogue and a fatherless boy, so their path to grudging admiration plays out more like a chess game. I'd rather have Reed and Heston exchange roles, but what's done is done. Lee's vocalizations, usually so plummy, are disappointingly squeaky, a surprising choice for such a sinister role, but his physical acting superb. Julian Glover as Dr Livesey, Richard Johnson as Squire Trelawny and Clive Wood as Captain Smollet all capture their characters, though again, Glover's expressiveness is a tad subtle. The Chieftains...well, certainly there are many points in the film where the strident fiddling is extremely appropriate, but but what's missing is a few melancholy bars and some strains of sober suspense. Surely the Chieftains had a plaintive flute or something that could have done the trick. A bit of thumping drums delightfully prefigures "the Battle" music from Master & Commander, but the gunnery work in the assault on the blockhouse is unconvincing visually, especially the recoil effects and explosions. This is a film that could benefit from a little CGI tinkering, since the special pyrotechnics budget was apparently so frugal. The locations are really quite good, and the Hispaniola looks good on the outside, sometimes appearing to be actually sailing. The interior scenes are a bit too stable and a bit roomier than they should be.

Treasure Island! One of the best movies of all time. Ok, just one of my favorites. Have watched it millions of times and don't get tired of it. My brother works with fishermen and tugboat fellas and they all love this movie. If the seafarin' folks love it, well then, as a seafarin' tale goes it must be good, eh? Sort of a cult film amongst 'em. Well, at least the sea farin' folks of Ballard and maybe its just that the damp has gotten into their brains.

Speaking of Israel Hands sinking into the depths of the Carribean, try rewinding it while it is playing to see him magically rise from the depths, do an expert back flip and land on the crow's nest. It's really quite funny.

Ok, so why the wierd "one line summary"? It is one of my favorite lines from the movie where Squire Trelawney (sp?) is swearing secrecy to the whole treasure

expidition. We all know how well he kept it. But his face when he says it is quite comical. "I'm as silent . . . as a grave!"

Good job Christian Bale, you'll always be Jim Hawkins to us whether you like it or not. Billy Bo-nes, few can cough and die as disgustingly as you.

If you like Treasure Island, watch "Yellow Beard". Sort of spoofs it in a Monty Python fashion.

One of the great literary classics is brought to life in this wonderful made for television version. An incredible cast, headed by Charlton Heston as Long John Silver, beautiful location footage and a great soundtrack from Paddy Maloney performed by the Chieftains, makes this one of the liveliest productions ever filmed. Cleverly scripted and directed by Fraser Heston, the viewer is treated to a wonderfully faithful adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's classic adventure tale.

Christopher Lee is near unrecognizable in the ghastly make-up of Blind Pew. Add to that the most incredible voice-work and you have one of Mr. Lee's most fascinating characterizations. Although on-screen for a relatively short time, Pew is instrumental to the plot, and Mr. Lee certainly makes the most of his limited time, effectively creating one of the most frightening and memorable characters. Never before, or since, has Blind Pew been quite so well played. His interaction with the late great Oliver Reed as Billy Bones at the Benbow Inn is a wonderful moment, particularly for Hammer fans.

The cast includes a phenomenal assortment of remarkable actors. While Charlton Heston is less than perfectly cast, he does turn in a commendable performance and in no way detracts from the production. It is evident that he is enjoying his role. Young Christian Bale in an early performance is excellent and well cast, as Jim Hawkins. Isla Blair does a great job as young Jim's protective mother. Along for the ride we also have Julian Glover in a standout performance as Dr. Livesey. His confrontation with the swaggering Oliver Reed as Billy Bones is a high point in this film. Richard Johnson as Squire Trelawney and Clive Wood as Capt. Smollet round out the cast, with Nicolas Amer (whom I thought was actually Jasper Carrot) as a suitably deranged Ben Gunn. An exceptional cast, which fits together beautifully, results in my favorite version of this oft-filmed classic. While at times reminiscent of some of Hammer's adventure films, it certainly benefits from modern film technique, and rightly exceeds even the best of Hammer's pirate yarns.

Even if you are just checking this out for Christopher Lee's or Oliver Reed's performance, you'll find yourself engrossed in a wonderful family film and wondering why more classics aren't given such great treatment. Highly recommended!